Category Archives: Nature

Greece: Kos I was there.

Posted on April 8, 2015 by BarryH

The plane landed at Kos airport just after 06.00. Rapidly through baggage reclaim and out into the fresh morning air after having been cooped up in airports and planes since 19.30 the previous evening. I declined to wait an hour … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, History, Nature, Photography, Spring | Tagged archaeology, Butterflies, Greece, Kos, marble, old agora, photography | 8 Comments

From Wales to Greece: preparations eclipsed

Posted on March 20, 2015 by BarryH

Wednesday and I was feeling pleased with myself. I finally got round to booking a flight to Greece. A bit of lateral thinking and I fly to Kos rather than Rhodes. The flight arrives on Rhodes after the Dodecanese Express … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Nature, Photography, Wales | Tagged Eclipse, ferries, Greece, photography, Wales | Leave a comment

From Grey Britain to Greek sunshine: looking forward

Posted on March 15, 2015 by BarryH

Into March now, in theory the beginning of spring. Despite the occasional day of sunshine it’s still mostly grey, wet and cold. Not much sign of the weather warming up significantly but my focus has shifted. I’ve reluctantly turned my … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged Crocuses, daffodils, flowers, Greece, Large Tortoiseshell, photography, spring, Wales, winter | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: walking slightly nervously on the wild side.

Posted on January 29, 2015 by BarryH

Almost at the end of my stay in Canada, on the last of my days off from skiing, I set out to trek along the Bow River to the Hoodoos, thin pinnacles eroded in soft sedimentary rock. It was 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alaskan Malmute, banff canada, Banff National Park, Bow Falls, Bow River, Canada, cougar, coyote, elk, Hoodoos, Hoodoos Trail, ice, photography, Rundle Mountain, trails, Tunnel Mountain, Tunnel Mountain Drive, wapiti, wildlife, wolf | 1 Comment

Canadian Rockies: Snowshoes and maple taffy

Posted on January 10, 2015 by BarryH

I have always loved walking in the snow despite having to put up with what I now know is Reynaud’s Phenomenon, painfully cold hands with ‘White Finger’ even in summer. I used to go walking in the Derbyshire Peak District … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged Banff National Park, British Columbia, Canada, canadian rockies, Derbyshire Peak District, Discover Banff Tours, Kootenay National Park, maple syrup, Maple Taffy, Marble Canyon, Parks Canada, snow, snowshoes, Tokumm Creek, Tokumm Creek fire | Leave a comment

Canadian Rockies: A very different walk

Posted on January 7, 2015 by BarryH

Warning: this is long and may get very boring The RCMP officer was polite but firm. I was on the wrong side of the tracks and I couldn’t cross. The road was closed and so was the trail which at … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Winter | Tagged 40 Mile Creek, Banff, Banff National Park, bears, Bow River, Canada, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific, canadian rockies, Christmas crazies, environmental monitoring, fly ash, long trains, Parks Canada, RCMP, skiing, train derailment | Leave a comment

Autumn gold in Old South Wales

Posted on December 1, 2014 by BarryH

You can’t live life looking to the past. After a few weeks under grey skies reminding myself of Symi summer sun it’s time to focus on the present and look to the future. The turning point was when yet another … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Wales | Tagged Abergavenny-Brecon Canal, Autumn gold, brecon beacons national park, Folly Tower, Holly, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, Scarlet Hood fungi, sunset, Wales | 2 Comments

Symi: imagining the past

Posted on November 23, 2014 by BarryH

As I recounted in the blog, in July I trekked via many distractions to the ridge-top Lappatoniou Castle on the western-most peninsula on Symi. Then in early in October I went back with friends who, after trial and error and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged agricultural enclosures, ancient pathways, archaeology, dragonflies, Flora, footpaths, Greece, historical remains, Lappatoniou Castle, Symi, threshing circles, wildlife | Leave a comment

Symi: back to a waterhole in the desert

Posted on November 10, 2014 by BarryH

During the summer on Symi and the other islands I visited, I went walking in the mountains every day. Since I have been home I have been out very little even though I live at the edge of the Brecon … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Pontypool, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged aquifers, biarum marmarisense, brecon beacons national park, dragonflies, goat paths, Greece, Green Toads, Gria, Horio, hornets, Pedi, Pedi Valley, ponds, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, rainfall, Red-veined Darter, Symi, Wales, water hole, water levels, windmills | 2 Comments

Symi: Wildlife safari.

Posted on October 18, 2014 by BarryH

The searing heat of summer on The Hot Rock has passed. Life is beginning to emerge again from the crisp remains of the scorched landscape. Trekking in the mountains reveals more every day as plants and animals emerge from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged autumn, autumn crocus, biarum marmarisense, Coin-marked snake, Greece, Symi, The Hot Rock, tortoise | 3 Comments