Category: Nature

Anna & Michael beside a hilltop St Cuthbert's Way way marker

St Cuthbert’s Way, UK

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Symbol of Roman soldier's helmet and St Cuthbert's Way logo on a signpostSt Cuthbert’s Way is a beautiful and intriguing walk across borders and through centuries of history that have left an indelible imprint on the landscape. 

From the ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian Abbey in Scotland, up into the atmospherically foggy Eildon Hills, alongside the green verged, swift-flowing River Tweed and on to an ancient Roman Road, St Cuthbert’s Way climbs up through beechwoods and silver birch forests to the wild, sweeping Cheviots. After crossing the border it continues on through Weetwood Moor, past St Cuthbert’s Cave, across rolling fields to the coast and, on the low tide, to the mystery-shrouded Holy Island of Lindisfarne. From Lindisfarne, you can continue on up the Northumberland Coast to Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northernmost town in England. Read More

Looking over a misty Lot River on the Way of St James

The Way of St James, Chemin de St Jacques, Part 1

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A wooden pilgrim shell, Way of St James

Early each morning, as they have for centuries, pilgrims gather in the romanesque Cathédral Notre-Dame-du-Puy to be blessed before starting their journey on the Way of St James, the oldest Camino de Santiago route outside of Spain. Down a flight of 60 steps, pausing to take a last look back at the imposing white and black striped facade of the cathedral, reminiscent of the great mosque of Cordoba, and onto an ancient trail first walked by Bishop Godescacl in the winter of 951 AD. Read More

Anna waits while Canadian geese cross the Thames Path

Thames Path, England

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Mid Summer, 2019

Thames Path track markerThe Thames Path follows the river from its source in the rolling Cotswold hills, past historic sites and cities, in and out of quaint villages, wildflower meadows and beech woodlands and on through the heart of London to the futuristic Thames Barrier in Greenwich.

We walked the first 55 miles of the 185-mile Thames Path in 2018, following the river from its source to Oxford with our friend Geoff and his 11-year-old son Finn. This year, the four of us are walking from Oxford, the ‘City of Dreaming Spires’, to Henley-on-Thames, a journey of some 50 miles.  Read More

Landscape of patchwork green fields on the Burren Way

Walking the Burren Way, Ireland

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The Burren Way in Ireland is a 125-kilometre walking route from Lahinch on the wild west coast of County Clare. It follows ancient droving tracks, greenways and county byways through the heartland of the Burren to Corofin village. A five-day walk across the largest karst limestone landscape in Europe. It’s an immersion in Irish history and culture and an exploration of natural and archaeological riches including neolithic tombs, ring forts, early medieval castles and ancient centres of learning.

Burren comes from the Irish word, Boireann, a ‘rocky place’, a landscape of bare hills and lowlands. A tilted, folded, glaciated land of limestone pavements, hazel scrub, deciduous woodland, rare wildflowers, lakes, turloughs, springs, fens and grasslands. Its cliffs, escarpments and twisted hills are pale grey. On days when the sea and the sky have a shifting soft paleness, the landscape is more ethereal than existent. A subtle and abiding beauty.
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Riding down the Camels Hump with a tail wind and Burra in our sights on the Mawson Trail

Outback Odyssey: Riding the Mawson Trail

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The Mawson Trail is a 900-kilometre mountain bike ride from urbane Adelaide to remote Blinman, on the edge of the South Australian desert. Using unsealed back roads, farm access tracks, fire trails and old droving routes, the trail takes riders up through the Adelaide hills, traversing forests, historic towns, vineyards, sprawling farms and spent copper country, into the heart of the ruggedly beautiful Flinders Ranges. An odyssey to the outback, organised by Bike SA.

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Red rock escarpment and water hole on the Jatbula Trail

Jatbula Trail: Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) to Leliyn (Edith Falls), Northern Territory

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The Jatbula Trail is named after Peter Jatbula, a traditional Jawoyn elder pivotal in securing land rights for his people. The trail weaves its way across the western edge of the Arnhem Land escarpment, following ancient songlines walked by the Jawoyn for thousands of years. 

It is a five-day walk; not a long walk, just 60 kilometres from Nitmiluk Gorge to Leliyn, but a remote and entrancing walk through natural and cultural landscapes full of spiritual significance for the Jawoyn Traditional Owners. Dreaming beings in the form of humans, animals and plants brought this landscape to life by ‘putting themselves’ in the country. Their actions can be seen in features of the landscape and are kept alive in language, sacred songs, stories and dance. 

September is regarded as the ‘most heavenly month of the dry season’. This year though, it’s the hottest and driest on record and the midday heat is searing. We’ll need to set out each day at first light, walk slowly and cherish water.

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Detail of Jawoyn rock art

Nitmiluk National Park, Northern Territory

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Darwin (en route to Nitmiluk National Park)

The shadow of a bird of prey moving across the dry grass. A shimmering flight of rainbow bee-eaters seeking refuge in the green canopy of the monsoon forest. White fruit doves, double-barred finches and orange-footed scrubfowl. The careless sea breeze that comes in with the tide each afternoon of the dry season. Travel-weary backpackers. A procession of red-dirt splattered twin cabs driving into town at the end of the working week. Later that night drinkers spill onto the footpath and men prowl the streets, an undercurrent of reckless longing in their gait.

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Heysen Trail: view of Spencer Gulf at sunset

Walking the Heysen Trail, South Australia: Episode 2.

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The Heysen Trail is a 1,200-kilometre walk from the rugged coast of South Australia to its arid inland. We are looking forward to the slow meditation that is long-distance walking but are a little apprehensive. We have walked long distances before but mainly in Europe, where there is a cafe every few kilometres and a warm bed each evening. On the Heysen Trail, we need to be self-sufficient and carry our own shelter, warmth and up to six days’ food. Do we have such a walk in us, we wonder? Read More

Sun lighting up the red rocks of the Heysen Range

Walking the Heysen Trail, South Australia: Episode 1.

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The Heysen Trail winds between Cape Jervis at the southern end of the Fleurieu Peninsula and Parachilna Gorge, 1,200 kilometres to the north. The trail traverses beaches, sea cliffs, national parks, rural landscapes, historic towns and the ancient, rugged peaks of South Australia’s largest mountain range. It is named for the artist Hans Heysen, renowned for his paintings of majestic gum trees and the arid, beautiful Flinders Ranges.
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Wide view of the cloud swept landscape of the Tongariro Crossing

New Zealand: Two Islands, Two Walks. # 2, The Tongariro Northern Circuit

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The four-day Tongariro Northern Circuit winds its way around the sacred mountains of Tongariro National Park; Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu and Tongariro. The stunningly beautiful volcanic landscape holds a profound cultural and spiritual significance for the Māori Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi. In 1886, the iwi gifted them to the New Zealand people as the country’s first national park. In 1993 Tongariro National Park became the first site in the world to be inscribed on the world heritage list for both its natural and cultural landscapes.
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