Substacks recommended by Alex Roddie

Recommended by Alex Roddie

The Dark Mountain Project

New stories for an age of endings

A crucial read on creative resistance to the Machine and the uncivilising of culture.

- Alex Roddie

Cameron McNeish OUTDOORS

Inside stories from an outdoors life

Legendary (and prolific) outdoor writer and author, and former editor of The Great Outdoors magazine.

- Alex Roddie

Hopeful Futures

By Mairi McFadyen

Discovering and sharing ideas that inspire us to imagine and build more hopeful futures.

Sam Hill Creative

Stories with my camera

Expedition HQ

By Ash Routen

Expedition HQ is the personal newsletter of adventure writer and arctic traveller Ash Routen. It covers updates on Ash’s adventure writing and personal arctic sledding trips, as well as wider expeditions of note and recommended reads.

New Cartographies

By Nicholas Carr

We have entered strange new territories. We need new cartographies.

Essays from the intersection between technology, culture, philosophy, and creativity. One of my top Substack reads.

- Alex Roddie

The Green Room

By Ellie Green

Film editor, documentary maker, writer, book lover and adventure obsessed

Insights on the outdoor industry as well as the creative process from a professional adventure filmmaker.

- Alex Roddie

Chris Townsend

Perhaps the UK's most experienced long-distance backpacker.

- Alex Roddie

Analog From Here

By Rediscover Analog

Talking about analog living (fountain pens, bullet journal, film cameras, vinyl records) in the digital age

Top-drawer analogue inspiration as well as info.

- Alex Roddie

OWPG’s Substack

Words and pictures from the outdoors

The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild is a membership organisation representing creative professionals here in the UK.

- Alex Roddie

Revelry Collection

Adventures in the mountains, starting a magazine, and the pursuit of the path less traveled. Delivered to your inbox twice a month.

A new adventure magazine devoted 100% to film photography.

- Alex Roddie

The Ultra Trail

By Jenny Tough [The Ultra Trail]

The long reads on recovering from eating disorder/exercise dependency, racing ultras, solo expeditions, and a few journeys in between.

Adventurer, athlete, fantastic writer, and some of the best takes you'll find on all of the above.

- Alex Roddie

About Mountains

By Ronald Turnbull

walking across them, climbing up them, writing about them

One of the best-read mountain writers? Ronald Turnbull's Substack is full of fascinating stories about the history and culture of mountaineering, often making literary and artistic connections.

- Alex Roddie

Notes from the Belay Ledge

By Kate Harrison

Immersing myself in the outdoors - climbing, travelling, wildlife photography, and then extending the experiences and solidifying the memories by writing about them.

Relatable stories from climbing adventures in the UK and beyond.

- Alex Roddie

Like the Wind’s Substack

By Like the Wind Magazine’s Substack

Like the Wind is an independent title that explores the culture and history of running as well as runners' stories, in a quarterly magazine that is printed with care and shipped directly to subscribers around the world.

Behind the scenes of Like the Wind, a fantastic independent magazine about why we run.

- Alex Roddie

WEIRD WALK

A pamphlet concerned with standing stones, folklore, rambling and good fellowship.

Andy Hamilton’s New Wild Order

Life, I’m starting to understand, isn’t about picking a side but asking why there are sides in the first place - New posts every fortnight.

Author, forager and nature enthusiast with a talent for seeing things in a way most others don't. I highly recommend his book New Wild Order.

- Alex Roddie

A Writing Diary by E.P Woodhouse

By Emily Woodhouse

Thoughts on the writing process, story structure, plot and more. Middle grade adventure and fantasy author (am writing).

Honest, real-world writing about writing, both fiction and non-fiction.

- Alex Roddie

Blood in the Machine

By Brian Merchant

A newsletter about AI, Silicon Valley, labor and power.

Essential reading for understanding our relationship with technology – as well as the power structures it supports.

- Alex Roddie

Marek’s Substack

By Marek Bidwell

Writing about landscape, nature, people and place through the medium of walks (often long walks); see my book Skye Line: a backpacking adventure across the Isle of Skye.

Run Wild

By Ross Brannigan

Subscribe for thoughts on adventure, writing, creativity, and life from a Scot in Switzerland.

FIRN

By Immycycles

Incomplete thoughts & writings on travelling through the outdoors. Like a field of firn found on a mountainside, these are musings not yet solidified under foot.

Thought-provoking perspectives on sport and adventure, especially women's engagement in sports. Highly recommended!

- Alex Roddie

Encourage Meant

By 'Encourage Meant'

A regular burst of positivity inspired by The Encouragement Manifesto

The Fruitful Route

By Tim

Germs of fruitful routes as yet untravelled; for people and planet

The Adventure Shed

By Vedangi

Here you can find.....well, a little bit of everything! Welcome to the life of an over-sharer obsessed with finding order in chaos!

Vedangi is a phenomenal long-distance cyclist as well as a superb writer. Her takes on adventure are always well worth a read.

- Alex Roddie

School of the Unconformed

By Ruth Gaskovski

Practical guidance for navigating daily life in the Machine Age.

A truly superb resource for living a more intentional life in the machine age. Analogue inspiration as well as practical advice in abundance.

- Alex Roddie

Footnotes and Tangents

By Simon Haisell

Slow reads of great books. Book guides and a reading community to help you get more from the best stories.

A fabulous resource for reading good books intentionally, actively, and slowly.

- Alex Roddie

Wandering & Wondering

By Adrian Howell

Stories that explore the intersection between nature, people and place.

An infrequent but fascinating newsletter on nature, connection, environment, and creativity.

- Alex Roddie

Beyond The Mountain

By Kate Armstrong [Beyond The Mountain]

…an exploration of life’s challenges through a mountain lens. Clichés, platitudes and generalities not allowed. Any wisdom that may be found here has been hard-earned. I also speak and coach on these topics, so if you're interested in that get in touch.

Looking Sideways

By Matthew Barr

Examining the creative life through the lens of surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and other related endeavours.

I highly recommend Looking Sideways for asking questions about the outdoor industry you won't often find elsewhere.

- Alex Roddie

Austin Kleon

Weekly art, writing, and creative inspiration from the author of Steal Like an Artist and other bestsellers.

Quite simply one of the best resources for analogue creativity.

- Alex Roddie

Talking Travel Writing

By Lottie & Steph

Demystifying the travel media

One of the most useful newsletters around for travel or outdoor writers – an amazing resource for practical tips as well as industry insights and perspectives.

- Alex Roddie

The Crow's Nest

By Alexander M Crow

The notebook of a globally feral author finding balance through connection with nature, ancestral skills, and different cultures. Words and kindness.

Fantasy fiction, travel, the great outdoors, and the intersection between all these things. Thoughtful and sensitive writing.

- Alex Roddie