Author Archives: BarryH

Canadian Rockies: to the Top of the World

Posted on January 19, 2014 by BarryH

Whichever island I visit in Greece I always aim to climb the highest mountain.  I have written about going to the ‘top of the world’ on Nisyros, Symi, Tilos, Hydra, Karpathos ……… .  Generally they are not very high in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunshine Coast in the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 17, 2014 by BarryH

The sleep I was looking forward to when I finally arrived in Banff wasn’t refreshing.  I had temporarily forgotten that sleeping at altitude (albeit only 1400 metres) messes with my sleeping pattern.  The lapse of memory was only short lived.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Time plays with the mind: the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 16, 2014 by BarryH

It’s 23.30 Rocky Mountain Time, 06.30 GMT and 08.30 in Greece.  After 30 hours without sleep I’m now in Banff and ready to go to bed, the first time before midnight for years.  But then it’s another midnight not the … Continue reading →

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…………. at least I had mown the lawn

Posted on January 12, 2014 by BarryH

The weather in my neck of the woods, indeed throughout the UK, has been crazy.  With the exception of a very occasional overnight dive to near zero with accompanying ground frost, temperatures have continued above freezing for weeks, sometimes hitting … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A grey start to the year

Posted on January 6, 2014 by BarryH

I don’t believe in omens.  The fact that the new year continues grey, wet and windy may be a sign, but if it is, it’s a sign of global climate change and of shifting ocean currents and the jet stream … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

New Year’s Day: Just a walking in the rain ………….

Posted on January 2, 2014 by BarryH

Wednesday was the wettest day of the year.  Admittedly it was the first day of the year so not a lot to compare it with but if many of the remaining 364 days match up to the amount of rainfall … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An alternative Boxing Day

Posted on December 28, 2013 by BarryH

From the top of Garn Wen on Christmas Day I could see not only a cap of snow on the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain near Abergavenny but also to the north west a snow covered ridge in the … Continue reading →

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An alternative Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2013 by BarryH

I don’t enjoy Christmas.  This year I was looking forward to it less than usual until I decided to do the unthinkable.  Spend Christmas Day on my own.  It’s a quirk of the human psyche that the things we choose … Continue reading →

Posted in Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brief gaps in the clouds: Seasons Greetings

Posted on December 24, 2013 by BarryH

With the weather largely grey and wet, expected to be an increasingly typical manifestation of climate change in northern Europe, combined with preparations for Christmas and meeting up with friends before I head off on my travels again, there has … Continue reading →

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Trek tech: technology and mountain walking

Posted on December 18, 2013 by BarryH

I’m no techno-geek but nor am I a Luddite. Decades ago in the office where I worked, I was one of the first to embrace word processing, the first below director level to have a corporate e-mail address and correspond … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, Mountains, new technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment