On a snowy February morning two years ago, I woke up on a train in Siberia. Slowly opening my bleary eyes, I peered behind the curtain just above my head to be greeted by the bleak and beautiful plains of Russia. I looked out across an ocean of snow and spruce trees, with little wooden cottages pluming smoke out of their chimneys, all in the foreground of mountains that rose high in the distance. I felt humbled and grateful that I’d experienced such tranquil and awesome natural beauty. It was Siberia in all her mystical glory. 

I sat up in my bed and took another glimpse of the magical surroundings outside, this is why I wanted to visit Russia, but then a thought ever so slowly crept into my mind… “This is great out here…but I haven’t even been to Scotland or Ireland or most of England where I’ve always lived!”.

Here I was trundling through the heart of Russia, exploring a true wilderness, but I hadn’t been north of the English border, or across the Irish sea to where some distant family are from, or even to the majority of my own country. It felt, for some reason, a bit ridiculous. 

That thought process quickly passed as I busied myself for a month in Russia, then another month in Japan, another in China, and finally one more in Thailand – but the feeling of intrigue for my own land grew throughout my jaunt to the East. That moment in Siberia early on in my trip ignited a flame that, initially subconsciously, started to make me more aware of the comparatively tiny patch of land that I call home.

After so many great experiences, learning about new cultures and meeting people from across the world; I wanted to turn the spotlight on Britain, my home. Despite being a relatively small country, there’s so much difference between the various regions of England, I want to get to know each region, it’s landscape and local culture. 

England is an old country and has an incredible amount of history too – which can be daunting. Aside from studying the key moments of our history, I want to recreate how we lived in those times to really appreciate our ancestors. What we ate, how we worked, travelled, the jokes we told. I want to go back in time and experience elements of life from previous generations. 

So here it is, Oak Tree Island, creatively named after our national tree and the fact we live on an island, a physical exploration of England and our heritage – come along!