Ben Nevis has been conquered!!! But don’t I know it – known for the very high shoes I wear I have resorted to flats this week. Ooh my legs! What I really loved about the climb was the camaraderie as we were going up the mountain – not least because I was on my own for most of it and love to chat!!! Met several people who were doing the 3 peak challenge within 24 hours. By the time I got down (don’t ask about the time – just call me Plod Plod) Steve (my Husband) and my friends had been down for hours and had commented to each other that as soon as I joined them I would be talking about the next challenge- which true to form I did. It was a suggestion to try the three peaks – that is before the after affect of my legs kicked in!! So my advice to anyone thinking of doing one of our tougher Himalayan treks or booking with us for the Kilimanjaro climb is yes determination and stamina take their place but I realise a much more rigorous, as opposed to non existent, training plan needs to happen to make it achievable and to make the experience enjoyable rather than an endurance. Training, therefore is critical,
Work wise, I always love the fact that whilst everyday there are challenges- no two days are the same so it gives great variety. I think an important skill certainly required in my job is being able to juggle between different tasks and priorities- it is said that this is a gender thing and it is women that have the ability whereas men need to be focused on one task. Personally I disagree with that, I know some great males including some that I work with who juggle extremely well and still manage the attention to detail and get all the tasks done well.

I often get asked if I wasn’t in travel what would I do? Whilst I am passionate about travel – I think the most important thing to me in my working life is relationship building, customers (and I am not being corny – it is genuinely true) and the people contact and so I would have to be in a job that would enable these factors to come together. Hey, but why would I think about it? The mix of travel and people means that to me I have the perfect job. My biggest challenge is ensuring that we get the holiday right for travellers that choose to travel with us and that we live by our strong ethos of not just meeting but exceeding your expectations. I am honest enough to say we don’t always get it right but we do for the majority of time – what we strive to do is to get it right every time.

So I guess having conquered the highest mountain in the UK my next focus on challenge should be a business objective of ensuring you all get the perfect holiday.

About Mandy Nickerson

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Mandy endeavours to share her travel experiences (where she will 'tell it like it is') and also detail the latest exciting projects that she is involved in. Mandy welcomes your feedback - please feel free to submit your thoughts, queries, comments and theories below.