Second day of our little Peak District excursion. Started off as a nice frosty morning but by the time we met with UF for a walk around Burbage Rocks, we were in deep thick clouds.
We walked along Millstone Edge and past Over Owler Tor and saw nothing. We decided to skip Carl Wark as it didn’t seem worth the trouble in swirling fog.
We decided to have an early lunch on Higger Tor. While we brewed up the wind picked up a bit and seemed to clear the fog. We were treated to some views across the broad valley of Burbage Brook and Burbage Rocks.
By the time we set off the weather had improved markedly. There was even some watery sunshine.
Looking back to Higger Tor and Carl Wark.
As it was now quite cold and windy we decided to stay low and head down the path alongside Burbage Brook.
None of us had ever walked along by the river so thought it would make a pleasant – and warmer – change.
Heading down the muddy path (all paths are muddy these days) down to the river.
An inspired decision as its really rather lovely down by the river.
Lots of of small cascades and green swathes of turf. Most unlike the Dark Peak.
Its always fun to follow a river, small or large.
Apart from a few sections of squelching bog and mud – some of which required some delicate moves and hanging from fences to bypass, it was an excellent walk.
Th weather continued to improve as we walked. Some very decent views back to Higger Tor.
The lower part of the valley towards Burbage Bridge
A lovely little bridge near the main track.
Carl Wark and Higger Tor (and blue sky!)
From an extremely gloomy start it had turned into a really fine afternoon.
We crossed the main road and followed the Burbage Brook back towards the van.
Some lovely winter shots dark clouds and low angled sunlight.
As ever, dodging the slimy mud was the biggest challenge.
I used to love walking this stretch when we lived in Derbyshire many years ago. The path runs right next to the river through a delightful meadow studded with trees.
We reached the van and decided on brew and cake before the long journey home.
We even had time for a quick wander back out to Millstone Edge – this time we had the view!
Another fine weekend away in the Peak District – really enjoying re-acquainting myself with the area over the past couple of years.
After all that blue sky, sunshine and snow in the Alps, we had a burst of winter in the UK. Not what I had in mind though. I was up in Yorkshire for a van service and we’d decided to stay over for the weekend in the Peak District. While waiting for the Service it started snowing quite heavily. It didn’t look too bad so I set off for the drive from Barnsley to Castleton. A distance of 27 miles that should have taken less than an hour took me over 3 hours and many more miles trying to avoid the highest roads and some awful traffic. We really don’t cope with snow in the UK at all!
I had a calm down evening in the van and a day working in the van. TBF joined me and we had a nice meal out in one of Castleton’s many fine pubs. We’d arranged to meet some friends for a walk on the Saturday. Everything was plastered white on Thursday into Friday but by the time we set off for a walk it had pretty much all melted.
We had a walk planned along the Pennine Way, up to Jacobs Ladder and back along the southern edges of Kinder.
The forecast was for it to brighten a little as the day went on and there were signs of promise on an albeit grey and damp day.
When you’re meeting friends you don’t see all that often, the weather doesn’t matter so much. Its great just to walk and have a natter.
On the path from Upper Booth.
Approaching Jacobs Ladder.
The small bridge at the bottom of Jacobs Ladder is a lovely spot even on a grey winters day.
Top place for a lunch stop.
TBF and J wanted to take a lower level route back so me, EWO and TYG carried on up to the plateau. Here approaching Edale Rocks.
The earlier promise of better weather was ill-forecasted and we spent most of the rest of the day in the cloud with regular showers of cold rain.
The many boulders and rocky outcrops maintained the interest though.
The look quite atmospheric in the swirling clouds.
And we did have a few fleeting views of the Edale valley below.
I’d forgotten just how much rock there is up here and how impressive they are.
Its been over 20 years since I’ve walked up here so I was a little disappointed the weather wasn’t better.
Grindsbrook Clough is always impressive though.
We had thought of pushing on round to Ringing Roger but another bout of rain and a pressing engagement with the curry house in Hathersage forced our hand.
