Josephine Collingwood - Middle-Aged Mother of Three. Former Mountain Rescuer, Wilderness Addict, Lover of Nature. Embracing Adventure, Inspiring Others, and Capturing Life's Beauty Through Photography.

Josephine in her own words:  

“I’m a middle aged mother of three. Also, adventurer, rock climber, former Mountain Rescuer, wilderness addict, lover of Nature, doer. Oh, and professional author and award-winning photographer.

Many hats, but a common thread of being outdoors, helping people and sharing a love of wild places.

Having moved on from the confines of Mountain Rescue, I am on a journey with Mountain Training Association to get qualified so that I can introduce people, and especially women, to the indescribable benefits of outdoor adventure. 

Too many women feel that it is beyond them. I want to show that it is not.

I love polar adventure and have been to Norway many times and skied across Svalbard on a 9 day expedition. 

Mountains, moors, wilderness, old mines and rock faces all vie for my time so that it feels there is never enough! 

My mantra is: “Do it now. Life is too short.”

I am not one for “ests” the longest/fastest/highest etc. To me, it is all about being there, in that moment.

My work as an author and publisher includes the Dartmoor Tors Compendium, the Official Visitor Guide to Dartmoor National Park and the Geology of Dartmoor. I also design unique infographics and poster art about Dartmoor in particular. My photography, when not illustrating books, is photographing architectural properties and interiors. Mainly though, photography is about showing how beautiful and amazing our world is.”

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Show notes

• Who is Josephine
• Wearing lots of hats 
• Her love for going out and exploring and spending time in wilderness
• Studying geo-physics at university down in London
• Making the move to Devon
• Deciding to re-train in photography 
• How her career focuses on photography, design and being outdoors
• Having 3 grown children 
• Her love and passion for the outdoors 
• Growing up in Acton, London
• Spending more and more time in Dartmoor 
• Age 14, having the opportunity to do an outward bound course (3 week residential)
• Discovering different possibilities and wanting to live a life outdoors
• Meeting her husband at the Officer Training Core at University 
• Making the decision to move to Devon to raise her family
• Asking herself the question - what does she really want to do
• Buying an old barn to renovate, while raising 3 children and going back to college for 3 years to study photography and media production
• Why we have to take a risk and make things happen
• Not doing any adventures for 20 years while raising the kids
• Starting to do more solo activities at 52
• Booking to do a polar training course with Newland Expeditions
• Spending time walking on Dartmoor
• Losing her mum to Ovarian Cancer 
• Skiing across Svalbard on a 9 day expedition (being the only woman and one of the oldest there)
• Camp life, dealing with Polar bears and why it’s so challenging 
• Imposter Syndrome?
• Feeling like an explorer and an adventurer
• Cycling the Hebridean Way, Scotland 2022
• Being inspired by watching the Reality TV Show Castaway (2000) 
• Dealing with the tough days while on challenges
• Suffering from covid
• Challenges with mental health and seeking therapy  
• Dealing with setbacks and failure 
• Spending time in the Cairngorms, Scotland and going exploring 
• Doing her Hill & Moorland Assessment 
• Wanting to train for her Mountain Leader (ML) Award 
• Her healing process and wanting to learn new skills
• Trying to identify what you want to be
• Doing what’s achievable first
• Signing up for the Rock Climbing Instructor Course in 2022 
• Wanting to share her love for the outdoors and encourage more people to spend time outside
• Mountain Rescue and the training program
• Hitting a glass wall and dealing with bad people management
• Deciding to resign from Mountain Rescue 
• Advice and tips for other women who are in a similar situation
• Not wanting to rock the boat and what she would do differently now
• Why the old school way of thinking has to change
• Why we don’t have to put up with bad behaviour 
• How the ML training is going 
• How you can connect with Josephine
• The meaning behind the name ‘Tavicinity’ 
• Using Instagram in the old fashioned way - black and white photos
• The importance of learning how to navigate
• Why you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people 
• Why you should try something new
• “Make it happen and do it for you”.  

 

Social Media

Website: www.tavicinitypublishing.co.uk 

Instagram: @tavicinity