Celebrating Amazing More Mature Bloggers 2020

My birthday has come around again quickly – life does start speeding up when you get older – and it is time to celebrate some of the more mature bloggers I know.

I am delighted to have an amazing group of bloggers from various different genre to introduce to you. My first blogger is special to me, as we met in 1982 when we were in the same halls of residence. We lost contact, but thanks to the wonders of Facebook, we are back in touch. So, I am kicking this post off with my friend, blogger and author, Annie:

Fab More Mature Bloggers 2020

Annie – Author & Historian

I’m Annie Whitehead, I’m an author and historian, and I blog on several sites. My books – fiction and nonfiction – focus on the Anglo-Saxon period, and my main blog reflects that. Over at Casting Light Upon the Shadow, I publish articles about all aspects of pre-conquest English history.

Much of my research necessitates road trips, and any holidays or mini-breaks seem to take me to historic places, so I often write about my trips and visits on my second blog, Time Traveller.

But writing isn’t all about history and the writing community is a wonderfully supportive ‘village’. On Reads, Writes, Reviews, I interview other authors from across all genres, I review books which I’ve read and enjoyed, and I’ll post announcements about new books or cover ‘reveals’ as well as writing about writing in general.

Thus, all the threads of my writing, and writing about history, are pulled together by my little trio of blogs.

But there’s another aspect to my writing, and that is as part of the editorial team who manage the EHFA (English Historical Fiction Authors) blog, where I occasionally contribute articles but mainly focus on editing and formatting posts by guest authors who share the fruits of their own research.

And that’s me. History, writing, reading, and sight-seeing!

Kerry – Kerry Life and Loves

My name is Kerry and I write the travel and lifestyle blog, Kerry Life and Loves.

My blog was started as a way to combine my passion for writing, with my passion, (ok obsession) for travel. I try, through Kerry Life and Loves, to inspire people to seek experiences and live as full a life as possible. I am always looking for our next adventure to share! 

My own travel story kicked off in full in my late teens. I decided that I wanted to see the world, so set off with my boyfriend, (now husband) when I was 18 on a two and a half year adventure. 

Travel, in any form, has been the core of my existence ever since I can remember. A strong desire to see and do as much as I can in my lifetime, and make memories with my loved ones, is my driving force. This was enhanced even further when my husband was diagnosed with grade 4 cancer in 2017. His battle (and so far winning fight) has made us even more determined to seek experiences! 

UK and European travel have been the main focus of the last couple of years. However, we are starting to venture further afield again now our sons are grown. We have always said that we will get our backpacks on again one day and do more longer-term travel. Not sure my back could handle hostel beds these days though….

Janis – Our World for You

Hi, I’m Janis, a travel blogger and one half of the website ourworldforyou.com.  I run this blog with my long-term partner Gary.

I was born in Greenwich and raised on the Isle of Wight, before settling in Kent.

In 2010 we set up a personal blog for family and friends to follow our travels. Then four years ago we created ‘Our World for You’ to share our adventures with even more friends.

Last year I reached the same milestone as Hawaii and hit the big 5-0. However, I rarely think of my age and just love travelling as much as I did years ago.

Our travel focus is predominantly history and culture in Europe and the UK, and I especially love embarking on a road trip. I enjoy the freedom of jumping in our car without any packing restrictions, particularly where gadgets and shoes are concerned.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit family living overseas, in 1997 we headed to China and Hong Kong. In ‘96, ’98 and in 2019 we visited Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the ‘90s were pre-digital days and photographs are few and far between. Although video evidence still remains of me, white water rafting down the Zambezi – I looked terrified.

If I were to choose a favourite city, it would be Seville, especially in the autumn. Although for lasting memories, it will always be the sheer buzz of jumping in the back of a safari truck and heading off across the African plains.

Here’s to more travelling.

Megan – Cullessence

Hi, I am Megan and I am a semi-adventurous traveller. I love a good adventure but you won’t find me spending weeks with just a backpack and a bus ticket. I try to be flexible and ready for the unexpected, but I also like knowing where I’ll be sleeping each night.  I look for off-the-beaten-path activities but also check Trip Advisor for local reviews. I always travel with my camera, but I don’t carry 20 pounds of photo gear.