We descended Golden Clough. If you are thinking of using this as a quick and easy route down to Edale village then my advice is – don’t. Its steep, muddy, overgrown and the path on the map barely exists.
Still a great day out, nice to meet up with friends and finsihed off in style with a superb curry.
Let me put some blue sky and snow into your life in the middle of the endless wet spell that is the UKs weather at the moment.
My annual ski trip to the Three Valley’s in the French Alps.
Off to a good start with nice clear views over the UK from the flight to Geneva, here looking over Birmingham.
South Coast of England and the Isle of Wight.
Lake Geneva and the Jura. I don’t think I’ve ever landed at Geneva from this direction before. Luckily our pilot didn’t make the same mistake as en Easyjet pilot a few weeks earlier when he had to abort his landing after being told by Air Traffic Control that he was far too low and close to the water!
I like this shot as I managed to get the shadow of the plane on the ground below.
Our now regular stop off in Annecy for lunch.
Warm enough to dispense with a jacket and it rained for most of the drive to the resort and was still raining at 1800m when we arrived, never a good thing in a ski resort as it turns the snow to wet mush which then freezes bone hard overnight.
First ski day was beautiful though.
Snow low down was icy as hell but up top it was still in good shape. This was top of our favourite long run down to St Martin de Belleville.
Eating is of equal importance to skiing on these trips. The slightly warmer weather, while not great for snow conditions does mean you can eat outside in the sunshine.
Sun sets on our first day.
Mont Blanc towering over the rest of the Alps.
Like last year it was a week with nothing in the way of fresh snow but plenty of sunshine by way of compensation.
As the years go by I find skiing in fresh powder tougher on the legs so I don’t miss it all that much. Just being out in the sunshine and clear air is more than enough for me.
Another of our favourite lunch stops with a fine sunny terrace overlooking the slopes.
THO and MM at the end of another day’s skiing.
One of my favourite end of day views as the sun casts shadows on the mountains.
We had a couple of gorgeous mornings with pink skies.
These are taken from the apartment balcony.
A new find for lunch – a fantastic burger place on the slopes with another sunny terrace.
Evening sunset.
Taken from a walk up the hill to do some shopping.
I say shopping but it was a lame excuse to head to our much frequented little local bar for a couple of early evening beers.
The Minchin brothers.
The view from the top of the slopes before we head down to the apartment at the end of the day
And yet another food consumption photo!
The slopes of Val Thorens, one of Europes highest ski resorts.
MM, THO and the Aiguille du Peclet.
THO and Mont Vallon.
More eating!
After which we did actually do a little skiing!
On our last day we stopped off at the top to admire the views before the final run down. As the lifts stop running and everyone heads home its a beautiful and peaceful spot. We stayed for half an hour and would have stayed longer but the lift attendants make you ski down before it gets dark for safety reasons.
It was a great way to finish the trip and the first time we’ve ever done it. I think we’ll be doing this more often in future.
A nice, clear sunny day for our flight home. A view of the CERN complex especially for the Prof.
Back to the endless grey skies of the UK winter and a chance for an overnight in the van.
Back out to the wilds of mid-Wales and the hills around the Nant-y-Moch reservoir.
We parked up in decent spot with a view across the lake, had a spot of lunch and then headed out for awander.
Last time we walked around here we were in the cloud the entire time so it was nice to see it it in all its austere glory.
Our objective (well, primarily mine actually) was this small hill, Disgwylfa Fawr, a Marilyn missing from my collection.
Once we left the main track I’d feared we were in for a serious bout of tussock and bog bashing, in fact we found a decent sheep track on to the flanks of the hills and very little sogginess.
Views over the collection of small lakes towards the coast from the top.
We took a more off piste route back to the van. Something of a gamble in these parts especially with fading light.
With some judicious use of small ridges we avoided most of the tussocks and again it seemed mostly dry.
