Walks throughout Europe that can be completed in a day. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to locate the route.
I forget that it’s market day and we’re stuck in traffic crawling through the ancient walled town of Alcudia on ...
My first visit to Chamonix was in 1993 when I walked there from the shores of Lake Geneva doing a section ...
The ‘Bisses’ of the Valais region of Switzerland are long irrigation channels, many of them hundreds of years old, built ...
MacGillycuddy's Reeks may sound like a character out of a Roald Dahl book but is in fact an extensive mountain ...
I am back for a second attempt at walking up Puig del Vilar. My first, halfhearted and unprepared effort was ...
The walk over the Coll de Síller begins in the attractive tourist resort of Port de Pollença with its bars, ...
The Formentor peninsula is the rocky, volcanic spit of land that sticks out into the blue Mediterranean on the north ...
Of all the walks around Pollenca, the walk up Puig de Santuiri is perhaps not the most exciting one to ...
La Mola looks down onto the pretty seaside town of Cala sant Vicenc in the far north east of the ...
If you are a walker staying in the Pollenca area of Mallorca, the pretty walk along the valley de Boquer ...
We’ve been visiting Mallorca for decades. In the early days it was Santa Ponca in the South West but over ...
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My walks in the United States including Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to see the route.
Is a walk of less than a mile really a walk? That's maybe one for the philosophers but I'll go ...
“But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its wall seems to glow with life.” ...
Our campsite, just outside Moab, Utah is in the middle of the Colorado Plateau. The plateau varies between three to ...
The Arches National Park is like no place I have ever walked in before. Set high on the desert plateau ...
‘Don’t worry Mom, I know all about cannibalism, I saw it on TV’. Like Danny in The Shining, it’s all ...
Reading the news recently that there are now more redwoods in the U.K. than in California (read here) reminded me ...
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My walks in Canada including the rain forests of Vancouver Island and the Canadian Rockies. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to see the route.
The Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park is one of the newer national parks in British Columbia, being established in ...
Events elsewhere mean many Canadians are vacationing at home this year and it seems half of them have chosen to ...
When ‘Oyster’ Martin moved to Vancouver Island in the 1980’s he fell in love with the rugged landscape and rocky ...
The alarm goes at 6am and by ten past we are on the road, half awake and unwashed with the ...
It’s a six hour drive from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia on Vancouver Island to our campsite in Tofino ...
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The Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park is one of the newer national parks in British Columbia, being established in 2016. It’s a relatively small park with only a short hike around it and the walking is almost all along boardwalks that have been put in place to protect the delicate ecosystems from human feet. Some of the western red cedars in the forest are a thousand years old or more and the park is a rare example of inland temperate rainforest, an environment unique to North America. And who can resist a walk in a rainforest.
Continue reading “A walk in Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park”
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Events elsewhere mean many Canadians are vacationing at home this year and it seems half of them have chosen to visit Banff and Lake Louise at the same time as us. Consequently, I made sure to call at Lake Louise Ski Resort yesterday and secure our tickets for the 8.15am bus stopping at Moraine Lake first before going on to Lake Louise. This way we still get to see both of these extremely popular and beautiful lakes but can take our time at Lake Louise and walk the Lake Agnes Tea House Trail, a walk I’ve had my eye on for some time.
Continue reading “Moraine Lake and Lake Agnes Tea House Trail”
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When ‘Oyster’ Martin moved to Vancouver Island in the 1980’s he fell in love with the rugged landscape and rocky headlands of the west coast that he saw from his fishing boat each day and had a dream to create a trail along the coastline that could be accessed and enjoyed by all. Forty years later that vision has grown into the Wild Pacific Trail and today I’m walking the Lighthouse Loop section, which happens to be the first section that was completed back in 1999.
Continue reading “The Lighthouse Loop Trail – Vancouver Island”
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The alarm goes at 6am and by ten past we are on the road, half awake and unwashed with the bed still warm in the back of the van. All is quiet as we drive out of Lake Louise Campground through the sleepy town and out onto the Trans Canada One heading west. The sun is breaking through but clouds still cover the higher peaks and mist floats over the Bow river as we head up Kicking Horse Pass and back into British Columbia and Yoho National Park. The only other vehicles on the road are gigantic trucks, engines labouring up the incline.
Continue reading “A walk around Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park”
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It’s a six hour drive from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia on Vancouver Island to our campsite in Tofino and my nerves are tested on the narrow bendy bit of the Pacific Rim Highway beyond Port Alberni. I am after all, driving on the wrong side of the road and sitting on the wrong side of the vehicle. The journey passes without incident though and as we park up at Tsawaak RV campground a gossamer thin sea mist is drifting in from the ocean obscuring sight and muffling sound. The cold dampness on our skin is refreshing though after the heat of Vancouver and Victoria where temperatures were in the mid 30’c.
Continue reading “Walking the Tonquin Trail on Vancouver Island”
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The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!
