Category: Travel

Hurst Spit, struggling back – first published 12 May 2014

My May 2014 Milton on Sea Adventure wasn’t quite over. There was still the getting back to the other end of the spit to get through. As soon as I left the shelter of the castle I knew it was going to be an ordeal. The shingle stretched ahead of me seeming twice as long as it had on the walk out. The wind was so strong in my face every single step was an effort with very little reward in terms of distance covered. As I struggled forward Commando, waiting back at the car park for me, was on my mind. Continue reading Hurst Spit, struggling back – first published 12 May 2014

A windy walk around Hurst Castle – First published 11 May 2014

May 2014 and, after a nightmare of mud and water on the Itchen Navigation I was hoping for a more sedate walk. Typically, the stroll along the shore I’d expected had turned into a battle against seemingly never ending shingle and strong wind. Hurst Castle was ahead but I was so exhausted I’d given up on reaching it and turned around to head back.  Continue reading A windy walk around Hurst Castle – First published 11 May 2014

Hurst Spit, shingle wind and a long slog – first published 11 May 2014

May 2014 and my first visit to Milford on Sea. The sun had been going in and out of the clouds all morning and, as I stood looking at the steep shingle bank ahead of me it came out briefly, making the quartz in the huge black rocks sparkle. This seemed like a sign to keep going so I did. In hindsight this may not have been one of my better decisions. Continue reading Hurst Spit, shingle wind and a long slog – first published 11 May 2014

The last Icelandic saga

22 December 2016

Our time in Iceland was coming to a close. We hadn’t got back from our aurora watching adventure until the early hours of the morning and it was tempting to sleep in and have a late breakfast. The lure of one more run and walk in the snow was stronger though. Bleary eyed we stepped out of the hotel into the icy air. In any other country this would have been the crack of dawn. In Iceland though daybreak was still four hours or so away. Continue reading The last Icelandic saga

More snow and Aurora hunting

21 November 2016

Almost as soon as we got amongst the buildings the snow began to fall again. At first it was a mere sprinkling, pretty and soft as swansdown on our faces. Close to the bus station beside a trianglular park with a Christmas tree and some horse scuplptures we found the Icelandic Penis Museum. It seemed a strange topic for a museum but we didn’t really have the time or energy left to investigate further than the window. Continue reading More snow and Aurora hunting

Footprints to nowhere

21 December 2016

By the time we had our feet on the snowy ground once more clouds had moved in covering every last vestige of blue. In Iceland it seems the weather can change in a moment. Those clouds seem to spring up from nowhere and disappear again as quickly. Sadly these didn’t look like disappearing any time soon. An inky blackness hung over the woodland trail making me sure snow would soon follow. Gingerly we crunched our way along the trail towards the trees. Sure enough, a few flakes began to fall.  Continue reading Footprints to nowhere

A panoramic pearl and a pool filled with gold

21 December 2016

After a well earned and rather delicious cup of coffee in the cafe at Perlan it was time to go back outside again, this time onto the rooftop walkway. First we had to pile back on all the layers we’d stripped off when we were in the cafe. Obviously, this took quite some time. You would not believe the number of clothes you need to go outside in an Icelandic winter. No wonder everything seems to happen in slow motion here. Then it was through a fairly reluctant revolving door that took Commando’s muscle power to budge it. Perhaps it was frozen? Continue reading A panoramic pearl and a pool filled with gold

Icy water, woodland trails and a hidden pearl

21 December 2016

By the time Commando got back from his run I’d had my smelly shower and was feeling much warmer. My leggings, hung over the back of a chair by the radiator with my coat, had even dried out. There’d been another heavy snow fall when he was out running but, apart from the problem of breathing in his snow covered buff (a kind of runner’s neck scarf come face protector if you were wondering) and cold hands, he survived with few problems and his trail shoes coped admirably with the snow. Continue reading Icy water, woodland trails and a hidden pearl

a snowy walk in the dark

21 December 2016

Yesterday afternoon the snow got heavier and heavier and the wind stronger. Just as we were beginning to panic about the prospect of a two to three hour trip in a boat to see the aurora (or probably not given the snow clouds), Commando got a text to say the trip was cancelled. Winds of almost seventy miles an hour were the problem. To be honest it was a relief more than a disappointment. We’d already resigned ourselves to not seeing the aurora through the thick snow cloud. The trip was rebooked for tonight, with no guarantee the weather would be any better.  Continue reading a snowy walk in the dark

The colours of Reykjavik

20 December 2016

The Icelandic daybreak we’d been anticipating since midday when we’d stood by the Saga Museum and seen pink clouds in the sky seemed to be a bit of a mirage. There was certainly more light than there had been when we set out but, an hour after the sky first began to get lighter, the sun appeared to have stalled on the horizon and risen no further, leaving us in a kind of perpetual dawn. It was a strange state of affairs but at least we could now see the colours of Reykjavik. Continue reading The colours of Reykjavik