Category Archives: Winter

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 →

Posted in Grey Britain, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, crepuscular rays, Pontypool Folly Tower, Pontypool Park, Pontypool Shell Grotto, storm damage, sunrise | Leave a comment

Independence, risk and narrow escapes.

Posted on November 7, 2013 by BarryH

I was brought up in an area of Salford near Manchester described in a book by Robert Roberts called ‘The Classic Slum’, an appellation coined for it in the mid 19th Century by Friedrich Engels who had interests in cotton … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Banff, canadian rockies, Classic Slum, Derbyshire Peak District, Friedrich Engels, hiking, narrow escapes, Peak District, potential dangers, providence of God, risk, risk assessment, Robert Roberts, snow, Sundance Canyon, teenager, trekking, walking | Leave a comment

Welsh Winter Walking: reflections on pioneering

Posted on April 5, 2013 by BarryH

Some years ago I was making tired but still rapid progress between High Spy and Catbells, the final leg of a non-stop 7-hour walk in the Lake District from Langdale to Keswick on the side of Derwent Water (for aficionados, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mountains, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, British Summer Time, Catbells, Coity Mountain, Exposure, first tracks, Garn Lakes, High Spy, Lake District, Maiden Moor, pioneering, snow, snow conditions, snow drifts, south wales coalfield | Leave a comment

Welsh Winter Walking: effects of Spring deferred

Posted on April 1, 2013 by BarryH

With overnight temperature yet again down to minus 4oC and afternoon highs still well short of double figures, the last day of March, Easter Sunday and, coincidentally, the first day of British Summer Time saw no real signs of Spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Mountains, Pontypool, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, Bristol Channel, Easter Sunday, midday sun, Mynydd Varteg, newborn lambs, snow, snow drifts, spring, winter, winter gloom, winter walking | Leave a comment

Welsh Winter Walking: Forward planning and contingencies

Posted on March 28, 2013 by BarryH

Sometimes things just don’t turn out as planned. Wednesday I had a day free of commitments so planned to take a bus up to the watershed between two of the South Wales valleys and walk back home via a couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, buses, contingency planning, forward planning, hiking, ice, icicles, Pontypool, snow, snow drifts, Wales, walking, winter walking | 1 Comment

Spring surprise

Posted on March 24, 2013 by BarryH

After dismal weather since I got back from Canada my plans for summer travels in Greece are starting to take shape. Flights booked and looking forward to Easter on Kalymnos, then another trip by bus and train from Athens around … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Mountains, Pontypool, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged daffodils, equinox, Pontypool Folly Tower, siskins, snow, snowing on the mountain, spring, trees, winter | 1 Comment

Thirty minutes on top of a mountain: a duvet day

Posted on March 12, 2013 by BarryH

The day started very grey and minus 2oC so I did the ball-achingly boring chores which are repetitively necessary in the house – cleaning the loo, clearing the detritus in the kitchen, hoovering the hall …… But not for long. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mountains, Pontypool, Winter | Tagged chill factor, cold winter winds, duvets, Garn Wen, Pontypool, snow, snow clouds, snow storm, winter | Leave a comment

Vancouver on a sunny Sunday in February

Posted on February 12, 2013 by BarryH

A month skiing in the Rockies is at an end. My visit to Canada is nearly at an end. I had heard so many good things about Vancouver that I decided to spend a few days in the city before … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Canada, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Anglican church, Athens, Atthens, Burrard Street Bridge, church, False Creek, Granville Island, Granville Street Bridge, Inuckshuck, mountains, Pacific Ocean, scuplture, sea, Skytrain, sunrise, sunset, The Seawall, tower blocks, underground transit, Vancouver | Leave a comment

Whistler in brief

Posted on February 11, 2013 by BarryH

Whistler is very different from Banff in many respects. It has a resident population of 10,500 compared with Banff’s 7,500 yet styles itself a village and nurtures that image. Banff retains the character of a ‘frontier’ town, a place which … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Brew Pub, First Nation, lights, Olympic Square, ski runs, skiing, street art, The Stroll, Whistler | 1 Comment

Given the bird

Posted on February 9, 2013 by BarryH

Skiing finished now. I survived relatively intact. Tomorrow I’ll post impressions of Whistler but this is just a very brief note to correct a mistake In the last post on the blog I included photos of a bird which I … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged birds, Blackcomb Mountain, Clark's Nutcracker, mountain restaurants, outdoors, Whistler | Leave a comment