From corporate life to hiking life: the backstory of The Inside Trek

The Early Years

As a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s in Antrim, I was usually outdoors playing with my brother and my friends. And as a member of my local Scout troop, you’d also often find me hiking and exploring.

In the perfect backstory of The Inside Trek, I’d have kept doing that all throughout my life, so I could say there’s 40 years of hiking experience behind our guided hiking business. But that’s not this backstory.

The Corporate Years

Unimaginative careers advice (and, if I’m being honest, a wee bit of materialism on my part) took me from the green of home to the concrete & glass of the City of London rat race.

For over 20 years, a corporate career took up almost all my time, where, as a senior executive & lawyer, I drove risk management and sustainability in industries as diverse as online fashion retail; helicopter services in the oil & gas industry; and agriculture, food & ingredients.

I hiked a bit when on holidays, including memorable treks in Nepal, Iceland, Sweden and the English Lake District.

But work (alongside the odd visit or three to the theatres, football stadia, gin palaces & other delights of London) left very little room for the outdoors. And very little time for my homeland, to my shame now….

The Enlightenment Years

Then I got older. Looking for somewhere to celebrate my 40th birthday in the dark, wintry month of February, I suddenly thought of the warming log fires of home. It seemed the perfect place for me and my friends & family to shelter with a pint of Guinness after a brief foray into the winds and rain to visit the wave-battered rugged North Antrim coast.

And on seeing how much my friends were awe-struck by the warm welcome and jaw-dropping beauty they encountered, and on realising how much I enjoyed showing my friends round, I suddenly remembered the particular charm of the wee part of the world I’m from.

From that point, my love affairs both with my hiking boots, and with the greenery, scenery & sense of community of Northern Ireland, were fully rekindled.

In both Northern Ireland’s strong pride in the local provenance of its food, drink & craftsmanship, as well as the sheer power of its natural landscape, I felt a strong affinity with the passion for the planet that I’d built up working in sustainability over the last few years of my corporate life.

And before I knew it (and much to my parents’ delight!), I was visiting Northern Ireland more and more. Then I was suddenly buying my own place back here.

The Now Years

From my own experiences, trials and tribulations in getting to know my homeland intimately again, I’ve accumulated an extensive list of the “best of the best” in my area, using the connoisseur’s eye I built up during 20 years in London.

The best treks. Fish & chips to die for. The best logs for the fire. Pubs you never want to leave. Restaurants you’ll remember for a long time. You name it, I slowly worked out who to go to (and who not to).

And I realised I really enjoyed sharing those insider tips and recommendations with those who didn’t yet know this wee part of the world.

So, when in September 2019 during a two month trip round Colombia and Mexico, I realised just how little people still knew of Northern Ireland (nevermind hiking here), I really wanted to do something about that.

So I took the plunge and left my corporate life in London behind, returning to Northern Ireland full time, to become a trained Hill & Moorland Leader through the National Outdoor Centre at Tollymore, and to set up The Inside Trek. Which is how this backstory of The Inside Trek is now its ‘now-story’.

I can’t wait to share my little patch of the world with you. Come and find your Inside Trek (obviously once its COVID safe to do so! Till then, do the right thing, stay home, don’t go out, OK?).

A