Tag Archives: hiking

      BACK INTO THE BREECH

Funny how things keep surfacing in one’s brain.  Won’t let go, refuse to be ignored.  So it was with “The Canyon”, so listed but often called the grotto by locals.  When I was there with Mr. C we hadn’t pushed right in; Mr. C had never gone past a certain point and, frankly, I couldn’tContinue reading ”      BACK INTO THE BREECH”

                   ON THE ROCKS

Castle Rock Ignoring the screams beside me; “You’re going the wrong way, turn right, turn right!”  Deep inside I believed the direction we were heading was correct as we rolled into Lynton, aiming for a railway…only this is a special railway, so called. It has two cars that pass each other on their 854ft routeContinue reading ”                   ON THE ROCKS”

              NO L-AUGH-ING MATTER

Such was the man’s fame that there’s a hotel in Tenby that still advertises the fact that he got completely sloshed and left the manuscript of what is arguably his most famous work, Under Milk Wood, on the stool.  I’m referring to Dylan Thomas and the Coaches and Horses Tavern, in the improbably named UpperContinue reading ”              NO L-AUGH-ING MATTER”

                    THE HOMAGE

DOWN IN THE BLUEGUM FOREST Walk in the Blue Mountains often enough and there’s a name that will crop up.  Blue Gum Forest.  No serious walker can avoid it, so the fact that I’d managed to not go there for 76 years indicates how serious I’d been.  For the seasoned hiker it’s usually part ofContinue reading ”                    THE HOMAGE”

SOMEWHERE THERE’S ALWAYS A RAINBOW

It had been years, okay, decades, since I last visited the lake.  It had been created around the early 1900’s to supply water to what we now know as Sponars, nee Hotel Kosciusko, but even that amount of water couldn’t stop the original hotel from burning down in 1951 due to a fire emanating fromContinue reading “SOMEWHERE THERE’S ALWAYS A RAINBOW”

  4 SWAMPS AND 31 STOPS

                                          I was huffing, lots of huffing, not to mention puffing.  The climb was seriously steep and, after scaling the first three steep sections with my mountain bike, I’d stopped to catch my breath at the top of each gradient.  Now I was stopping halfway up for a breather.  At least there were some colourfulContinue reading ”  4 SWAMPS AND 31 STOPS”

                   RUNNING HOT

I stood at the door; disheveled, sweaty, bloodied arm and covered in cobweb remnants.  I pondered what they may think of me because I was about to look after their house for two weeks and it was the first time they’d ever seen me. I hadn’t meant to arrive like this, it just happened.  Well,Continue reading ”                   RUNNING HOT”

A PARK CALLED OATLEY

It’s fair to suggest that, other than those who live nearby, few would have heard of a park in Sydney called Oatley.  It’s one of many areas of interest that abound in the city that tourists overlook.  Personally, I’m glad, because it’s busy enough as it is!  Still, during the week it’s not crowded andContinue reading “A PARK CALLED OATLEY”

CONTRAST

I know a man called Maurice.  He is very French, even if you didn’t know, his thick accent is a giveaway.  His speech is also rapid; he tells stories.  You could learn more in his bike shop than watching the news for a whole week and it would be a lot more colourful.  However, theyContinue reading “CONTRAST”

THE OH SHIT BYWAY

I’d corresponded with someone on the internet about the Burr Trail.  He said to make an effort to do it.  So, as I sat in the hotel room in Torrey, knowing I’d already gone past the turnoff yesterday, a decision was made to go back.  The skies were still overcast, blue skies notably in absentiaContinue reading “THE OH SHIT BYWAY”