A man has shared how he travelled from the UK to Cyprus – just to take part in a group dog walk.
Christopher Mulholland is an avid extreme day tripper, often jetting off to different countries and returning within 24 hours after being inspired by a Facebook group.
The 35-year-old’s most recent adventure saw him travel to Paphos, Cyprus for the day with one goal in mind; making it to an event that allowed him to go on a beach walk with rescue dogs.
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“‘All this way to walk a dog?’ is what the taxi driver said to me when I explained what one of the reasons I went to Paphos for the day,” Christopher, who is from Bolton, Greater Manchester, told What’s The Jam.
“He said ‘can you not walk a dog in the UK’?”
Christopher claims he “hasn’t looked back” since his first extreme trip back in November 2023, which took him to Geneva, Switzerland for the day.
Since then, he’s set himself a target of visiting every country in Europe, as well as parts of North Africa and Western Asia.
Christopher says he is “ticking off the countries one by one”.
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He says planning his trip to Cyprus in March was “tricky” as it would be a long day due to the lengthy flight-time of more than four hours.
He didn’t let that put him off, however.
Christopher said: “[It] doesn’t put me off as I always look at how long I get to spend in each place and see what I can achieve by doing research.
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“I bagged myself cheap flights for this trip to Cyprus and I always say ‘don’t let anyone think it’s impossible to do these types of trips’
“The aim for this day was just to have a relaxed and chilled day exploring parts of the country.
“Cyprus and everybody on the island, especially businesses, need our support and tourism due to ongoing situations abroad such as flights getting cancelled or people changing plans.
“It is very quiet and they are struggling.”
Christopher, who paid £46.98 for return flights, set off from Luton airport just after 7am, having quickly made it through security, and arrived in Paphos around 1.15pm.
Having planned ahead, Christopher headed straight to his pre-booked taxi, which he paid €120 (around £104) to take him to various places throughout the day.
His first stop was the harbour, where he was able to take in the seaside views as he updated his plan for the day after his initial itinerary changed.
He added: “I sat down listening to the waves crashing against the rocks while I made a new plan.
“As I had a taxi booked for the day I just had to say [I needed] to leave the middle part and [they could] pick me in the evening for the airport and I still paid him full fare as I felt bad.
“In the end it worked out well and meant that with my new plan I could be even more chilled and relaxed.”
Christopher was able to spend much of his day exploring the city, taking a walk along the seafront toward the lighthouse, viewing the castle and taking time to visit the local ruins.
He also managed to visit a local restaurant for a three course meal – with a view of a real Pelican walking around too.
However, the main event for Christopher was Puppy Yoga Retreat, a beach walk with rescue dogs he’d been researching before the trip.
He added: “I stumbled across the beach walk with rescue dogs so I thought ‘this is different’ and had a look at what it consists of and previous reviews.
“[It was] walking around the Paphos harbour which takes around one hour, and during this time you get to speak to the owner and founder Ines and Jasmine, who explained what the project is about, how the puppies are rescued and taken care of until they are re-homed either in Cyprus or abroad.”
Christopher was the only visitor for the walk – but he says it made the experience “more personal”, and allowed him to see the puppies, Hooper, Amy and Annie, thriving and hear about their stories.
He added: “The hour flew by and I felt good that I helped the puppies, even just a little bit, to adapt to the outside and get to know smells and the environment.
“This is one of the most enjoyable, exciting and amazing opportunities I’ve had and I was so glad I stumbled across this.”
Christopher says the walk was the “best part” of his trip.
He said: “Aside from that, just having a bit of sun and soaking in the culture of the place, enjoying some of the Cyprus food and seeing a live Pelican in a restaurant, all-in, the six hours was worth the travel for me and also seeing how friendly all the people were too.”
Christopher kept his trip as cheap as possible, and advises others to “make it as expensive or as cheap as you like” when planning extreme day trips.
He added: “The taxi was worth pre-booking as I didn’t need to worry about finding any during the trip, but this was still mainly cheaper than a day out in the UK, like theme parks or getting the train down from Manchester to London.”
Christopher took his pre-booked taxi back to the airport after spending six hours exploring Paphos, and was back in the UK by 1am the morning after he left.
Christopher regularly helps others plan their extreme day trips and has even organised group trips to places like the Churwalden Alpine coaster, Disneyland Paris, and even Marrakech, Morocco.
He added: “The Marrakech group trip is one of my favourite group trips I have done and it’s always a talking point among friends and families.
“When you tell them ‘oh I went to Africa for a day and we did quad bikes, exploring souks and gardens and taking in the culture’, [it] makes me proud when I get feedback like this.
“[It has] been one of the amazing things I have done or I wouldn’t have done this without the page.
“This is why I always say don’t let anyone say it’s impossible or crazy to do these trips as it changed my life and I would never have done all these countries without the page.”
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