Looking back to Disgwylfa Fawr.
Nant y Moch reservoir.
And the final stretch down to the van parked up below.
A nice little stroll over some little walked terrain but I quite like it round these parts.
We settled in for a pleasant evening, a nice meal and a couple of beers for me.
Next morning was glorious when we awoke with a light frost.
Beautiful early morning pink skies and a mirror calm lake with reflections.
Its a lovely spot by the reservoir and we were enjoying our good fortune for such a splendid morning.
Until within a few minutes of these images it started raining and stayed wet for a good part of the rest of the day.
Still keen for a bit of walk we drove over to a car park at The Arch near Devils Bridge.
It was actually a pretty miserable and dreary trudge, out and back on a seemingly endless forest track. Just the occasional view over the steep valleys below the forest.
These wind turbines loomed out of the mist with their eerie sound as they turn.
And we eventually reached our/my goal of another un-ticked Marilyn and Nuttall, Pen y Garn, in a sleet shower. Its the highest point in this part of Wales but on a day like this a grim achievement.
We headed back to the van and unsurprisingly the rain stopped and the sun came out weakly.
The Arch after which the car park is named. You used to drive through it when I was a kid. A somewhat grey and damp weekend but fun nonetheless.
A an extra bonus addition to the post for you.
From a few weeks later some photos from a local stroll up Garway Hill.
Sun setting over a hill, it has a name with not enough vowels which I can’t be bothered to type!
Not as warm as the summer visits where we watch the sunset with a beer.
I’d forgotten about these photos and the walk until Im opened the Flickr album to write the post.
I mentioned in my last post that on our last day we were heading to other side of the city, metaphorically and literally speaking. Metaphorically as we were heading from the old town to the more contemporary beach area and literally as the beach is on the opposite side of the narrow peninsula the city is built on.
When we visited the city for the day on our last trip everything was a bit rushed especially as the beach and the old town are a few km apart and require a bus trip to travel between them. This time we had an opportunity to enjoy both the old town and beach area at leisure.
Our last day was Epiphany which is the major Spanish Christmas Holiday celebrating the arrival of the three wise men and the exchanging of gifts. We heard the excited screams of the young children in the flat across from ours, clearly opening presents and I saw one of the parades of cars with people dressed up as the three wise men when checking out the bus times.
I was a bit worried that everything might be closed up for the holiday but while conventional shops are shut, everyone else goes out for the day (much easier in sunnier climes than a dank December day in the UK) so all the restaurants and bars were open (and busy) and the buses ran as normal.
We had a nice leisurely morning stroll along the promenade to the north.
The weather seemed to improving slowly, excellent views along the coast towards Galdar and Tenerife in. the distance.
Looking back to the main beachfront.
Time for lunch. Hard choice among the many restaurants on the seafront, but we picked a superb little Tapas bar with friendly staff for our final lunch of the holiday. Clinking glasses with a teapot is not something I’ve done before!
After lunch we took a wander along the sandy beachfront, stopping off to look at the sand sculptures of the Nativity.
They were really rather good.
Its a huge beach and the only golden sand stretch in this part of the island.
Time to sit for a while and have a swim. The beach is protected from the bouncy waves by a natural reef just offshore so the water is calm and clear and perfect for an easy swim. Lots of fish as well.
While the family sunbathed I took a wander along the sands.
Even though its quite a modern seafront, I really love the place.
Happy family atmosphere and still some fine views.
All that swimming and walking is thirsty work so it was time for another sit down and an afternoon beer or two.
We bagged a spot by the Volleyball courts and enjoyed watching these guys play – they were seriously good.
On the adjacent court was a family enjoying their epiphany day – they were seriously bad!
Such was the quality of our little spot we stayed for a couple of hours and by the time we moved on the sun was starting to go down.
We strolled back up to the rockier part of the promenade to watch the people surfing and fishing.
It was too cloudy for a truly awesome sunset but the views were still pretty decent across the coast.
