After a year of unfinished business
5th February 20172016 turned out to be a dramatic year in world affairs and it was set to be a busy one for me too so I could have done without the other developments. That work looking after my late father’s affairs is tailing off into more of a steady state and I hope that things become more manageable as the year progresses. There even might be time for a sabbatical from my day job.
The way that I feel at the moment is that such a thing would be well needed and I fancy a period of rest after all the upheaval of the last few years. It has sapped my spirit so a spot of renewal is in order. Overseas trips became a way to tide myself until a longer break becomes a reality.
In 2016, I got to three new countries: Austria, Norway and Spain. With my visits to the first two of these taking the form of extended weekends, I left feeling that there was more to see. It usually is not a bad thing but an extra day or two added to each would have allowed a bit more exploration. My Spanish escapade took me to Mallorca between Christmas and New Year and that brought what the other trips did not bring. There was a feeling of leaving the cares of life after me that was much needed.
In a way, it worked too well and a cold that I had caught somewhere began to make its effects plain enough that the return journey had more than a little dash of limp home mode about it. It took a week or two before I finally recovered and some extra time away from work was in order.
Before that took hold, there was ample time in the near constant sunshine as I explored the island from my Palma base. Port de Pollença was my first port of call with a little strolling about the place. A day trip to Sóller allowed for a chance to sample part of the GR 221, a long distance trail extending along the Serra de Tramuntana. After that, there was a trot about Port d’Andratx that was supposed to take me to Saint Elm but granted me a view of the place instead when I failed to find the path needed to get me from one track to another. Given that I was feeling less than my full self, it was just as well. The last day of my trip saw me lazing about Palma next to its impressive cathedral, helping sightseers with photos when asked to do so. There was ample time during my stay to make photos of my own too.
Despite the fever, I got a lot from my time in Mallorca and it offered the feeling of satisfying and more complete explorations. It also did me another favour. During December, I fell into a search for closure that I do not understand fully and even walks around Macclesfield over the Christmas did little to dissipate the feeling. It probably was grief that hit me but going away somewhere else fractured that unwanted continuity.
December saw me return to the Lake District for a walk between Great Langdale and Grasmere on a crisp winter’s day. The dawdling along the way was restorative and taught me that such experiences can be readily available in Britain. There also was a amble between Burbage and Whaley Bridge that revisited the Goyt Valley. Being denied much in the way of sunshine was no irritation and it also offers encouragement for a return sometime.
There were other longer walks during the year too with one returning me home from Leek by way of the Roaches. Thinking about that now recalls how soothing a largely solitary saunter it was. Another took me along the White to Dark Trail between Tideswell and Hathersage.
Hopefully, 2017 will be an easier year for me and it is something of an open book in some ways. Aside maybe from a possible stay in Stockholm, overseas excursions no longer loom as large in my mind now. Scotland could see more of me than that short visit in November that took in Inverness and a rainy Plockton. A spot of mental clearance could see me plodding around England and Wales more often too. Ireland might even see a spot of much needed exploration and I also fancy a stay around Killarney. Given how heavy my spirit feels now, the more important job for the year could be to lift things again for me.
Northern introductions
2nd December 2016Since my last missive on here, I enjoyed a visit to Norway at the end of the August. Adding a day to a bank holiday weekend made time for the opportunity. An evening was spent strolling around Oslo in sunshine before I travelled to Bergen by train since it is classed as one of the premier scenic railway journeys in the world. While in Bergen, I explored a little of the city and its nearby hill country in behind showers of rain.
The latter had me travelling on the Fløyen funicular railway to get access to loftier vantage points and to get me down again after a hike that followed the coast until I gained some height on the way to Munkebotsvatnet before I followed a track as far as Storevatnet. By that point, my desire for a quieter route took me over boggier trails to go around by Rundemanden. These gave me the space that I so craved though cloud cover had interrupted the sunshine by then. Still, it proved to be a wonderful introduction to the place.
In fact, the brevity of my visit had me feeling that I over skimmed the surface of what could be savoured. A longer stay would have allowed for more walking and a cruise around fjords as well as fanning out to explore other pleasing spots like Vass. In this respect, I felt much like how I did on my trip to Austria earlier in the year.
That sense has its uses because it foments a return. That would be a longer visit that allows deeper exploration and might even have me sticking with a single base like Oslo, Bergen or Stavanger. It seems that Norway would reward a few more trips before even thinking about its renowned Arctic reaches like Lofoten and Tromsø.
In the meantime, I am adding an album to the photo gallery for the elongated weekend proved to be a productive one for photography. Even the spells of rain around Bergen did not stop me and I have plenty of experience of dealing with that kind of weather in Britain and Ireland. One of the more recent of those took me to then unfrequented corners of Scotland at the start of November.
There was an overnight trip on the Caledonian Sleeper for the first time in over five years. That took me to Inverness from where some rail rambling too place. An out and back trip to Plockton was the main event and it revealed another swathe of empty open countryside for me to be exploring. There was some time in Plockton for ogling sights like hills on the nearby Applecross peninsula between the rain and there even were some photo opportunities. That spoke for Saturday and Sunday dawned a duller affair so I pottered about the Ness islands before travelling to Aberdeen to take in sights of Moray countryside that were beset with sunshine and rain showers.
The weekend visit might have been short but it was both restorative and satisfactory. There was enough sun to do justice to scenic Scottish delights and the prospects for further exploration hardly were a cause for melancholy. Somehow, Scotland’s being nearer at hand lowered my sights at this turn and travelling there did not need the effort or expense of going overseas either. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Though we now are in the last month of the year, there is no shutdown yet. A British weekend away is being plotted as is a warmer overseas escape. Though there is a major life task to be completed in the next few months, I am starting to ponder 2017. Those plans will be loose though for life can take unexpected directions yet.