My blog, Cullessence, is a place where readers can learn about semi-adventures and destinations around the world. I also have a few DIY photo projects thrown into the mix. My blog is for the woman who wants to have some fun and adventure but isn’t willing to jump out of an airplane or climb Mt. Everest. 

My love for travel began early during my upbringing as a military brat. My dad was in the Air Force and we moved every two years for the first 10 years of my life. My dad also fostered my passion for photography. Combining these two passions has become my full-time adventure now that I am retired from work. I live in Arizona but spend a lot of time in Alaska and Washington when I’m not travelling.

My ideal travel itinerary includes lots of time spent outside. I’m not big on cities or crowds. Some of my favourite semi-adventures include hiking through a winery, exploring a lava cave, climbing the span of a bridge and doing just about anything in Alaska.

Faith – XYU and Beyond & The World’s Kitchens

I’m an ass-end baby boomer who is now 60 and I couldn’t persuade my kids to run away from home so I did. Hubs and I decided to run to Mexico – it was the only place that was cheap enough to live on a crappy pension.

I worked in marketing for a small business in Canada and was ready for new adventures so the Yucatan it was. We lived in a tiny fishing village for a year and met some incredible folks, and some truly awful ones.

Sitting in the stifling Yucatan heat with my eyelashes sweating, we decided Mexico was not for us. I  discovered housesitting and within a few months, we had our Irish passports (we were born there) and we headed to Ireland to sit with eight dogs and a cat. We haven’t looked back and spent the last 5 years exploring Ireland, and Europe.

XYUandBEYOND came about because I got sick of looking at fluffy Instagram feeds and blogs giving me terrible information. I was fat, old with mobility and autoimmune issues and I was sick of the unreality of travel blogs. I wasn’t interested in matching a floaty frock to the Eiffel Tower so I just kept writing stuff I was interested in and people began to read it. 

Thanks to recent circumstances, I’ve started a new site called The World’s Kitchens that centres around my love of eating but not cooking. I just can’t do recipes they take too much work and I can’t be arsed so I write about stuff I find fascinating about food and eating.  

READ MORE: Celebrating the More Mature Blogger 2019

Candy – Where I’ve Been

Hey there! I’m Candy from Where I’ve Been, a blog that focuses on all things related to travel.  I love to hit the road and travel quite a bit for work and as much as I can with friends and family. I started my site to share my love of travel and help others find the inspiration and confidence to do their own travelling.

Travelling for work the past five years has made me a bit of an expert on what to do and what not to do while travelling. I love to share tips, travel gear, and planning strategies to help others to get the most out of their travels. You will find a broad mix of different types of travel and itineraries on my site. From Europe to the US to South America, I’ve got you covered!

I’ve visited nearly 50 countries but there is still so much more to see! I try and visit new destinations as much as possible and am hoping to travel more extensively in Europe and plan trips to Asia and Africa in the future.

One of my favourite things about travelling is trying new foods! I’ve found that food tours are an amazing way to see a new destination, meet new people, and try lots of food. I share all the details of the tours I take as well as other must-try foods for a destination. I say I’m at my happiest exploring a new city with an ice cream cone in my hand.

Omo & Eulanda – Hey! Dip Your Toes In

We’ve come a long way since our nervous first date at London Southbank in 2012. Little did we know that almost three years from that first date, we would be launching our blog Hey! Dip Your Toes In (HDYTI).

When we introduce ourselves to people, we like to say that we have three cultures between us – Eulanda is American, Omo is Nigerian and we currently call London home.

Although we grew up continents apart, we both had childhood dreams of someday seeing the world. After we met, it didn’t take us long to discover our mutual interest in travel. From testing the waters on our first long haul trip to Costa Rica in that first year to road trips along California’s Pacific coast to island hopping in the Maldives, we’ve since fallen in love with travel and the stories we collect along the way.

People often ask us, “What’s your favourite country in the world to visit?” We usually laugh and reply, “We don’t know.” Rather than ‘bucket lists’, we have ‘dream boards’ instead. The former sounds terminal while the latter implies there are no limits. There are so many more places we want to explore together.

Our blog itself began as a collection of our own personal cooking and travel experiences. Nowadays, it is a platform for us to showcase our creativity and that of a small team of contributors who support our vision. We’ve embraced the term ‘digital content creators’ and continue to explore our creativity while at the same time building communities both online and in-real-life.

