Norwich man who lost publishing job goes on Arctic adventure and writes book about it

Adrian Hall, of Norwich, went on an Arctic adventure aftre taking redundancy, inspiring him to launch an outdoor discovery business. (Image: Archant)

But when this happened to Adrian Hall, he made the most of his new-found time – and redundancy cheque – to go on the adventure of a lifetime to an Arctic paradise.

It sowed the seeds for his dream career working in the great outdoors, and while he no longer has a company credit card he said he was far happier for it. The 51-year-old, of York Street, Norwich, left his job at Dutch publishing company Elsevier in 2006 and then hatched his travel plans.

He signed up for an expedition to Milne Land – an island off the east coast of Greenland – and spent three weeks in the remote wilderness where polar bears roam. No maps exist of the terrain – just satellite photos – and the group of five spent days hiking, watching the icebergs float by and sleeping in tents in 24-hour daylight.

When he returned home, a conversation with teacher friends gave him the idea to teach outdoor skills at schools.

Adrian Hall, who used his redundancy money to fund an adventure in the Arctic and ten years on experiences into a new e-book. Photo : Steve Adams (Image: Copyright Archant Norfolk 2016)

The father-of-one gained outdoor qualifications at the College of West Anglia, built up his own business and now gives talks around the region and leads expeditions in the school holidays under the banner of Active Outdoor Discovery. 'Redundancy doesn't have to always be a purely negative experience,' he said. 'This is something I would never have done unless I was made redundant as it gave me time and a little bit of money in my pocket,' he said.

'Things like paying the mortgage always have to take priority, but I certainly benefited from redundancy.'

He wrote a book about his experiences called Follow That Musk Ox: Tales From Milne Land, and years after penning it he has self-published it online – having read in a Sunday paper about how easy the process was. To find it, search for Follow That Musk Ox.

Do you have a Norwich story? Email samuel.russell@archant.co.uk

Adrian Hall, of Norwich, went on an Arctic adventure aftre taking redundancy, inspiring him to launch an outdoor discovery business. (Image: Archant)

Adrian Hall, of Norwich, went on an Arctic adventure aftre taking redundancy, inspiring him to launch an outdoor discovery business. (Image: Archant)