Why be like the other sheep?
A gorgeous evening walk by the beach in Dorset from Bournemouth to Sandbanks
I’d been in Bournemouth for the best part of a week attending a conference and now, as it was Easter weekend, I was about to head a few miles further west along the coast to Poole to have a few days’ holiday with a friend. First though, there was something I wanted to do.
I wanted to walk along the seafront from Bournemouth to Sandbanks.
Continue reading “An Evening Wander from Bournemouth to Sandbanks”
Graemsay was the last inhabited island (with a ferry link) I had left to visit in Orkney and Shetland. I was lucky to get a perfect day for it and ended up feeling I had managed to save the best till last. This is how I spent my day exploring Graemsay Orkney and I really recommend you do the same if you’re ever in Orkney.
Have you ever heard of Graemsay? If I was a gambling woman I’d put good money down to bet that the majority of you hadn’t.
It’s such a gem of an island, especially on a sunny day, that if it were further south or more easily accessible there would be hordes of people visiting.
As it is, it’s a tiny island off the coast of Mainland Orkney, which itself is an island off the very north coast of Scotland. Continue reading “Exploring Graemsay – A Perfect Day on a Perfect Island”
I didn’t get time to explore Wadi Shab fully, but the bit I saw makes me want to prioritise a revisit next time I’m in Oman. However, there are some things I need to do first. Like improve my swimming.
A Wadi is a dry riverbed that in times of rain can quickly become flooded and inaccessible. As it doesn’t rain very often in Oman this is unlikely to be a problem if you want to visit. However, if it has rained do take advice before visiting.
Wadi Shab is about 90 mins drive from Muscat on the road to Sur. The entrance is spoilt by the modern highway bridge that straddles the two sides, but it doesn’t take long to lose sight of it once you start walking into the gorge. Continue reading “Wadi Shab – A Spectacular Gorge Walk in Oman”
A sunny day provided the perfect opportunity for walking to Fethaland – the remote northern point of Shetland Mainland.
Fethaland is one of those ends of the earth places.
It’s at the northernmost tip of Mainland in Shetland (Mainland is the name of the main island in the archipelago), miles from anywhere. You drive (there’s no public transport) along narrow single-track roads, winding along the coast until you come to Isbister. Then you walk. Continue reading “Walking to Fethaland”
A rather long-winded explanation for why I’m walking the Camino de Santiago this summer.
Some walking trails jump out at me and demand that I walk them. (I’m thinking of you Kungsleden!). Others, not so much.
The Camino de Santiago is one of those not so much ones.
The scenery looks stunning (I’ve driven over the Pyrenees and would love to see them more slowly) and the tales of camaraderie sound like something not to be missed.
So why has it never really appealed? Continue reading “Preparing to be a Practical Pilgrim”
This walk was great for introducing a seven year old to the Peak District.
I had a friend and her seven year old son stay with me for a few days over half term. In the past this friend and I have enjoyed some wonderful walks in the Peak District and now her son is getting a bit older we decided it was time we got out there again and introduced him to the delights of the Peaks. Continue reading “Monsal Head – A Circular Walk”
Photographs from the final section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
This week’s Friday Flickr album has the photos from the final stage of my Kungsleden hike. On this section I stayed in huts for the first time and experienced my best ever sauna. I was also hit with the worst weather I’d experienced on the trail since starting in Abisko two years ago, though from my photos you wouldn’t guess this as there are plenty of blue skies on show.
The total Kungsleden is around 440km (depending on which source you read). This section is 78km long.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. Would I go back and do it again? No. But only because there are so many other places I want to see.
Click on the image below to access the Flickr album.
The Kungsleden is a trail that begins in Abisko above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden and finishes 440km later in Hemavan.
It is divided into five parts with the breaks in the sections falling where there is a road and access to public transport.
Although most people walk one or two sections, there are plenty who walk the whole path in one go. I’ve met people walking the whole way in as a little as two weeks (my mind boggles at this), but most take at least a month.
Even if you’re only walking one section you are going to have to think about what food to take with you. Continue reading “Food to Pack for the Kungsleden”
Photographs from the fourth and penultimate section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
This week’s Friday Flickr is an album of photographs I took whilst walking the fourth section of the Kungsleden this summer. I’d walked the first two parts of the trail two years ago and had returned to finish it.
Last week’s Friday Flickr shows the first part of this year’s walk (the third section of the trial) and this week’s is the continuation from Jäkkvik (pop = 90), where I stayed in the village for a couple of nights, to Ammarnäs (pop = either 95 or 250 depending which source you believe).
This section is one of the quieter sections as, apart from the small village of Adolfström with its one shop, there isn’t anywhere to buy food along the way. There are a few STF huts, but as these are not manned, staying in them means arranging to borrow a key before setting off.
I spent about 10 days walking this section camping along the way.
To access the Flickr album click on the image below.
Photographs from the Kvikkjokk to Jäkkvik section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
Before I left for Sweden I wanted to set up enough Friday Flickr posts to cover my time away, so I’d at least have something appearing on my blog whilst I was sans-Wifi. Of course that didn’t happen due to some weird Flickr downtime in the UK. Thankfully everything seems to be up and working again now and so here is the first of my latest batch of Friday Flickrs.
Of course, this week’s Friday Flickr has to feature the Kungsleden.
Two years ago I walked the first two sections of this epic trail in the far north of Sweden. I was determined then to get back to finish it and this summer I got the opportunity.
This week’s Friday Flickr features photographs from the third section (the first section I walked this year) which runs from Kvikkjokk to Jäkkvik. This is one of the least walked parts as it’s on this section hikers need to be completely self-sufficient as there is nowhere to buy food along the way. Also as there are no STF huts on this section it means as well as carrying plenty of food, you also have to carry camping and cooking gear.
Most people walk it in 7 or 8 days. I walk slowly. I had a VERY heavy backpack. I knew that I’ll probably never be back here and I wanted to have time to give it the appreciation it deserves.
I spent 13 days walking just this section.
I forgot about everything that was happening in the world outside and focused on my bit of wilderness. I breathed, I relaxed, I slept, I reflected, I daydreamed, I wrote, I read, I walked. And walked. And walked some more.
I was glad when it was finished and happy to arrive in Jäkkvik, but at the same time I had a feeling of sadness that it was over and didn’t want it to end. As I got close to Jäkkvik, I sat on a rock enjoying the sunshine and gazed at the lake. I felt I’d really achieved something – I’d walked across the line of the Arctic Circle and I’d rowed across a lake for the first time. But most of all I’d proved to myself I could survive in the wilderness supported by only that which I could carry on my back.
I mentally high-fived myself, stood up and walked the last half kilometre into Jakkvik.
To access the Flickr album click on the image below.
