An Turus means the journey in Gaelic.

I am a day-dreamer. An idealist. I make no secret of this and despites the highs and lows that go with it I hope it never changes. On one of my frequent trawls through the internet for a little inspiration for the next step, I came across the site An Turus

I won’t bore you with the details (or is that the point in a blog?), but anyway it got me to thinking. Firstly it roused the memories of what is by far and away one my favourite times in my life. I was 17, responsibility free, in love, discovering alcohol and on a college watersports trip in the South of France. There was a fantastic group of people, some I knew, some I didn’t. The weather was hot and we were canoeing for several days along a part of the Ardèche river so the scenery was out of this world. By night, we were camped on the river bank with nothing but a sleeping bag between us and the stars and a few extravagant story tellers for entertainment. By day we were drifting along the river, navigating rapids, jumping off cliff faces into the water and generally having a damn good time. We prepared our own food and cooked over an open fire. It was real boys own stuff (and girls if I am to be PC). Unfortunately, this was pre-digital camera era for me so I can’t share any pictures but believe me it was breathtaking.

Anyway, in kind of a join the dot exercises, I realised that I loved that trip for a thousand reasons but mainly as I felt very alive. Which seamlessly brings us back to the present and my discovery of this company who offer ‘wilderness and adventure therapy’. Bloody brilliant. It’s true that for many people getting back to basics and being in nature can be a massively liberating experience. So, this has given me just a little food for thought that if I got this much enjoyment and benefit from something like this, then wouldn’t it be hugely satisfying to help others have their own college watersports trip memories? Only one way to find out…but before I do, has anyone got any idea how I get my arse into gear…?!