Category Archives: Mountains

Symi: not-so-wild walks

Posted on April 27, 2016 by BarryH

Well, I made it to Symi. At first the weather was great, sunny with temperatures mid to high twenties. One day it dropped to a chilly low twenties with heavy overnight rain depositing half of the Sahara on the island. … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Spring | Tagged bush legumes, cornflower, cyclamen, Dragon Arums, Flora, Greece, hollyhock, Pedi, Pedi Bay, razor limestone, spring flowers, Symi, Symi harbour, Yialos | 2 Comments

Wales and Greece: life on the wild side

Posted on April 7, 2016 by BarryH

I first became fascinated by birds of prey when I was a research student and lived with friends in a tiny former lead-mining village in the mountains inland of Aberystwyth. The closest house was about half a mile away. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Aegina, bird calls, Bonelli's eagles, brecon beacons national park, Buzzard, Eleonora's Falcon, Golden Eagle, Greece, Imperial Eagle, kestrel, Little Owl, Mid Wales, Nisyros, ornithology, paragliding, photography, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Symi, The Mani, Tilos, trekking, Wales | 1 Comment

Banff, Canadian Rockies: last trek, early bath

Posted on February 19, 2016 by BarryH

The shoulder injury I wrote about in my last blog post did not respond to treatment anywhere near as quickly as hoped so regrettably I went for the early bath and flew home. I guess the body heals more slowly … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged animal tracks, Banff, Bow River, Canada, canadian rockies, Cave and Basin, ice, Mount Bourgeau, Mount Edith, Mount Rundle, powder snow, snow, snowshoes, thermal springs, wolves | 2 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: snow fabulous, snow fool like an old fool

Posted on February 8, 2016 by BarryH

I learnt years ago from white-water and sea kayaking that the most likely time to capsize, become a cropper, was on the flat bit of river after the difficult rapid or waterfall or in the shallows after getting through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Photography, Uncategorized, Winter | Tagged AC joint separation, Canada, canadian rockies, dislocated shoulder, feague, Greece, Horologicon, Lake Louise, lost words, Mark Forsythe, mountains, photography, Sea kayaking, skiing, snow, Sunshine Ski Area, Sunshine Village, uhtceare, white water kayaking | 2 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: snow good, I’ve got to go back

Posted on January 28, 2016 by BarryH

At the end of my last post on the blog I wrote: ”It is this extra dimension to winter in the Rockies which makes Banff unique, which makes me want to return”. I didn’t realise then how soon. I flew … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Photography, Weather | Tagged banff canada, Canada, canadian rockies, Cave and Basin, Grey Britain, hoar frost, Lake Louise, mountains, photography, snow, Storm Jonas, Sunshine Village, winter | 3 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: a walk on the lake

Posted on January 14, 2016 by BarryH

On one of my days-off from skiing I fastened snowshoes on my pack and headed out northwards from Banff along the Bow River, then along its tributary Echo Creek, crossed the Trans Canada Railway at the point where a Canadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Canada, canadian rockies, Cascade Mountain, elk, frozen lakes, ice, ice crystals, Rundle Montain, snowshoeing, Vermilion Lakes, wapiti | 2 Comments

Banff, Canadian Rockies: climate contrast

Posted on January 3, 2016 by BarryH

Completing my blog posts about the summer in the Greek islands I wrote about Kalymnos that it was: “only a short stay but a good way to round off the summer and pause for thought before heading for the Canadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Photography, Uncategorized, Weather, Winter | Tagged Banff, Bow River, Canada, climate, Grey Britain, Mount Rundle, photography, skating pond, skiing, snow, trekking, Tunnel Mountain, weather | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: A White Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2015 by BarryH

A bit of a contrast from Greece. In the Canadian Rockies, in the ski resorts near Banff temperatures dropping to minus mid-twenties overnight, highs of minus 15 in the afternoon. More to follow but in the meantime ….. Happy Christmas … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Photography, Weather, Winter | Tagged Banff Alberta, Canada, canadian rockies, Happy Christmas, skiing, snow, sun dog, winter | 1 Comment

Kalymnos: peace and tranquillity at the end of summer

Posted on December 14, 2015 by BarryH

I finished my summer in Greece with a short stay on Kalymnos. Its population of 16,000, making it the third most populous island in the Dodecanese group after Rhodes and Kos, is considerably increased in the summer by tourists. However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, new technology, Photography | Tagged autumn crocus, broadband, castles, Emborios, flowers, Greece, hiking, Hora, Kalymnos, Kastri, nature, photography, rock climbing, Symi | Leave a comment

Greece by bus

Posted on November 26, 2015 by BarryH

After years of hopping around the Greek islands I decided in 2012 that it was time to take a look at the mainland. By bus. Interest sparked by reading ‘The Mani’ by WW2 hero Patrick Leigh Fermor, made the wild, … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Wildlife | Tagged books, Greece, Greece by bus, Meteora, photography, The Mani, travel by bus, writing | 5 Comments