And across to the main promenade with the sun lighting up beachfront buildings.
Reluctantly we tore ourselves away to catch the bus back to apartment with packing to be done ready for our flight home in the morning. A brilliant last day to end another superb winter holiday.
The weather for the flight home was superb so we had some great views of the island as we departed.
La Garita and La Bufadero are in the bottom part of this photo.
Las Palmas city
Tenerife looming large on the horizon above Las Palmas.
The crescent shaped bay on the far side of the peninsula is Las Canteras beach.
Mountains of northern Portugal (I think)
And the sun sets over the UK (and our holiday) as we approach Luton Airport.
Last time we were on Gran Canaria we took a day trip to Las Palmas, the capital city. It was a great day if a little rushed as we did the trip by bus and had no real plan.
This time we thought we’d do a mini city break to end the holiday and stayed a couple of nights in the old town of La Vegueta. We dropped the car at the airport, checked into our fabulous apartment and headed back out to see the sights at a more leisurely pace than last time.
But first it was time for lunch in a great little Tapas place outside the cathedral.
The Catedral Metropolitana de Santa Ana de Canarias dominates the old town and looks magnificent on a sunny day.
The Plaza Mayor de Santa Ana it overlooks is also magnificent and after lunch we sat in a sunny spot and watched the world go by for a while.
The square is surrounded by some wonderful old colonial buildings.
We took an aimless wander about the town, through its many narrow streets. We came across another fine public square at La Alameda.
They do city squares and parks so much better on the continent.
We also came across this rather grand building the Gabinete Literario.
They were setting up for some huge Epiphany party the next day (we sneaked a cheeky look inside before being ushered out)
This the city’s main shopping thoroughfare.
And we wandered through the bus station and under the coastal motorway for a view of the seafront on the industrial port side of the city.
Before a walk back through more of the narrow streets.
And grand old buildings back near the cathedral.
Can’t remember what this wonderful building was, possibly a library.
Next day our weather luck seemed to have run out as it was raining when I picked up the bread. Not deterred we took to our feet between the showers finding another fine little square and fountain, the Plaza del Espíritu Santo.
We planned on a look inside the cathedral and nature presented us with the perfect opportunity as it started to rain as we approached. We dived inside.
Its much bigger inside than it looks from the outside, another magnificent example of ecclesiastical splendour.
It has the excellent bonus of allowing you up onto the roof. A great view down over the now rather wet Plaza Mayor de Santa Ana.
Over the roof of the cathedral.
Not quite the blue skies of the previous two weeks but very atmospheric views of the dark clouds (although it didn’t rain again for the rest of our stay.)
I’m a sucker for any kind of high view of city rooftops.
From the highest towers and even better view over the Plaza.
And across the rooftops to the port.
There is also a fine little cloister and garden on the way out.
One of the best cathedrals I’ve been in for a while, but I am biased by any opportunity for a rooftop view.
We spent the rest of our day just wandering about aimlessly, eating lunch and an extended afternoon at a nice Jazz cafe planning future holidays.
Nothing better to take away the pain of a great holiday coming to an end than to plan another one.
Another view of the Library?
Plaza Mayor de Santa Ana and the statues of the dogs the islands are named after.
A very striking building of which there are many in Vegueta.
Just one final day in Gran Canaria and a chance to see the other side of the city, literally and metaphorically.
By far our most favourite activity in our holiday home in Puerto de las Nieves was watching the sunset.
We were out to watch the show every evening.
Mostly we watched from the wooden benches or the rocks near the seawater pools
Which has the advantage of a small bar for a nice cold lemon beer to help things along.
Our first night was cloudy and the sun disappeared behind a bank of cloud before the colours could emerge.
After that for almost the rest of our stay the evenings were pin sharp clear. Great for soaking up the last warmth of the sun but not quite so good for dramatic skies.
Still plenty to enjoy (as well as the beer!). Watching to comings and goings of the ferries.
Walking on the cliffs to admire the deep brown hues of the rocky coastline.
