Category: Hike

Wales Across England to Scotland

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 11, 2010
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Wales England Scotland — Three ambitions, three countries, and six weeks to do it all. Another great U.K. trip. (But see that green island to the left...it’s next on my list!)

This trip started with three ambitions: ride the Snowdon Mountain Railway, walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall across England and again climb Ben Nevis. These ambitions happen to be achievable in three different parts of the U.K.: Wales, England and Scotland respectively. These geographies became the rough outline of my trip which was conducted in phases as outlined below.

The list below is in chronological order. If you’re curious to learn about any segment of my trip then just click on any title below. If you want to see the trip in its entirety then click the first title and subsequently click “Next” at the bottom of each page to progress to the next page. If you’re interested in the three ambitions listed above then click here. If you’re not interested in any of this then be off with you(!) and thanks for your time.

Hike Historical Mountain Summary Train Travel

My Trip to Outdoors U.K.

This acorn didn’t start out meaning very much to me but as I learned it stands for the National Trails of the U.K. I came to appreciate it. Have acorn, will travel. It’s a symbol of the potential for a lovely outdoor adventure.

This trip was planned for August for a reason. I expected it to rain less. All my previous trips had been off-season, any months but summer months. This usually affected outdoor activity moistly. While I did still have rain this trip I was largely able to plan around it. Bottom line: mission accomplished.

What inspired me to care to do things outdoors?

Three grand features of the U.K. –

Snowdon Mountain:
site of a climbing steam train and highest peak in England/Wales.
Hadrians Wall:
an Roman wall built across northern England to ward off Scots.
Ben Nevis:
the tallest mountain in all the U.K. in the Scottish Highlands.

My goals were to hike down #1, walk the length of #2 and climb #3.

That’s what I set out to do and that’s what I did.
Again, mission accomplished!

It was a great trip.

Hike Historical Ocean Train Travel

Run Away from Tube Strike

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 8, 2010
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The White Cliffs are famously called “of Dover” probably because of the busy port the town has. However, the cliffs extend far beyond as evidenced here in this picture of the town of St. Margaret.

If the Underground’s transportation workers were going to strike for 24-hours then I was going to spend that time out of town. The weather looked good so my plans were to visit Dover and Canterbury. Both these places were rained out when last I visited and again my BritRail pass was burning a hole in my pocket.

As good planning would have it, my high speed train out of town left from the St. Pancras station just across the street from my hostel. I was on the 8:11 and in just over an hour I was in Dover having raced along at speeds up to 140 MPH. While there are many things to do in this town located only 21 miles across the English Channel from France, there was only one thing I really wanted to do. I wanted to walk the White Cliffs of Dover and I did.

Hike Lake Mountain Train Travel

Ben Nevis Pulled Me In

“Serendipity” is a word I think of often. Many of my happiest moments in travel happen by chance because I notice things. Here in Fort William I came across a train of interest ... turns out it was the Hogwarts Express. For real! This is the train they use to portray it in the movies.

First, at 4,409 feet Ben Nevis is the U.K.’s highest mountain. Second, I’ve climbed it before. So as I hauled myself out of bed to catch the train to the north of Scotland I found myself asking, “Why was I doing this hike again?” Fair question! I didn’t know the answer myself until today.

While planning this trip to the U.K. I know the hike was a high priority for me. When deciding the day to hike I know the weather was a crucial factor. Only after discussing the hike with staff at the Visitors Center did I figure it out. I had hiked Ben Nevis before but on a day when the top third of the mountain was enshrouded in clouds. I hiked to the top but was never rewarded with the breathtaking views. I wanted that closure so the hike was a priority.

Hike Historical Museum Summary Train Travel

An 84-mile Walk Across England

Post author By TravisGood
Post date August 30, 2010
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Hadrian's Wall — What better name for a town a the end of Hadrian’s Wall than “Wallsend”? Here we are after a week of walking standing by “the south eastern extremity of the Roman wall”. Whew!

If you were wanting to walk across England then wouldn’t you choose the shortest path? If you were a Roman emperor wanting to build a wall to defend your English territory against the Scots then wouldn’t you choose the shortest cross-island route? Well, Emperor Hadrian built such a wall from Bowness-to-Newcastle in the far north of England and we walked along its length. We walked Hadrian’s Wall.

Please don’t think that my cousin Dallas and I walked 84 miles atop a wall.

Hike Historical Lake Mountain Train Travel

A Stunningly Beautiful Ride up Snowdon

Post author By TravisGood
Post date August 20, 2010
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I would highly recommend that everyone visit Mount Snowdon and ride the Snowdon Mountain Railway … by any means other than mass transit. It took four hours to go up and down the mountain but an additional 11 hours to get from and to Liverpool. Granted, I didn’t have to choose an English city from which to visit western Wales but the long haul isn’t what took all the time. It’s the inefficient local bus system that added unnecessary hours of waiting and wandering. Go in a car, but go.

Two days ago I came to the mountain to scope out the situation.

Hike

Early Morning Old Rag

Yesterday was 106 degrees hot. Today was forecast to be 104 degrees hot. For someone wanting to go on a hike, when is a thermally-sane time for an outing? Why very early morning, of course!

My rhythm for climbing Old Rag is well-established. I’m out the door by 7:30, parked and climbing by 9:00 and usually completing the loop by about 12:30. Depending upon the season and the weather, the available light varies only within a certain range. As a photographer, I’m always thinking about light and only today realized that an early morning hike might benefit me by open my eyes to new shooting possibilities.

This morning I was awake by (gulp!) 4:00 AM and out the door by 4:30.

Hike Historical River Train Travel

The Six Faces of Harpers Ferry

Post author By TravisGood
Post date July 15, 2010
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I came here to practice my hosteling skills before heading off to Wales in August. I’ll be traveling the U.K. again by train and also doing lots of hiking so I’ll need to travel light. In contrast to last time when I felt burdened every time I relocated, this time I want to travel with less weight but with more technology. I’ll have more cameras, my kindle and iPad, and all the supporting accessories such as a wireless keyboard. Importantly, I’ll be traveling without my six pound laptop computer and this is a frightening prospect, hence my need to test things out with a stay at the Harpers Ferry Hostel.

As usual I knew very little about where I was going. Harpers Ferry is one of two National Parks in West Virginia and it stands at the confluence of two rivers: the Shenandoah and the Potomac.

Falls Hike Travel

Ricketts Glen Falls

In northeast Pennsylvania on a hike of only three miles in length you can see 21, yes twenty one, waterfalls ranging in height from 11’ to 94’. It’s pretty awesome to have such a high density of falls. Special enough to have been declared a Registered Natural Landmark and later to become a State park: Ricketts Glen.

I’m not going to burden you with many more words. The pictures below speak to the majesty of the sight; they were taken over two days. I’ll simply close by saying the only thing that could have been better is if there had been more water flowing. It hadn’t rained in quite a while before my visit and the falls were a bit on the anemic side. How do I know? Ricketts Glen Trails has pictures which when contrasted to what I saw make it pretty obvious.

The falls are a delight.

Hike Travel

Hike Under Emerald Skies

The young leaves of early spring are a lighter shade of green and today they were in abundance as I hiked Old Rag. The effect on this sunny day was to create an aura of emerald green, especially as I hiked the final 2.5 miles down the tree-covered fire road. The air was crisp and cool which are my favorite conditions for a vigorous hike, especially when it’s along my favorite trail. Yes, today’s hike was a joy.