Hiking
View back down to Funchal Harbour
Hike from the Pico do Arieiro (1818 m.); it’s not quite the top of Madeira Island, there’s a hike on to Pico Ruivo (1860 m.), difficult because it goes down before it goes up. Panoramic views of Madeira and the Atlantic at the top, also the mêlée of tourists and the Island Parks guy with the card machine collecting the trail hike fees.
Although the peaks were clear of clouds, the paths certainly weren’t clear of tourists, so I chose another route, parking well below the peak and hiking upwards in the clear air with heavily-eroded volcanic valleys below.
Ginger plant in flower
The terminator - shadow of the sun - is creeping down the opposite side of the Salazie crater
Arduous hike out from the village of Hell-Bourg in the Cirque de Salazie (volcano crater). Hard going, both the sun and thirty degree heat but mainly the steep tracks. The “reward” is hiking through tropical farming, flowers and forest, glimpses of highly-coloured song birds and hearing them calling and singing. Though there’s drought everywhere in this crater, so a lot of dust. GR R1 means Grande Randonné 1 de la Réunion, it’s the long distance route equivalent to the UK Pennine Way.
More photos: Tropical jungle hike: Le Grand Sable, GR R1 - Parc Naturel de la Réunion
Family hike in the Blackdown Hills around Culmstock Beacon (250 m.) and Blackdown Common. Frosty start after the storm had blown itself out overnight. Enjoying the magnificent Devon countryside plus sharing that peculiar pleasure of stomping through iced puddles.
Hike from Keswick, up Spooneygreen Lane to Lattrig Saddle and onwards to the gate in to Glenderaterra Valley, which has Lonscale Fell and Skiddaw one side with Blencathra the other. A familiar route made magical by the snow. Frosty on Latrigg but soon getting to be heavy going traversing Lonscale Fell because of drifted snow up to knee height. The clouds were closing in over the fells beyond Ullswater as I took my picnic. The path past the rocky shoulder was even more heavily drifted so it was time to come down.
More photos: Glenderaterra Valley gate in the snow - Lake District National Park
Low level hike in the calm between storms. Up a steep path through the trees to Irton Pike (230 m.). Grand view from Irton Fell over Wast Water to the central fells and out to Ravenscraig in the opposite direction. Dry but the cloud level pretty low. Early picnic over the ridge to Miterdale then the descent through Miterdale Forest to get home before the next storm rattles the roofs.
More photos: Irton Fell & Miterdale Forest - Lake District National Park