There are paths along this coast but despite being here for almost two weeks I never seemed to find the time!
We sometimes watched the sunset from the harbour.
The views different but equally eye catching.
We did have one evening with a thin cloud cover that gave us a little more colour.
A small amount of pink glow to the sky.
Tenerife and El Teide always attracts the eye and the camera lens.
I always tried to catch the ferry crossing the suns path.
In the second week the waves had picked up and added an extra dimension to the sunsets.
I spent a lot of time trying to catch a shot of the waves with the sun behind.
These were pretty good but my best effort is the headline photo at the top of the post.
More pink skies.
More views of Tenerife.
Crashing waves by the seawater pools.
Wave action.
And much smaller boats crossing the suns path.
One evening we just sat on one of the benches on the promenade.
There was always a gathering of people and a happy relaxed atmosphere, never loud or crowded.
A great spot to admire El Teide.
A fine family time with beer and snacks.
On our last evening in PdlN we finally had a degree of cloud cover above the horizon and we hoped for aa more colourful display.
As the sun went down it began to illuminate the clouds.
More small boats and Tenerife combos.
Waves catching the evening light.
And we finally had our glorious show of colour.
I took a huge number of photos and its taken me quite a while to filter them down.
I like this one as it has all my favourite features. Orange sky, dragons back ridge, Tenerife and waves.
Took a couple of weeks but we had the perfect last evening by the sea.
We had to tear ourselves away as the sky darkened and the colours faded. Magnificent spectacle to end our stay.
But that was only the end of our stay in PdlN. We had one more place to visit at the end of our trip.
I mentioned in the previous post that we needed a swim after our visits to Teror and La Garita.
The north coast of the island is largely rocky and exposed to some pretty big Atlantic waves (other than the long sandy beach in Las Palmas – more on that in a later post)
To counter this there are several man-made seawater pools along the coast so we headed to one of those, Los Charcones.
It was an excellent choice. There were a couple of pools as well as large paved area to sit and sunbathe and freshwater showers.
There were also some superb views in both directions along the coast.
There was a calm and relatively shallow inner pool, perfect for an easy swim.
But it was the outer pool that was the most fun. It was deep and absolutely teeming fish and crabs. Best of all you could get really close to the massive waves without being under any threat as the rocks protected you from – most – of their power. You could sit on the edge of the pool and let the waves just crash over your head and turn the pool into a bouncing frothy jacuzzi – great fun.
The Funsters enjoying a sit in the sun post-swim.
We spent a very happy couple of hours here, yet another really great find. I would have taken some photos and video out by the waves but I wasn’t sure I could hang onto my phone in all the action!
After the swim we could just sit and watch the world go by and the tide slowly engulf the pools.
There were lots of surfers out braving some pretty huge waves.
And lots of these comical little birds who waddled about right in front of us in large groups.
As the sun went down it got chilly pretty quickly and headed home. A great day out with plenty of variety but all less than an hour from home base.
Gran Canaria has some fine old colonial Spanish towns so we thought we’d pay one a visit.
Teror is about 1000 feet up in the hills above Las Palmas and was coming up on our searches as the best of these old towns.
We parked up and took a wander in, discovering what a gorgeous little spot it is.
The houses are notable for the elaborate carved wooden balconies like this one.
The main street was a delight especially on a warm and sunny winters day.
The side streets were equally impressive.
The main church, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pino, another stunning building. Both outside.
And inside.
And the Plaza del Pino square it overlooks.
The Water Steps of Calle de la Diputación. Several of these hill towns have these streams flowing through the town.
An interesting feature to walk up.
With great views over the town from the top.
This fine building was my favourite. The old Town Hall, the Ayuntamiento.
The tree shaded square it overlooks is also very fetching.
A much closer view from out front.
And a fine example of one of those wooden carved balconies.
We spent a happy couple of hours wandering the pedestrian streets and squares.
More fine houses and balconies to admire.
