About The Urban Wanderer
Hi, and welcome to theurbanwanderer.co.uk, I’m Sarah – The Urban Wanderer. I’m a thirty something outdoorsey city dweller who loves nothing more than exploring the offbeat and alternative wherever I go.
The Urban Wanderer is a Manchester UK outdoor, travel and lifestyle blog. But not your average kind of lifestyle blog!
My slogan for my travels and for the blog is “For curious minds and wandering feet wherever they may be”. This means that the things that I feature on the blog are for those who love to explore, discover and learn. And it doesn’t matter whether that is in your own city or miles away across the world. There is always something to discover.
Drinking tea on an urban wander in Gdansk, Poland
Together with my other half, Jit, we love to travel both in the UK and abroad seeking out the lesser visited and more unusual sides of the place we go. My focus is on affordable couples travel for those with ties at home (we have five kitties!), who want to make the most of their time away without breaking the bank.
Doing a Treasure Trails hunt in Lytham St Anne’s
Budget Travel and Days Out
I honestly believe that travel and days out needn’t cost a fortune. Some of my favourite days out have been in Manchester, where I have walked in with a picnic and flask in my rucksack and simply wandered around enjoying the architecture.
When we travel, we choose to stay in Airbnb places further from town so that we can get a feel for how it would be to live there too – you never know, we might one day move to The Netherlands!
I am a dairy free vegetarian and love nothing more than hunting out the best vegan and veggie places in town. But I also love to cook too, so find the best places to buy vegan friendly goodies, another great way to save some pennies while travelling. I love exploring the supermarkets on our trips and take my 15 year experience of meal planning with us wherever we go. A fab way to save money and prevent food waste!
I am the person who takes all kinds of reusables on holiday with me! I always have a flask of tea and a picnic to hand for adventures too.
Make Do and Mend or Made to Last
Much of my gear is either second hand, old and looked after or something which is made to last. A few years ago, I made the decision to invest in high quality items, which will last me a long time (you will notice I wear almost the same clothes in all my photos and videos) I am on a minimalist journey too, which means that my gear and products in my house are really used. It means that I have a slightly different way to work with brands and products. (more about that coming soon with my Work With Me page)
Sometimes I share ways to make your kit and products last, how to make the most of second hand gear and recommendations for things I think are great value for money.
Lifestyle
I meantioned earlier that I am not your average lifestyle blogger. I’m a bit of a geek, a greenie and an animal lover. I don’t wear make-up, don’t love clothes shopping – in fact, I have only a few pieces of clothing. I do love a bit of tech though. Something to make my life easier, to shave some time off my tasks and to make life better. I am a productivity queen. I love getting through jobs, creating routines and habits and love nothing more than indulging in personal development books. There is still so much to learn about life and living better.
I am planning on expanding the lifestyle side of my blog, since my ‘At Home with The Urban Wanderer’ posts seem pretty popular. One thing is for sure, it’s not going to be average lifestyle!
Determination
Around 5 years ago, I got myself off crutches after being on them for over ten years following a knee injury. I was spurred on to get back on my feet and exploring after defeating a 12 foot sand dune in Portugal, on a photography holiday, complete with rucksack, camera in one hand and crutch in the other.
Since then I have made it my mission to explore and live life on foot. Living it myself helps to inspire other people to get out there no matter where they live or what level they are at. Exploring on foot means that you really get to know a place, warts and all. I love that and how I feel like I live there too.
How The Urban Wanderer started
Back in 2016, while away in Rotterdam on one of our first trips, I had a revelation while urban wandering. Having become somewhat disillusioned about my food blogging (which I have been doing since 2012), I realised that travel and outdoors was where my passion really lay. Exploring on foot, on a whim and following your nose to discover wonderful things. In that short break I not only found a blog that would make me smile every time I sat down to type, but a love for a new city, culture and language. So much so that I’m now learning Dutch!
One of the 2016 Rotterdam wanders that brought The Urban Wanderer to life!
You can read more about my Rotterdam adventures and the birth of The Urban Wanderer in my blog post on my first birthday last year.
Even after a few years, my love for this blog hasn’t faltered. I am hoping that there are even more great adventures to come and am looking forward to seeing where my adventures take me (and us!) next.
If you’d like to get in touch you can find my details on my contact page. I also welcome approaches by PR companies looking to collaborate. Check out my work with me page for more information about my blog stats. A media kit is also available on request.
I believe that the world can be seen in so many ways thorough walking – I’m kind of a modern day Charles Dickens, but in Manchester and a woman! So join me in my wanderings, enjoy my musings and findings and grab some inspiration for your own urban or countryside adventures.
For now, stay curious and keep exploring!