Laureen – My Fab Fifties Life

I am a 60-year-old grey goddess – looking to stay active and engaged, healthy and aware in my middle years!  My blog www.myfabfiftieslife.com started seven years ago as a way for me to assist and encourage other women in their middle years to not feel invisible; to feel inspired, empowered and fulfilled as we grow older. 

When we retired four years ago, my husband and I sold nearly everything we owned and began full-time travel, spending 9-18 months at a time traveling the world and returning to the USA most summers.  Currently the pandemic has our travel life on hold, but we plan to get out their again as soon as possible.  We have visited 110 countries and although it’s not our goal to see every country, we still have a lot of the world we want to explore.  We have been blessed with some epic adventures, including hiking the Camino de Santiago and the Inca Trail, seeing mountain gorillas and orangutans in the wild and snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, just to name a few.

My blog now focuses both on inspiring people in their middle years to not fear travel as well as storytelling and humorous inspiration for health and fitness, lifestyle, food and books.  All with the goal of being the best we can be throughout our one and only life.  It’s great to be a grey goddess, and more importantly, it’s great to live an authentic life.

Danielle – Severn Bites

I’m Danielle Ellis, my blog is Severnbites.com. Six years ago I gave up my career in marketing and retrained as a bread baker. I set off to the Loiret in France for four months to follow the course, all in French. It was comprehensive, not just how to bake the bread, but to run a business and merchandise the produce.

I arrived in Gloucestershire 4 years ago and fell in love with the people, food and landscape. Since that time, I’ve been teaching breadmaking techniques I learnt from in my home kitchen and to people who visit the Cotswolds in their holiday homes and giving demonstrations. I’m currently managing to teach bread skills to people all over the world over Zoom which has been unexpected but great fun!

My blog has a mix of topics. There are bread related posts helping people to refine their skills or choose the right flour or try new ways of baking. I include recipes I have developed especially using seasonal ingredients and you’ll find much about my passions: eating out and travel. 

A real Francophile, I am particularly missing France at the moment, and dream of sitting on the terrace of a restaurant enjoying the food and the sun. Who knows I might be writing about that again soon!

READ MORE: Baking Bread with Danielle Ellis from Severn Bites

Josie – Josie Wanders

I’m Josie, a 47-year-old blogger based in Adelaide, Australia.

I grew up in one of those families that never travels. Even now none of my parents or siblings have ever held a passport. I wasn’t a whole lot different. I travelled internationally  for my honeymoon once in my early twenties, then bought a house, had kids, did all the typical suburban things.

Until I was in my late thirties. My kids were in high school and my hubby got a job offer in Dubai. It didn’t come off, but we did travel to Dubai to have a look – and suddenly I was hooked on travel. My eyes were opened to the world in a big way.

I very quickly became disillusioned with the 9 to 5 grind, and I started to joke about instead of our youngest daughter taking a gap year, my husband and I would make her stay home and pay the mortgage for a year while we went on gap year! We made this a reality in 2017/18, and I have not gone back to a traditional job since. 

Instead, I have worked on my blog and done a little freelance writing. I love the freedom I now have to travel and share my tips with my readers. I’ve now been to more than 50 countries, and have no plans to slow down any time soon. I’ve just written up a “Fifty before 50” travel bucket list to keep me busy for the next year or two.

Mel & Marcus – FlyDriveExplore & The Diary of a Jewellery Lover

Hi, we’re Mel and Marcus from FlyDriveExplore, a couples travel blog and YouTube channel aimed at the over 40s although everyone is welcome. We may be regarded as ‘mature’ in the blogging world but we can assure you, we, especially Mr W are far from mature.

In your forties many of us are lucky enough to be able to travel again, the children have moved away and you have more freedom. Although our child has somehow managed to move back home, that wasn’t in the plan. Maybe, next time he leaves we should move house.

Of course, we love travelling and when it comes to destinations we have an eclectic taste. From Las Vegas to Iceland, Disneyland to Newfoundland we just love visiting new places, hopefully with that same excitement we once had as kids.

We feel travelling should be fun and not too serious, whether it’s a week in Benidorm or hiking in the Himalayas, whatever we like to call ourselves, we are basically tourists after all.

Recently, we have been working more on our YouTube channel and this has created some new opportunities. It is also a platform which gets a lot of organic interaction and it is fun to look back at your old videos and cringe. Initially, YouTube does take a lot of work for very little reward so you have to really like the video-making process to stick with it.

