Category: Costa Brava 2019

Finally, after 25 years in this corner of France, we made it to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Provins for a “beat-the-heat” hike first thing on a Sunday morning when temperatures were forecast to hit 40°C. A great, easy 14-km hike from the ramparts of Provins into the surrounding countryside, and then back to… Continue reading The gates of Provins

Early morning hike through the forest and along the river in the pretty village of Thomery. Another angle on a landscape that I only usually see from a kayak. http://www.komoot.com/tour/231206405

July 22nd was a beautiful day in Paris, cool in the morning and warm to hot in the afternoon, but without the mugginess that all too often characterizes the city in summer. As I had to be in Malakoff (a southern suburb just outside the city) at 9:30 am, I took an early train and… Continue reading Paris from station to meetings to station

After completing the Lechweg on July 20th, 2018, we drove across Austria and Germany, via the Danube valley town of Kelheim where we did a river cruise to the Weltenburg Abbey to sample its excellent beer (monks are expert brewers!), to Pirna, just south-east of Dresden. We had been led there by a sales assistant in… Continue reading The Malerweg, or the surprises in store when you don’t look too closely at the guide book…

A quick 8.5-km afternoon hike over pleasantly undulating terrain. We returned with 1.5 kilos of delicious blackberries for a crumble and enough green walnuts to make liqueur. http://www.komoot.com/tour/212148757

An easy, 10-km hike on very sandy terrain in a far-flung corner of the Fontainebleau Forest that we have never explored before. We saw only one other hiker on a sunny Monday afternoon and it was incredibly peaceful. A fairly unusual area for the forest because it is mostly flat. But very pleasant walking all… Continue reading Les Platières des Béorlots & la Mare des Couleuvreux

With the exception of a couple of trails in the Fontainebleau Forest, there is one hike that I’ve done more often than any other. It lies in the heart of the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, an area where I’ve spent many holidays, alone, with my family, with one of my children or with my wife.… Continue reading Schynige Platte to First – the hike I’ve done more often than any other

An easy and very pleasant 16-km hike starting from the village of Paley and going through woods, fields and along the Lunain valley in two long loops, just a 15-minute drive from our house. There are a couple of old churches, some very beautiful houses, nicely undulating fields and even one working watermill (unfortunately barely… Continue reading Around the Lunain

After my first attempt to walk the Lechweg ended in failure in September 2017 due to a tendinitis problem, I returned in July 2018, this time accompanied by my wife Odile. We began the trail at the Formarinsee on the morning of July 14th and arrived in Füssen late in the afternoon of July 20th,… Continue reading The Lechweg – second attempt

I found the Château-Landon loop trail on the local tourist office website. We had visited this pretty town a couple of times when we first moved to this part of France but hadn’t been back for over twenty years. On a sunny Ascension weekend Sunday when the local forest was likely to be packed with… Continue reading Château-Landon