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I'm a freelance writer and content creator with a passion for the outdoors and sustainable travel. I specialise in sustainable travel, gear reviews, walking routes and outdoor advice. Let's chat about your next project.

Fi Darby Freelance

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ABOUT
- About Fi
CONTACT
OUTDOORS
- Outdoor gear reviews
- Map reading and navigation
TRAIN ADVENTURES
WRITING

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OUTDOOR AND TRAVEL WRITER

Outdoors life by Loch Lomond in Scotland

You love the outdoors. I love the outdoors.
Let's make beautiful content together.
fi darby

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Mondays just got better... 👇🏻 Have you ever

Mondays just got better... 👇🏻

Have you ever camped for a night then gone straight to work the next morning? It's not for everyone but there are plenty of advantages to choosing a weekday for your camping mini adventure.

1. Outside the school holidays and in the shoulder seasons, the campsite will be much quieter (we had this one to ourselves).

2. A night in a tent will send you to work with a smile on your face and an, 'I did that!' feeling in your heart

3. Make your weekday camp a Monday and you can extend your weekend break.

4. Camping nearer to home will help you support local businesses and decrease your travel related carbon footprint.

Of course, if you're a freelancer who works from home like I do, you're quite likely to be tempted to stay at your campsite for a few extra morning cups of tea.

Especially during a spring heatwave!!

#camping #tent #outside #campsite #miniadventure #slowtrqvel #flightfree #camp #tentlife #tents

Nobody wants to explore a city by car... So why a

Nobody wants to explore a city by car...

So why arrive by car?

We arrived into Toulouse station from Paris on a Wednesday and left on the Saturday. In between we explored on foot and enjoyed everything we found.

Even when it wasn't always quite what we were looking for.

City breaks should have surprises around every corner and this one did. That watery rill when we went the wrong way, that funny moment with the man in the street market, both unexpected, both smiled at.

Even the audio for this reel came from a surprise pair of musicians we found down by the river.

All because we didn't have a car and had to walk everywhere.

#interrailing #interrail #toulouse #walking #citybreak #europe #flightfree #carfree #trains #explorepage

Race Across the World isn't just about speed. I h

Race Across the World isn't just about speed.

I have to admit it, I'm a Race Across the World fan. I love the show's flight-free ethos and I love seeing how people manage their travel without digital help.

I even (with my daughter) applied to take part.

But Race Across the World isn't just about getting there. There's lots of emphasis on the contestants' mental journey and their experiences along the way.

We perhaps all travel for different reasons but for many of us, the beauty of travel is that it allows us to see the world.

And one of the best ways to do that is slow travel by train.

On our recent Interrail trip to France we got to chat to local people, experience city hustle and watch snow-capped mountains.

All because we chose to travel overland.

Each destination was special but it was the in between moments, snoozing at village stations, watching rush hour travellers, discovering local cafes, that made our holiday a trip to remember.

#trains #traintravel #europe #interrail #overland #slowtravel

Flight-free... Experience rich!! Toulouse railway

Flight-free... Experience rich!!

Toulouse railway station.

We were just about to catch our third train of four on our long journey back from the Pyrenees to Paris. As we entered the station foyer, we heard piano music. This gentleman was playing. Not, it seemed, to entertain the rush hour crowds but for the joy of the music.

We had so many similar experiences on our recent train adventure through France.

Things we could have never expected to happen. Things we weren't looking for. A collection of small, joyous moments that gave us that feeling of having really travelled.

We wouldn't have experienced any of them if we had flown over France instead of taking the train.

That's what train travel in Europe gives you. That's what overland travel anywhere gives you.

The opportunity to actually be somewhere.

Flight-free journeys aren't just better for the planet; they're better for us too.

#flightfree #europebytrain #interrailing #travel #piano

OVER FIFTY - FIRST TIME INTERRAILING...? I'm hard

OVER FIFTY - FIRST TIME INTERRAILING...?

I'm hardly an Interrail expert but I do understand what it feels like to be nervous about your first Interrail trip.

So many questions...

Will I get the tickets right?
Will I get on the right train?
Will I be able to speak to anyone?

The good news is that the Interrail app and website are very good at answering questions and walking you through the planning and booking process.

It's not always easy to decide where you want your Europe by train trip to take you but once you've bought your Interrail Pass, you have a year to decide and take your trip.

For some train journeys you will only need the Interrail Pass on your mobile device but for others you will also need evidence of a seat reservation.

I chose to print the seat reservation tickets to save juggling between phone screens when my tickets were being checked. I also knew that you are required to print reservation tickets for some journeys, and I wasn't entirely sure which those were.

At main train stations in France you can print e-tickets at ticket machines. We did this in Toulouse because I had missed out one set of printing; it was really easy.

We were asked for additional identification on one train and used our passports.

For this first Interrail trip I planned the whole journey plus accommodation in advance but now I'm more confident, I would be happy to do a more spontaneous Interrail adventure.

One thing that really helped both of us calm the travel nerves down was our itinerary. I kept it simple with dates, times, stations and accommodation addresses but we referred to it all the time and it helped us relax.

If you are thinking about your first Interrail trip, I would definitely encourage you to go for it. It's no more complicated than air travel but we found it far more interesting and enjoyed being able to see the places we were travelling through.

After all, travel is supposed to be about seeing the world not flying over it

#interrail #interrailing #trainadventures #flightfree #travel #slowtravel #overfifty #traveltips

London to Europe by train can look like this... L

London to Europe by train can look like this...

Leave the car behind.

Avoid airport hassle.

An Interrail Pass and just four easy train rides from London could find you exploring mountain villages like this.

No Instagram magic here.

It really was this quiet.
It really was this peaceful.

And we really did have a lot of fun getting there.

Today is Earth Day, and swapping a flight for the train is one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

Find out more about our recent adventure through the Pyrenees mountains on the Ligne de Cerdagne Train Jaune over on my website (link in bio).

#europe #mountains #europebytrain #villagelife #interrail #earthday

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HOP ON BOARD

I'm a freelance writer and content creator with a passion for the outdoors and sustainable travel. I specialise in sustainable travel, train adventures, gear reviews, walking routes and outdoor advice.

LET'S CHAT ABOUT YOUR NEXT PROJECT

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