I've always loved travelling solo. Some of my best memories are travelling as a single parent in Europe and SE Asia with my 4 year old, and that was following a trip around Australia in my early twenties where for the good part of it, I was blissfully on my own. Sure, you hook up with people on the way and travel sections with them, but for the most part, I was alone. I still love it - at Easter I travelled to Tasmania on my own in my van for two weeks before my husband met me out there.

The thing is, I never thought that not travelling alone was an option. I sure as hell wasn't going to sit around and wait for a man to escort me safely - that wasn't how I was raised. As long as I had my wits about me, and a little bit of street sense, I would be fine. And if I wasn't, well, that was just bad luck.

I've always had that need to 'feel the fear and do it anyway' - a kind of refusal to let my anxieties or emotions take control over living my life. There was a bit of stubbornness too - if someone said I couldn't do something, I sure as hell was going to prove them wrong. I loved leaping into the unknown and just being forced to get on with things. A journey of a thousand awesome miles begins with one step.

The world is no more dangerous for woman travelling alone than it has been historically. Stuff can happen walking in your own town at night just as it can in a foreign city. It drives me wild when people say it's woman that need to look after themselves and not men restraining themselves, but I get that you can't always control that. Being alert and aware is important. If your gut says no, don't do it.

I'll never forget travelling to Marrakesh with Jamie about a year after we got married. He didn't want me to walk into the souks alone and wanted me to wait til he came with me. I was sooo furious. We had a huge argument and I went anyway. It was a busy marketplace - what on earth could happen? And I wasn't going to go down any dark alleyways or follow strange men home! I still remember that anger. I'd been travelling on my own for years and it infuriated me that he was trying to protect me when I didn't want protecting - I wanted to wander about in the noise and colour of Jemaa El-Fnaa and soak it all in on my own, full of wonder and awe. Anyway, I did it anyway because I stormed out of the hotel room and ran away 😂. I know he was only trying to protect me and keep me safe, one of his core reasons for his existence, but I didn't want him to do that, as I had up until meeting him at 30, done a fairly good job of keeping MYSELF safe, thanks very much.

I mean, good things happen when you travel alone. You sort your head out. You get time to think. And sometimes you meet the love of my life, which I did. I still crave those solo trips and think I've still got a few left in me. It's harder when you're in a partnership, to just take off and go without them, and it feels unfair. But I think they're necessary soul journeys which help me return refreshed and alive.

This week's Ladies of Hive challenge asks:

The number of women traveling solo has been on the rise. How do you feel about traveling as a single woman? What are the advantages and challenges?

With rising petrol prices and global unrest, it's not as easy to travel at all these days - travelling solo is the least of my concerns. But I still hope for a few adventures yet, and anyone thinking of it should absolutely take the leap.

Inviting @traisto and @littlebee4 to join in, if you haven't already. If you have and I've missed it, my bad.. I'll find it eventually but for now I have a rotten cold and can barely get out of bed 😭😂

With Love,

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