Robert Burns
The best laid scheme of today was to finish our Tour du Mont Blanc on top of Le Brévent and then get the cable car down into Chamonix to celebrate. It started to go awry with the weather forecast of last night and was confirmed in the early hours when the storm rolled in, wind whistling through the gaps in the old wooden frames and rain sweeping across the panes.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Twelve – Refuge la Flégère to Chamonix”
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Today we have the third and final border crossing of our Tour du Mont Blanc when we say goodbye to the forests of Switzerland and cross back into France at Col de Balme. It’s a Grand Old Duke of York walking day, a long steep walk up followed by a long steep walk down. Hill walking pared down to its simplest form, you’re going up or you’re going down, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and don’t forget to breathe. The reward for all this effort is we’ll get our first sight of Mont Blanc from the French side and we’ll also see the Chamonix valley, the end of our journey for the first time.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Ten – Trient to Tre Le Champ”
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When we step outside to boot up for day nine of our Tour du Mont Blanc there are ominous dark clouds drifting through the valley. A blanket of grey covers the mountain tops and mist hangs ethereally around the pines surrounding Auberge Gîte Bon Abri. Just as we are about to start walking the heavens open and a torrential downpour sends us for cover under the giant gazebo in the grounds of the Auberge. It’s going to be one of those days.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Nine – Champex to Trient”
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For the last week we’ve been in the heart of the mountains. Walking along narrow rugged trails surrounded by snow topped pinnacled peaks with precipitous drops. We’ve gazed in awe at long serrated ridges with sprawling ice blue glaciers creeping down from the heights. It’s been a full on, exciting and immersive mountain experience. The contrast with today’s walk from La Fouly to Champex is stark, the mountains are replaced by meadows and the sound of cow bells replaces the roaring rivers. We will be walking next to the mountains, with glimpses of them but we will not be walking in them.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Eight – La Fouly to Champex”
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Today we will enter the third country on our walk around Mont Blanc. This country is a land of mountains, cuckoo clocks and precision timing, holey cheese, delicious chocolate and secretive bank accounts. And of course the Swiss Army knife, one of which I have in my rucksack. We cross into Switzerland over Grand Col Ferret. At 2532m (8,307ft) the col will also be the highest point we will reach on our walk as we’re following the regular Tour du Mont Blanc route without variants.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Seven – Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly”
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“The beauty of adventure is to dream of it, to give air to the imagination, then you also try to give substance to your dreams”.
Walter Bonatti
As I climb up the steep rise above Rifugio Bertone, the noonday sun is beating down, my lungs are busting and I am soaked in sweat. All this is forgotten however when I reach the grassy knoll above the Rifugio and am confronted by a sight of sublime magnificence. Across Val Ferret, so close it can almost be touched is the Mount Blanc massif. Once again, I am astounded by the majesty of this huge mountain range of jagged rock and ice. Its scale and beauty is difficult to describe. It is indescribable. And once again, a balcony path stretches ahead of me ensuring that I get to revel in its awesomeness for the rest of the day.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Six – Courmayeur to Rifugio Bonatti”
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The small village of Les Chapieux sits at the western most point of the Tour du Mont Blanc. Although it’s elevation is 1549m (5,082ft), far higher than any land in the U.K. it is surrounded on all sides by higher mountain ranges giving it a somewhat enclosed, protected feeling. It has a shop with attached pizzeria, two functional but not luxurious Auberges, a tourist information office and a large Aire de camping car.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Four – Les Chapieux to Rifugio Elisabetta”
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If day one of the Tour du Mont Blanc was an hors d’oeuvre and day two a starter, day three is the 16oz steak and chips. Today we finally enter the land of big mountains with two high cols, the Col du Bonhomme and the Col de La Croix Bonhomme to get over and one one iconic mountain hut, Refuge Col de La Croix Bonhomme to visit.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Three – Refuge de Nant Borrant to Les Chapeiux”
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The Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alps in general are perfect for hut to hut walking. In France they are generally called Refuges, in Italy Rifugios and in Switzerland Auberges. They are often located right in the heart of the mountains among the most spectacular scenery and provide you with dinner, breakfast and a bed for the night. They also have showers, of varying degrees of efficiency. Last nights was by means of a token, which gave me maybe fifty seconds of mildly warm water before stopping altogether whilst in mid soap. We shared a room with an older German couple, the lady spoke reasonable English, the man none, which matches the extent of my German.
Continue reading “Tour du Mont Blanc Day Two – Refuge du Fioux to Refuge de Nant Borrant”
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Introduction. I’m sitting in the bedroom at our bed and breakfast in St Bees the night before I set off to walk Wainwrights Coast to Coast walk for the second time. Wainwrights popular long distance walk goes from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hoods Bay on the North Sea, covering three National Parks and about 190 miles of some of the finest walking country in England. Twenty six years ago I was sat, not ten yards away from where I am now, in the building next door (now no longer a B&B but a private house) about to walk the Coast to Coast for the first time, with my mate Gary. Now, twenty six years later I am about to walk it again, this time with my daughter Gwen. Continue reading “Coast to Coast Walk – An Introduction”
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