Amy originally grew up in the Lake District in a whirlwind of kayaking, climbing, hiking and sailing with her family. She was very lucky to travel extensively as a child and discovered a love of snow at a very young age skiing in the Italian Alps. Amy is very proud that she could 'ski before she could walk'! At the age of 18 she moved to the bright lights of Newcastle to pursue her passion for travel and study Travel and Tourism Management as a degree. It was as part of this degree she undertook a placement year with Activities Abroad and never left! Since then she has been fortunate enough to travel all over the world researching new destinations, activities and ideas for Artisan Travel and now heads up our Product and Operations team (and is also chief baker of office birthday cakes!). Her most memorable Artisan Travel experience was staying at Engholm Lodge in Karasjok in Norway and taking part in a husky safari with the highly revered Sven Engholm! The cabins are out of this world and she says she has never seen such an incredible bond between a musher and his dogs. She absolutely fell in love and is desperate to take her family back to share in this awesome experience. Amy's favourite destination (it is such a hard choice!) is probably Senja in Norway. She has been lucky enough to visit twice in both summer and winter and could have quite happily stayed both times! In January the whales come right into the Fjord just outside the harbour. She spent hours on a boat watching them during her winter visit before sitting in the Northern Lights lighthouse that evening enjoying a beautiful Auroral display whilst eating some delicious Norwegian waffles! The summer visit was no less spectacular and included having a picnic on one of the white sandy beaches only accessible by boat around the Fjord. This was followed by sitting in the outdoor hot tub sunbathing at 1am after an incredible four course meal made in the restaurant from fresh, local produce.