An earlier time of day for this newsletter. It’s 4 am. I’m torturing myself by waking up at silly o’clock to watch England get demolished in the Ashes cricket against Australia. The match is going so badly that I needed to distract myself by writing this newsletter! 

This will probably be my final missive of the year (unless it becomes some sort of strange cricketing therapy tool!) So let me begin by saying thank you for subscribing, for reading, for clicking curiously, and for supporting my writing about adventure, the outdoors, and the natural world.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to five friends. I’d love to find some new readers next year. If you don’t enjoy it, please click ‘reply’ and let me know how it could be better!

Thank you, Merry Christmas, and come on England! 

•  Writing books has always been at the heart of everything I do. Book sales form a significant percentage of my income, and the vast majority of those come in December. If you’re looking for Christmas present ideas, I’ve written books for children, books for adults, and I’ve also compiled various lists of books that make good gifts. If you’re not in the UK (and presumably not sharing my cricketing anxiety), my books are all available here. Thank you.
•  Alpkit have supported me brilliantly this year. Here is their handy guide to help you nail gifts for hillwalkers, trail runners, outdoor swimmers, mountain dwellers, climbers, munro baggers, roadies, trail riders, paddlers…
•  The Outdoor Swimming Society turns 20 this year. They campaign for the right to swim and for clean, accessible waters. You can support their work via their Christmas raffle, or by buying their beautiful 20th-anniversary magazine – a lovely mix of essays, photo stories and interviews, and a great gift.
•  Support a better future for rivers – more wildlife, thriving communities, and healthy rivers serving the fight against climate change. All donations to The Rivers Trust this week will be matched and doubled. 
•  Adventurer Jamie McDonald spent the first nine years of his life in and out of hospital. He has now created Ward Buddies to help children through those lonely hospital days.
•  Grit & Dust on Instagram shares brilliant photos and stories from a wide mix of adventurers.
•  Is it possible to produce enough healthy food to feed the nation whilst also restoring nature? An excellent podcast discussion between James Rebanks and the always-excellent cricket lover, Amol Rajan.
•  I’m dreaming  of a bikepacking ride through the ‘Spanish Lapland‘.
•  An excellent piece about one of the most under-considered and hardest parts of a big adventure: coming home again.
•  I made this film a while back with advice for young people dreaming of adventure.
•  A cool film about women cyclists in Africa.

Al

(If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.)

Cheers,

Alastair