Tag: travel
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Arbitzu – Basque Country on the Spanish Side of the Border
It’s as if there’s a festival in the carpark of the EkoCanpina at Arbitzu, in the Pyrenean foot hills. Large groups are partying while they wait. But far from being turned away as I suspect we will be, they find us a place in the field, right on top of the outdoor gym equipment. We’ve…
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Wexford’s Kilmore Quay to Basque Arbitzu
Kilmore Quay’s campsite gifts us a view of blue sea and an everchanging sky. The granite walled harbour is busy with tractors delivering crates of crabs to the warehouses, cranes lifting catches of fish from the small trawlers. We pass the rib bone of a whale beached on the strand here, and the memorial garden…
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Waterford’s Ardmore to Wexford’s New Ross
Ardmore on the Waterford coast proves to be a treat. Ardmore Campsite sits beside the sea. Grey wagtails dip and dive for insects around the van and goldcrests feast on the hedgerow. We walk along the beach for the 5 minutes to the village. We start the evening in Keevers Pub, a quintessential Irish pub,…
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From Wicklow Town to Bantry Bay Via The Rock of Cashel
Wicklow Town sits on the sea, with an island in between the Leitrim River, named after the Leitrim Regiment who were stationed here in 19th Century, and the seafront, which explains the rather gracious houses lining the river. Today the seafront is full of children getting ready for sailing lessons, the quays themselves bustling with…
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Wherein we Embark on What is Meant to be a 3 hour Walk through the Glacial Valleys of Winsome Wicklow and End up Walking for 7 Hours
The first view of the morning is the stone arched bridge at Glenmalure and the house martins swooping through the air; the first sound the rushing Avonbeg river. The plan today is to walk 7 miles from Glenmalure to Glendalough, along the Wicklow Way and Miners’ Way. Soon, we gaze down at the ruins of…
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Rambling up Torroella de Montgrì, Cycling in L’Estartit’s Nature Reserve and Taking to the Sea
I’ve written so much about Torroella de Montgrì that I think there’s nothing else to say, but I’m proved wrong. Local families trek to the castle which squats at the top of Montgrì, the mountain in Torroella. Being Easter, everyone and their granny has taken to the rocky track. One elderly woman, complete with walking…
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Begur – Where Catalan History, the Modern Tourist Industry and Wandering Walking Trails Meet
Begur is a typical Medieval Catalan Village, with castle ruins topping the mountain, a lookout tower just below. Alleyways of stone houses radiate down from it. A sign on a street stepping up to the castle tells of the past inhabitants being required to offer the feudal lords a cup of water on their upward…
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L’Ametlla de Mar – Vertigo Enhancing Tracks over the Sea, Underground Poseidon Fields and a Real Fishing Town
Our first glimpse of L’Ametlla is not a postcard pretty one, the AP7 motorway and railway run against the back of the town and concrete apartments. But the minute we see Camping Nàutic we’re won over. The terraced campsite is shaded by Mediterranean pines and olives, and it looks out on a sea that deserves…
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Arnes –Catalonia’s Els Ports National Park – Biblical Thunder Storms, Gorges and Rushing Rivers
We drive beside the Ebro Valley’s green waters from Tortosa, but sheer drama builds as we climb up into the Alta Terra, the Els Ports National Park, on the border between Catalonia and Aragón. Rust-coloured cliffs are sculpted by the elements into obelisks, cones, and mysterious giant creatures. As we near Arnes, the mountain crags…
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Esponellà – Catalonia’s Hidden Gem
Our friends Mary and Martin recommend Catalonia’s Camping Esponellà near Figueres. We wind up into the Pyrenean foothills leaving the bustle of city far behind. Our first sigh of Esponellà is the pinkish rocks of the River Fluvia’s Gorge, our next, the honey stone village on the summit of the hill, the church tower…
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