So don’t forget to say hello, if you see us on your travels. We’ll be the Welsh couple bickering in the corner.

Cassie – Mexico Cassie

I’m a British writer and editor. I live in Mexico with my husband and kids because we love Mexico and also because we got fed up with British politics and pace of life and wanted to fundamentally change our family life.  

On my blog, mexicocassie.com, I write about Mexico. If you are thinking about a trip to Mexico that doesn’t involve an all-inclusive in Cancun or Cabo then my blog is where you need to be. If you are truly interested in getting to know Mexico  (with or without kids) and if you’re interested in doing it sustainably and thoughtfully, my blog is gonna be just right for you!

Travelling and having adventures is a massive part of my family life. My kids refer to us as an “adventuring family” and they’re right, we are. We love Mexico. We love being a part of society here as much as we love getting to know our adopted country. 

My family is most likely to be found bouncing around hills, exclaiming at archaeological sites or climbing trees but we’re also good for a dose of culture and learning too.

Heather – Raulerson Girls Travel

I have always enjoyed travelling and loved taking off somewhere new for a weekend or a bucket list adventure for my annual two-week vacation I got while working full time as an automotive engineer. Working a stressful job, health concerns, and family history all affected my reasons that when I turned 46, I decided to quit my 9 to 5 job to become a full-time photographer and travel writer.

Enjoying my travels and backpacking around Europe and Asia during my nomad journey in 2019 has come with its own comical relief. I look young for my age, so it is always humorous while staying at hostels when kids find out that I’m 20+ years older than they are. It doesn’t bother me cause I feel just as young as they are and still love going on adventures. Although, as I get older, I prefer to stay in my own place for longer than a few days, transitioning from quick trips to slower travel or housesitting long term to get to know a destination more in-depth.  

My other passion has been taking my nieces and nephews on my travels with me. I’ve been taking them on vacation since they were five years old. Each year I tried to take them to a new place fun, but secretively educational. I want them to learn how to travel safely and not be intimidated by going to a new location or travelling alone when they get older. 

Many don’t understand how I could walk away from a high paying job to struggle as a freelancer. I tell them, “How you spend your day matters more than how it pays!” I am happy with my new path in life and continually look forward to my next adventure wherever it takes me. And hopefully, I can inspire you to go out and use your vacation time to its fullest. It is never too late to pursue your dream!

Justine – Encounter Travel and author of The Solo Traveller’s Compass

I always knew I’d travel far and wide, but back in my school days it was just a dream and from Australia, the rest of the world felt so far away.  I never could have known I’d forge out a path that has me living and breathing solo travel every day of my life.

I took off on my first solo journey in my early twenties that lead me to amazing corners of the globe across eighteen months, then again in my late twenties, and some years later, again. I was back home again by my early thirties, and after three lengthy solo travel stints it was clear –  I had to carve out a plan to make travel a part of my life, and forever.

Some years passed but in 2006,  I had it sorted!  That’s when I started my travel company Encounter Travel.  A touring company exclusively for solo travellers; it’s all and everything I do.  I’ve never looked back. I get to share my solo travel passion through my work, and in some cases even affect life changing events for some of our travellers.  Not only am I planning solo travel dreams and seeing them come to life for others, but my work takes me (solo) to more new places across the world.

I’m so passionate about solo travel, I wrote a book ‘The Solo Traveller’s Compass, How to Travel Solo But Not Alone’. My vision is that one day all solo travellers feel they have the same opportunities that seem so easily in reach of couples and families, without the roadblocks (physical, or emotional) that they face when looking to travel alone.

I’m often asked, what’s your favourite country. It’s hard to pick, but it comes down to the experiences and who you meet when you visit a new country. Mine – it’s Guatemala – I lived there, I formed bonds with the people of the country and it’s where I fulfilled my dream to learn another language.

If you need some inspiration to get you started, check out my trips here, Encounter Travel. 

Heidi Roberts – Kitchen Talk and Travels 

Hi, I was born and grew up in the USA but have lived in England for over 45 years now.  I have always loved food and having lived in Milan, Paris, Innsbruck and Aberdeen I gained an understanding for different cultures and cuisines.  

I travelled extensively until I got married and had children however finding myself a single parent I started travelling again and never looked back.

