I’ve been running the blog for 14 years now and way back in 2009 there weren’t that many travel blogs around so if you had some original ideas and a bit of creativity you could combine them and make a living out of your passion.
How it took off even took us by surprise, some of our posts went viral on the now sadly long-gone StumbleUpon (RIP!) and some were even viewed and shared over a million views. More and more advertisers started getting in touch and I can still remember the day when I decided to leave my job to run the site full time.
In fact, I’d never been happier. I’d struggled with various health issues over the years which made it increasingly harder and harder to work full time in an office setting.
I’d taken a lot of sick days off, and finally, I got a diagnosis of the rare and lethal Wilson’s Disease a few years back, just in time (but that’s another long story!).
After a few years, travel blogging became like a modern-day gold rush many people set up sites after hearing about how it’s possible to make money (and sometimes a lot!) Blogger conferences and Blogger Press Trips even became a thing after many years of these kinds of media events being open exclusively to journalists.
Before Brexit and then the pandemic dramatically changed the landscape, travel bloggers were hugely in demand by large travel brands and even car brands like Vauxhall and we were invited all over the world including seeing the orangutans in Borneo, the swimming iguanas in the Galápagos Islands, the sun-soaked beaches of Queensland and Riads in Marrakech.
The site expanded and Gary Nunn an award-winning videographer joined the team. Over a few years, he created incredible videos from trips taken all over the world from jaw-dropping drone footage of Brighton Pier to Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, we even created a video for the government interviewing volunteers at refugee camps and Gary did a great David Attenborough impression filming wild lions on safari in South Africa.
After many years of award nominations, 2019 was the year we finally won UK Travel Blog of the Year! The Vuelio Blogs Awards are a well-respected, glamorous, and prestigious affair in central London. It features food, entertainment acts, comedic hosts, and a black-tie dress code!
It was a night to remember after 14 years of major highs and some lows, too. It was the night we felt all the hard work finally paid off!
