Voices outside the van woke me in the night. I lay still, my mind racing. There had been no one around when I parked at the end of a single track next to a wild beach. Campervanning alone as a woman was going to bring challenges, I knew, and sleeping …
Read More »Every witch way: a spooky walk in Germany’s Harz mountains
The inscription on the wooden shelter where I stopped to eat my Käsebrötchen made quite the pledge. “Wanderer,” it said (at least, according to Google translate), “I protect you from wind and weather, a saviour from evil hands.” Extreme? Perhaps – but you need that sort of promise when loitering …
Read More »‘The mountains soothed the soul’: a long walk in Spain’s Pyrenees
“You’ve brought the rain with you! Thank you! It hasn’t rained here for two months!” Jordi, piebald-bearded guardian of the isolated Prat d’Aguiló refuge, greeted my companion and me with such effusive smiles and enthusiastic handshakes we almost wondered if he held us personally responsible for ending his local drought. …
Read More »Lakes, mountains and distant isles: 15 of the most tranquil places to visit around the UK
Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the Highlands Fifty square miles of untouched countryside with just one road, come for lochside walks, cherry-hued sunsets and magnificent views across the Sound of Mull from Ben Hiant, the peninsula’s looming mountain. Unique Cottages has a range of self-catering properties, from £495 a week; unique-cottages.co.uk Hembury & …
Read More »‘The mountain’s power sends volts through the soul’: hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc
It was the penultimate day of my Tour du Mont Blanc and, as I scrambled up the side of the Aiguilles de l’Argentière, I was feeling smug. I’d ticked off more than 90 of the 105 miles, almost all in dazzling spring sunshine. Such luck with the weather was encouraging …
Read More »Music and mountains: a green city break in Slovenia
Normally, hearing a beatbox cover of the Beatles’ From Me to You live would make my toes curl. But the sincere way singer and dancer Žigan Krajnčan retools the song, hitting high note warbles and thudding his chest for extra bass, has me nodding hypnotically. Map Slovenia Skinny and barefoot, …
Read More »‘We snaked between mountains and the Mediterranean’: readers’ favourite European train journeys
Sleeper proved an eye-opener, Amsterdam to Vienna I recently took the sleeper train between Amsterdam and Vienna. On the way, I had a compartment to myself until the early hours when I was woken by a couple with a 10-month-old baby, who wanted to know if I would rooms so …
Read More »Rail route of the month: a steam-hauled climb through Germany’s Harz mountains
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the opening of the railway to the Brocken, the highest summit in Germany’s Harz Mountains at 1,142 metres. The Brocken line is part of a wider network of narrow-gauge railways – mainly hauled by steam trains – in the eastern half of the …
Read More »The Women Who Fight Against the Ayatollahs from the Kurdish Mountains
PJAK copresident Zilan Vejin and a fellow fighter somewhere in the Kurdish mountains. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS by Karlos Zurutuza (iran-iraq border) Friday, November 04, 2022 Inter Press Service IRAN-IRAQ BORDER, Nov 04 (IPS) – Iran-Iraq border -It usually takes hours of driving in a 4X4 before heading out on foot through …
Read More »Into the sun: Albania’s beaches, mountains and ancient towns
“It used to be rare that journalists would come here,” says Elton Caushi, head of tour operator Albanian Trip, who I meet in the capital, Tirana. “When they did come, they only wanted to talk about blood feuds and sworn virgins.” The traditions that once dominated tribal politics in Albania’s …
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