Category Archives: Wales

Brecon Beacons: an hour’s trek to a frozen world

Posted on February 25, 2015 by BarryH

Monday and it was sleeting at home when I got up.  The Met Office forecast heavy showers of rain, sleet and maybe snow all day with temperatures rising to a maximum of 3oC.  I knew it might be snowing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Photography, Wales, Weather, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brecon Beacons: a frozen ridge-top walk

Posted on February 15, 2015 by BarryH

It has been grey and damp most days since I arrived home.  But not all.   A modest snowfall followed by a week of continuing low temperatures meant that when the sun was forecast to come out for a day I … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Photography, Pontypool, Wales, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

I was attacked by an airport: an unexpectedly wild walk

Posted on December 15, 2014 by BarryH

I did nothing to antagonise it.  Malevolence on its part is the only explanation.  That or ‘smart’ technology out of control.  Which is even more frightening. I was on my home from Greece in the latter part of October.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Grumpy Old Men, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 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 , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Symi: a trek to a time before Greece

Posted on August 21, 2014 by BarryH

It began when I was lying on a wall at Agios Nikolaos Stenou monastery on the top of the ridge between Nimborio Bay and the open channel which separates Symi and Greece from Turkey, the dividing line between Europe and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Symi: a trek into the past

Posted on August 6, 2014 by BarryH

I’m fascinated by deserted settlements.  They show the stark effects of seismic economic shifts, technological development, and climate change.  They can also show how people lived decades ago.  Whenever I am on Tilos I visit and write about the deserted … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Wales, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring in Wales and Greece

Posted on March 26, 2014 by BarryH

Sunday afternoon, 23 March and the sun was shining.  The sun has only put in the occasional appearance recently.  Heavy showers in the morning had cleared and blue sky beckoned.  One of the great benefits of living at the edge … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Pontypool, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz ……!

Posted on March 10, 2014 by BarryH

The well-known poem*, often attributed to New York prolific writer of comic verse Ogden Nash but made famous, in the UK at least, by Spike Milligan when he wasn’t walking backwards to Christmas, reflects the lightness of mood when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Health and humour, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Pontypool, Spring, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

…………. 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