Tag Archives: hiking

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

A Really Wild Walk.

Posted on November 3, 2013 by BarryH

Saturday and the weather forecast for the end of the afternoon was for winds in this corner of South Wales comparable with those of St Jude Storm last weekend, wind speeds of 25 mph with gusts double that and heavy … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales | Tagged brecon beacons national park, hiking, horizontal rain, Mynydd Garn Wen, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, trekking, wild wind | 1 Comment

Symi: history and the backbone of the island

Posted on October 24, 2013 by BarryH

Warning: This is a long walk ………. and it’s a long blog. Long, somewhat strenuous but not technically difficult, is the rewarding trek up to the main ridge on Symi and then along the spine of the island to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Byzantine Stone Wine Presses, frescoes, Greece, heritage, hiking, kaldarimi, Megalos Sotiris, Ottoman Empire, Panagia Panaidhi, polar bear, sponge diving, Stavros Polemou, Symi, trekking, viniculture, walking guides, walks | 1 Comment

Symi: a gorgeous walk

Posted on October 12, 2013 by BarryH

Normally I’m obsessive about tidying up behind me. Food shopping gets put in the cupboard or fridge as soon as I walk in through the door. Clothes get folded or hung as I take them off. But I hate unpacking … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Agia Paraskevi, Agios Vasilios, dehydration, gorges, Greece, hiking, kalderimi, rock climbing, Symi, trekking, unpacking, Vasilios Gorge, walking guides, walks | 4 Comments

Symi: going off-piste

Posted on October 2, 2013 by BarryH

The top of Vigla, the highest mountain on Symi, is always a little disappointing. There is a whole array of telecommunication masts on the adjoining peak, with a road for their construction and maintenance bulldozed on the south side. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged abandoned village, Aegean Sea, crags, goat paths, Greece, hiking, limestone crags, off-piste, Pedi Bay, rocks, rocky gullies, swimming, Symi, Symi harbour, treks, Vigla | Leave a comment

Greece: more high speed island hopping

Posted on September 28, 2013 by BarryH

Now that inter-island travel is both more rapid and more reliable it’s a viable option to hop from island to island for brief visits and sometimes when moving on it’s possible to make connexions without an overnight stay where there … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged archaeology, Crusader castle, ferries, footpaths, Greece, Greek Islands, hiking, Kalymnos, Kos, minarets, mosaics, Nisyros, Profitis Ilias Kalymnos, rock partridges, Symi, treks | Leave a comment

Nisyros: probably the most dramatic walk in the Aegean

Posted on September 22, 2013 by BarryH

I kid you not, this walk/trek/hike takes some beating. But it’s not a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park. Some short sections are loose scree, route-finding can be difficult, it’s sustained, and it’s wiltingly hot in summer. However, it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged footpaths, fumaroles, Greece, hiking, history, lava, lava bubbles, lava pinnacles, Nisyros, seismic activity, seismic fissures, sulphur, trekking, Volcano, walks | 3 Comments

Nisyros: on the lava trail

Posted on August 29, 2013 by BarryH

Nisyros is a volcano, classed as ‘potentially active’, and it is therefore not surprising that its rocks are entirely volcanic in origin. Perhaps most dramatic are the lavas. After a couple of days re-acclimatising to the heat I put together … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged agricultural terraces, caldera, caldera rim, Emborios, footpaths, Greece, hiking, holly oak, lava, lava bubble, lava pinnacle, lava pinnacles, lava trail, Medieval fortress, Nikia, Nisyros, Oros Diavatis, Parletia, Stephanos crater, trekking, Volcano | Leave a comment

Greece: Rhodes, Tilos, Nisyros, high speed island hopping

Posted on August 23, 2013 by BarryH

Wednesday morning and my daughter delivered me to Manchester Airport at 06.15 en route to an hour’s skiing in the Chill Factory. How bizarre a beginning to a day is that!!! Given that she was going to minus 2 degrees … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged airports, bouzoukia, bus, dodecanese islands, english channel crossings, ferries, Greece, Greek Islands, Greek music, hiking, island hopping, Nisyros, Rhodes, skiing, snakes, swallows, taxi, Tilos | 1 Comment

Tilos: a walk beyond the fringe.

Posted on August 5, 2013 by BarryH

Once a week there is the opportunity to do a walk on Tilos which I have intended but not got round to doing for a number of years. It’s a truly ‘wild walk’ from Agios Pandeleimon, the large monastery dedicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Agios Pandeleimon, bus journey, Eristos Beach, footpaths, freshwater springs, goat paths, hiking, isolation, rocks, swimming, Tilos, trekking | Leave a comment