Paul’s blogs bag him dream trips

A MAN’S best friend . . . is his husky. Paul in Norway

A LIFE of exploration and adventure has fallen into the laptop of an ex-army man who has been named as one of the most influential travel writers on the web.

It started when 39-year-old Paul Steele began blogging about his adventures among the wild and wonderful Saddleworth moors.

But Paul, who served with the Royal Army Medical Corps, would never have dreamt that it would open up the doors to global recognition and a ticket to see the world.

Paul, who lives in Diggle, said: “I got a job sat behind a desk in Manchester and I put on four stone.

“I got out the house and went exploring to walk it off.

“I started blogging, I got addicted and it escalated from there.”

It’s a hobby that has now gained him an international name on the internet.

With more than 114,000 followers on social networking site Twitter, he recently scooped top place on an influence chart of travel writers.

Now he finds himself writing for the Visit Britain website, has been contacted by American newsgroup CNN about future projects and even bagged himself a winter wonderland trip from the Norwegian tourist board.

Skiing, a visit to an ice hotel, getting up close to husky dogs and seeing the staggering phenomenon of the northern lights were all on the agenda.

“It was stunning, the northern lights were swirling over our head .

“Tourist companies see that there is another market out there on the internet and another way of learning about places to visit.

“It’s weird, I’m just doing my thing and I’ve had messages from all over the world with people saying they want to come to Saddleworth.

“I’m going on trips that people would give their right arm for.” Paul’s next big mission is to become one of a handful of people who have trekked to the South Pole.

It’s a charity challenge still in the planning and Paul added: “Ever since I was a child that has been my dream.”