There were numerous bars and restaurants lining the streets but many seemed to be closed for winter or only had tables in the shade.
The rear of the main church.
And its impressive bell tower.
As we wanted to eat outside we took our leave of Teror. Its quite small so a couple of hours is more than enough to see the main sights. We headed back to La Garita for lunch, a stroll on the beach and another look at La Bufadero. The day wasn’t over though. We felt like we needed an afternoon swim.
After a few days easing the Prof into the holiday vibe it was time to leave TJF to chill out (and wash her hair – a major undertaking!) and tackle another walk in the mountains
One the islands better known summits and routes is the ridge out to Alatavista. Its 1377m (not especially high by Gran Canaria standards) but it looked like a fine ridge and as its near the coast gives a more exaggerated sense of of its height than the mountains in the centre of the island.
The walk is made eaiser by the fact you can park up at well over 1000m but there is still plenty of up and down to work off holiday excesses.
The first part of the walk drops below the road on the opposite side to the ridge walk to Altavista. I like these sorts of traversing paths and this was a a good one.
Great views of the narrow lush valley of Lugarejos and its reservoirs.
The green trees, brown mountains and deep blue sky are an alluring combination.
The path twists and turns to either side of the ridge rather than sticking to the crest. You could likely traverse the ridge but without a path it would be hard work and there can be some rocky and exposed scrambles.
Much easier to stick to the path and enjoy the easy walking to look at the views.
The small mountain reservoir of Presa del Vaquero
The very odd flat plateau of farmland called Acusa Verde. Strange to see such an expanse of flat ground in the midst of some of the deepest of gorges.
Superb views out over the Atlantic towards Tenerife.
Looking back along the ridge we’d walked.
And the final climb to Altavista summit – much more substantial and steeper than I’d expected.
The main focus of attention were the amzing views of the interior with Roque Nublo and Roque Bentayga standing proud.
The Prof steeling himself for the hot, steep climb to the top.
There were two summits and I took a steep path to the first top while the others took the easier path around the side. A chance for a panorama shot to the centre of the island.
TBF waits for me to downclimb one of those exposed scrambles I mentioned.
The ridge and the path ends abruptly at a dramatic overlook towards La Aldea. The mountains at the back are the ones that overlook the beach of Los Caserones (see earlier post).
The perfect place for lunch.
Almost happy selfie.
We spent a while just sat in the warm sunshine. It really is perfect hiking weather in these mountains in January. In fact this was the best way to spend New Years Day!
Panorama looking south and west, Tenerife and El Teide on the horizon.
Looking straight down the reservoir of Presa del Parralillo tucked into the mountains.
Our route back was a return along the same ridge. I’ve learned that out and back routes can be just as enjoyable as a traditional circuit. You get a different perspective and a different light as the sun moves across the sky.
We traversed the actual summit on the way back.
More fantastic views across the sea to Tenerife.
TBF looking very pleased with herself and why not on such a fabulous day.
Zoom shot with a much clearer view of Acusa Verde, Roque Bentayga and Roque Nublo in the distance.
TBF on one of the more spectacular sections of path.
With the sun behind us on the return the leg, the forested sections were a joy.
The stretch with green shrubs at ground level was especially fetching.
The views switching from the west and over to Tenerife.
And east over to the centre of the island.
Another superb clear day in the mountains and as always finished off with a beer and sunset back at base
I spend alot of my time surfing the web looking for ideas on places to go, walking routes, travel ideas and tips to plan the perfect holiday or day out. (I'm a project manager I like to plan). I thought it was time to share my own experiences and contribute to the vast amounts in information that's already out there.
I'll also add in some gear and tech reviews and when something irks me I may even use this forum to have a rant - I do that pretty well I'm told.There are a few pages at the top that give a bit of background to what I like to get up to and what you can expect to see in my posts. I'm not exactly a creative writer but I hope some people will find my stuff useful or inpsiring or at least enjoy some of my photos.
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