Now I am retired I love to travel as much as I can getting itchy when I don’t have a trip in the diary.  I startled my food blog almost nine years ago and nothing makes me happier than visiting a new destination, cooking with a local chef or housewife and telling their story on my blog and social media.

In 2015 I found my ‘happy place’ – the Caribbean island of Grenada. The emerald waters, the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon, the food and local rum as well as the people keep me coming back year after year.

There is so much to discover on the island that even after six visits we haven’t even scratched the surface.  

I also adopted a local school in Grenada and have so far sent 11 barrels of school essentials to a very appreciative school.  When I am on the island I visit the school and cook with the year 6 pupils. They usually request pizza which is definitely a luxury to the kids.  We laugh, mix, roll and grate however it is so interesting to spot the future leaders of tomorrow – the one that takes charge, the one that remembers the recipe, the ones that excel at passing around the finished pizza and so on.

I was born to travel and get itchy feet when I am home too long – there are so many places to visit and so many photos to take and stories to tell!

Emma – Emma Online

Travel and music have been a huge part of my life over the last 30 years. When I’m not planning my next travel adventure I can usually be found at a gig. So with many of my more recent travels based around concerts, it made sense to combine the two and focus my blog on event travel.

Catching the travel bug early on means I’ve had many different travel experiences. From city breaks to long-haul trips, from backpacking to luxury travel, from festivals to top sporting events. As long as I’m travelling and exploring new places I’m happy.

However, combining travel with concerts, festivals, sporting or cultural events is a great way to make a trip extra memorable. Whenever my favourite acts announce a tour I look to see if there are any dates in a city or country I’d like to visit. Over the years I’ve seen Madonna in Toronto, Robbie Williams in New York and Take That in Australia and New Zealand. All amazing experiences.

While event travel opens up destinations you may not have considered visiting – not sure I would have ever visited Gibraltar or Killarney if it wasn’t for a concert –  it can mean you have a limited time in a destination. So with my blog, I hope to show how you can make the most of a short visit as well as highlighting great events around the world to attend.

So if you are looking for some inspiration on how to make your travels extra special I hope I can help.

Holly – Globeblogging

As an Australian born to British immigrants with the rest of my family overseas, I travelled a lot growing up. As an adult, I embarked upon the whole settled down lifestyle, and when that went out the window I found myself booking my first solo overseas trip, and that was it! My passion to have adventures around the world was reignited! 

I’ve always loved to write, and take photographs, so it seemed a fairly logical combination to kick off Globeblogging a few years ago. 

I still have a day job (have to fund the adventures) and while I’m lucky enough to love my job in HR I’m always counting down to my next trip. I’m not the kind of traveller that likes to lie on a beach though, I figure I may only be in a place once and I’m going to suck out every ounce of experience I can get! I love a great road trip where I can stop along the way for any photo opportunities!

I’ve been so lucky to visit some spectacular places in the world, but there is still a long list to tick off and I think there is so much more confidence and thirst for new experiences that comes with travelling when you are older! 

Jay – Roving Jay

I launched my Roving Jay travel blog in 2008 when I was knee-deep in my corporate career. We had a five-year plan to escape the rat race and travel more. It took us a lot longer to adopt a new lifestyle, and by then our priorities had changed, and so had what I blogged about. I began writing about our life in Los Angeles, then switched to blogging about buying a house in Turkey, and then about our nomadic lifestyle. 

We’re slow travellers who like flash-packing our way through immersive experiences. A couple of years ago we did our first Workaway trip to Cambodia for three months, and this year we worked our way around France for ten weeks. These volunteer activities are based on trading five hours of work a day in return for accommodation and food. We also do house and pet sitting to make our travel budget stretch further.

I have a passion for blogging, and also write the Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide for independent travellers to discover Turkey. My travel blogs were the inspiration to transition from travel blogger to author, and as well as publishing travel guides and books about travel writing, I also host Birds of a Feather Press to inspire travel bloggers to become authors and to navigate the self-publishing hurdles. 

My blogging and writing continue to evolve as I edge towards my sixties, and it has become an integral part of who I am. As I get older I worry less about the future—there are too many uncertainties. So instead I focus on making sure I have no regrets about how I spend my present.

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I hope you enjoyed this celebration of more mature bloggers, and that you found new people to follow and blogs to read, I know I certainly have!

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