Travel blog income, going viral on Instagram and hut-to-hut hiking with kids - Bea Searle turned school holiday travel into a midlife career. Bea Searle has never quite known what she wanted to do but she is totally at ease with that. A part-qualified accountant who escaped the Big Four, she worked in top-end travel until her second child made the five-week India trips impossible. In lockdown, she started a travel blog, Wild Bee Outdoors, for the joy of it but as the world opened up so she left it go. Eighteen months ago she restarted it properly - an SEO course, a rebuilt website, a focus on train travel in Europe and the adventures she and her kids actually do. Then one post about an independent trip to Finland went viral, and 1,000 Instagram followers became 54,000 in a week. This is about travel as joy rather than logistics, hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites, cycling Austria's river paths on a Haribo economy and how an "accidental influencer" is now replacing her old salary by virtue of the freedom of her blog. If you know a lot about something, Bea's advice is simple: just start. BONUS EPISODE WITH BEA: For members of The Wobbly Middle Club over on Substack, there's a bonus episode (release date: 8 July 2026) where Bea gets into the nuts and bolts of blogging: why she chose WordPress as her blog building platform, engagement differs from Facebook to Insta to Pinterest, and how ad income actually works on a blog. Bea also shares the details of that SEO course that changed things for her. More about Bea Searle Bea Searle of Wild Bee Outdoors is a family travel blogger specialising in active, sensible-budget European adventures — hut-to-hut hiking, multi-day cycle routes and train travel with kids. A former Deloitte accountant and luxury tour operator, she restarted her lockdown blog eighteen months ago, went viral on Instagram in January, and is now replacing her former part-time salary with income from her blog and brand partnerships. Key Topics From Deloitte to the departures board— scraping the accountancy exams, the Big Four's "half day" culture at 6:30pm, and why Bea has never regretted leaving a jobThe lockdown blog that became a business — restarting with an SEO course, affiliate links and brand partnerships, and what travel blog income really looks like (one kids' hiking backpack sold a day)Going viral on Instagram — 1,000 to 54,000 followers in a week, the freak-out about her kids' faces, and her husband's billboard adviceSchool holiday travel her kids can actually do — hut-to-hut hiking at the Tre Cime in the Dolomites, Austria's traffic-free Radweg cycle paths, and a snack-per-kilometre ratio powered by Haribo Find out more about The Wobbly Middle: The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. New episodes are released every other Tuesday. You can find out more on our Substack page: https://thewobblymiddle.substack.com/about?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=ep32-bea-searle Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thewobblymiddle.substack.com?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=ep32-bea-searle The Wobbly Middle on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-wobbly-middle/id1767850643 The Wobbly Middle on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4YhwsBch8Q9vAOUBBfusIv Help Us Grow If this episode resonated with you, here are two ways you can make a real difference: Leave a review here — it only takes a moment, and it's one of the best ways to help new listeners find the show. Every review counts. Share this episode with a friend— if you know someone who might be in their own wobbly middle, please send this to them. Knowing that they are on this road with others can help build momentum. Share Your Story Made a left turn in your career? We'd love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs. About The Host Join recovering lawyer Patsy Day as she navigates her own midlife career crossroads in real time. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been having was returning ambition, and she began actively questioning her direction. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward. Each season, Patsy sits down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously. In Season 4, she's speaking to the women who changed direction in midlife to build the things that make our summers: the holidays we book, the books we read, the swimwear we brave, and the financial confidence to enjoy it. This episode was produced by Patsy Day. Studio recording by The Pod Collective.
