Outdoor Discoveries

What originally was a news section for the rest of the website soon became a place for me to write about human-powered wanderings in the countryside. Photography inspires me to get out there, mostly on foot these days, though cycling got me started. Musings on the wider context of outdoor activity complete the picture, so I hope that there is something of interest in all that you find here. Thank you for coming!

Season of transformation

5th October 2022

It is too easy for me to think that autumn is my least favourite season but it is also the one when many transformations happen and when it is possible to think ahead to the next year. The hours of daylight are shorter so there is time to think about other things. Admittedly, the ongoing pandemic stalled any forward-thinking but these still were times of change. 2020 saw me begin to learn new computing languages while 2021 saw me embark on spiritual explorations. Both journeys are still ongoing.

2019 was the last year when thought could be given to a future even if that was devoted to continuing my freelance consulting business. Until that was more assured, I could not think too much about overseas journeying and then the pandemic intruded. A possible trip to Colorado became unthinkable in July 2020. Going to Vancouver, Canada in July of 2019 became a reality because of reading undertaken during the autumn of 2018. The next steps that I took in my career during 2018 were made possible by a career break that itself began in August 2017. The rest of that autumn was taken up with decompression and healing before I could do a rethink at the start of 2018. This necessity was brought about by fatigue after heavy work done at the latter end of 2016 to fulfil my late father’s will.

In between the more weighty matters of 2016, much thought was given to mid-winter sunshine escapades that took me to Mallorca in 2016 and Tenerife in 2018/9. It may be tempting to think that a year is done for when you get to its final quarter so that there is an overflow to the following year only for surprises to come. Thus, mid-winter walking trips to Arizona, Malta, Madeira or the Azores can be kept in mind should an opportunity arise.

For 2023, Scotland again offers multiple possibilities and North America also looms again after my watching Ken Burns’ monumental documentary film series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. While I probably was after the scenery that was shown, the series mainly was about the history of the National Parks and was just as fascinating for that. Learning about the efforts of John Muir and other actors was as intriguing as seeing the learning journey where lessons that we now take for granted had to be learned on the fly with no precedents for guidance. That the winter of 2017/8 saw me reading the works of John Muir only helped things to resonate with me. It also helped that there was enough scenic footage to restart dreams of Yosemite, Glacier and Rocky Mountain National Park visitations, to name but a few, and the soundtrack was as alluring as the footage.

All in all, I am rethinking my appraisal of autumn. It no longer might be a season of mourning the passing of summertime and springtime, or indeed the year itself, but could be a time of inner growth and expanding horizons. That is how it is starting to appear now. Work for 2022 continues with there being some asset downsizing in progress but time flows ever onward to bring whatever comes our way.

A year when an unwanted adventure arrived

31st December 2020

We live in a time when all sorts of activities are being sold as adventures. Even a day hike falls into scope for this yet I do not need such branding to make me take advantage of such a possibility. A day with good weather spent in the midst of hill country or along a scenic coastline will do the job for me equally as well. In fact, it has been sufficient sufficient for longer than I care to recall.

2020 has been full of those in spite of the threat that it brought our way. They may have been near home for much of the time so it is just as well that I can walk into nearby hills from the front door of my own house. Long circuits taking in Shining Tor, Cheshire’s county top, along with Croker Hill, Bosley Reservoir and a host of other nearby landmarks saw me begin a summer of longer walks.

Some took me back home from a starting point reached by public transport. These included such places as Buxton, Knutsford, Disley and Whaley Bridge with the second entry on that list being the longest of the lot. The weather was mainly fair too apart from the occasional wetting.

Getting a little braver took me a little further afield. For instance, there were tow long hikes between Leek and Buxton, something that lay in my ideas shelf for far too long. Day trips to Church Stretton in Shropshire and Llandudno in Conway became the limits of my perambulations for the year before a cold weather walk from Hayfield to Chapel-en-le-Frith bookended things and an autumn of lockdown, less enticing weather and an indoor learning project became my lot.

Still, good memories got made in spite of the pandemic and these even included visits to Sheffield that I am not enthused about doing at the timing of writing these words. The hills may have been smaller but the wandering got me away from humanity even if more found their local countryside this year than ever before.

While 2021 lies ahead of us, it is difficult to plan ahead right now. There has been an upsurge in the number of cases of COVID that needs to abate and it does feel that vaccination cannot happen fast enough. This may may the darkest hour before a new dawn but I plan to get to a brighter future before making too many plans.

Of course, we still can dream. This time last year, I was pondering which part of the U.S. to visit  during the summer months. After reading about the states of Washington, Oregon, Wyoming , Montana, Colorado, I settled on the last of these and that remains on the ideas shelf. The Azores are found on there as is the possibility of Madeira and locations nearer home appeal too.

Webinars from Wanderlust as well as the Adventure Travel Festival all fuelled my imagination though dreams of round the world motorcycle or walking trips remain out of the question. It remains good to hear the stories of other explorers’ exploits though and they help to brighten what has been a dark time for many of us.

My book reading continues in much the same vein as I sit out the necessary period of time that is needed for things to settle again. Patience is much required by those of us able to stay safe while we think of those not in such a fortunate position. Adventures can take their toll and this one certainly has so we only can await the prospect of happier ones should they come out way.

Going south in the wintertime

4th December 2016

There are some of us who normally do not crave warmer temperatures and I consider myself among those. My parents were much the same as is my brother and others who I know. With us, anything much above 20° C hardly is desired and triggers a kind of hibernation during heatwaves.

In my case, it also has meant that I often had headed north for summer getaways. Scotland has featured a lot, as much for its scenic delights as for the ability to leave my normal way of life after me for a while. In the last two years, it has become more obvious with my rejection of continental summer temperatures for the relative cool of Iceland and Norway. That walking is much of what I do for relaxation means that scorching temperatures are not so compatible anyway.

For alpine wanderings, I chose what I saw as shoulder seasons such as spring for Austria and autumn for Switzerland. Still, I still met up with temperatures in the mid to high twenties around Innsbruck yet I found, that by going higher, it was easy to escape these though cable car travel saves your sweating on the way uphill. It was a reminder that higher level alpine walking is a way of escaping heat as much as would going to the coast in more maritime localities.

In contrast, many heat lovers head south during the winter and there always is the southern hemisphere where they have their summer. In between, the milder winters of southern Europe suffices for those of us fancying a warmer escape from frosty weather that is not overly hot. In fact, such is the heat that some of those places get in summer that walking becomes a autumn, winter and springtime activity.

You might be tempted to think that applies to places like the Canary Islands, Madeira or the Azores but much of Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece is likewise. It may come as a surprise to some but places normally associated with sun, sand and sea have their delightful stretches of nearby hill country too. That makes them possibilities for for warmer winter walking getaways. Mallorca and Corsica may have fleshpot reputations but going elsewhere on those islands brings you to dramatic craggy terrain.

The same applies to the south of Portugal, Spain and Italy. There are places in the hills not far from the Algarve, the Costa Blanco and the Costa del Sol have a wilder and less developed feel. Winter is low season too so whatever hotels are open may give you better deals depending on when you go. It may feel odd to base yourself somewhere geared up for more sedentary or hedonistic pursuits when you are after more wholesome country walking but it can be made to work.

Coming a little further north, I even considered Catalonia, Tuscany and Umbria too as I surveyed places that I otherwise would not consider. Given the reputations of some and my need for restorative quieter breaks, that may not be such a surprise. With a different time of year, different needs can be fulfilled and year round popularity makes for simpler travel arrangements even in the off season too.