Torres del Paine – the “W” walk

The Famous Torres del paine

Occasionally I like to include other world walks to give you a perspective. So here’s our article on the famous Patagonian walk – the “W”.
We were at Refugio Chileno in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, Patagonia.
 
 The weather looked great. Mike, Matt and Liz got up early to try and see [...]

Via Francigena: Martigny to Orsieres

Suddenly the mists parted, revealing the valley

Via Francigena: Martigny, Switzerland.
After a filling breakfast we donned our packs and walked out into the wet, overcast weather which was rather pleasant after the past few hot days. We arrived at a park where there was a fork in the track. Decisions. Decisions. One track zig-zagged up a [...]

Road to Aghavannagh – an Irish walk

The Irish road to Avagannagh

From the diary – Monday: Glendalough – Aghavannagh
Glenalough Youth Hostel. 8.30 am, quick wash, breakfast. The four of us leave the hostel to go our separate ways. Me – off to Aghavannagh; about 10-12 miles down the road. It’s a clear day and I feel good about being healthy when a [...]

Scotland: Fort William – Ben Nevis summit

Almost at the summit of Ben Nevis

Fort William – Ben Nevis summit
If you’re ever in Fort William, Scotland and you have a spare day, don’t miss out on a great opportunity of walking up to the summit of Britain’s highest mountain. And it’s not overly difficult, as long as you encounter a relatively fine day.
I [...]

Dingle Peninsula – Europe’s most westerly point

It’s raining, the streets look like a movie set. I’ve just arrived in Dingle, Ireland where I’ve been youth hostelling. Hurrying along to O’Sullivan’s Hostel, I meet Christopher, who had missed the bus, but managed to cadge a lift here. Inside the hostel, now out of the rain we meet brothers Rick and Peter from [...]

Via Francigena – Rome – secret view

One of the best viewing places

We were in Siena on the Via Francigena heading towards Rome. Hungry after the day’s activities, we enjoyed dinner in the hotel’s restaurant where we met Nick and Izaskum.
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They had just returned from Rome and Nick suggested, that when we got to Rome, to walk up the Aventine Hill and [...]

Don’t let the side down – have a rest.

When you are out on the track, you do have to pace yourself. We had been walking well all day, with some stops – morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, getting closer and closer to the day’s accommodation. Some of us have the propensity to maintain a momentum which may be difficult to stop if [...]

Italian water guzzler

How much water do you need on a walk? It’s really good to know. I’ve seen a lot of articles and guidebooks say “take enough water for the walk”, but how much is enough?
We were in Siena, Italy by good fortune on the day of the Palio and planned to spend the day enjoying the [...]

Lose weight? – not necessarily.

Some of us, including me, always think that we will lose weight if we walk. In general this is true. However, if our food intake increases when we go on multiday walks, then it’s not a given. Like the erosion of the chalk cliffs at Burling Gap, weight loss can take time; you need exercise [...]

Are cakes and cider OK for walkers?

This is a good question for any of us over 30, I’ll get back to that later in the post. But the truth is most of us are interested in our level of health, or at least well-being.
So how can walking help? There are so many positives about walking, it’s a wonder we got out [...]