Time to launch a new adventure!
I’ve just concluded a 48-hour visit to Longyearbyen, the largest settlement in Svalbard, an archipelago far, far above the Arctic Circle. (Just to give you a sense how far north, the flight from Oslo (Norway) lasted over two hours.) The weather was fantastic and the flight delighted us with spectacular views of the snowy mountains and fjords as we descended along the west coast before landing just outside Longyearbyen.
Another segment of the Capitol Ring trail.
Another weekend, another hike in the London area… (my 26th consecutive weekend of hiking!). Although the weather is beautiful today, my time was limited. So I took the Tube toward Wimbledon – nearly to the end of the line – and hopped off in Wimbledon Park. This pleasant (and I imagine quite affluent) suburb is the starting point for Segment 6 of the Capital Ring Walk, a 78-mile continuous walking route encircling the city of London. Today’s walk started, perhaps not surprisingly, in Wimbledon Park… filled with tennis courts.
A visit to Dover, its Castle, and the famous White Cliffs.
We decided to spend the day visiting Dover, a seaside city to the east along the English Channel. Famous for its chalky white cliffs, and for its history. Because it is the closest point in the United Kingdom to France and the continent, it has been strategically important for centuries. We spent most of our time at the Dover Castle atop the cliffs, where we toured the underground tunnels cut for military use in the 1790s and used extensively during World War II.
Climbing over 2,300-year-old earthworks with grand views of the sea.
The weather was beautifully clear for my 25th consecutive weekend of hiking, so I decided to head once again for the south coast and do a sort-of loop hike that would take me from a tiny coastal village, up to a hilltop capped by a Bronze-age earthworks that once served as a Saxon fortress; through the pastoral village of Clapham; to lunch in a 13th-century building housing a 17th-century pub, and over the highpoint at Cissbury Ring, a massive earthwork created in 300 BC and used (on and off) as a military asset for more than two thousand years. Read on!
Three days in the French Alps.
When I was invited to attend an academic conference in the mountains near Lyons and Grenoble, I did not hesitate. Especially when I learned that this small workshop (about two dozen experts in cyber-privacy research) is located in the tiny ski village of Correçon-en-Vercors at the base of the French Alps – and structures the program to retain the afternoons for skiing. This week’s forecast was not promising, however: rain every day. Nonetheless, we were able to find some rain-free time for outdoor activities on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
24th consecutive weekend hike!
The forecast was for cloudy weather in London, so for this weekend’s hike I decided to explore the Capital Ring Walk. This 15-segment loop encircles London, covering 78 miles of terrain including forests, parks, and historic areas. Today I began at the beginning: Section 1: Woolwich Foot Tunnel to Falconwood. It was a fascinating mix of engineering, nature, and history.
Cooking for a good cause.
We just spent a lovely evening at a Migrateful Cooking School, a London organization that offers cooking classes in a wide variety of cuisines from around the world. Migrateful is a non-profit organization with a wonderful mission – to “support migrants and refugees on their journey to integration by enabling them to teach cookery classes to the general public” [per their story]. Their classes are incredibly popular – we booked tonight’s class over a month ago, and it was one of the few with available slots. After our group of 14 made four interesting dishes, we sat down to enjoy a delicious dinner:
A bonus hike on a glorious day!
There are some days when the weather is so beautiful – and the calendar is so empty – that one simply must get up and go outside. Today was one of those days, with a forecast for full sun and nary a cloud. Today was the day to hop a train southeast and follow a classic track along the coast of the English Channel, south of London. I was well rewarded, indeed!
A gallery of photos from my wanderings.
As regular readers know, I like to wander. Even when I have a destination in mind, I often ignore the map and “follow my nose” by aiming in the right general direction and hoping some combination of left and right turns will lead me to my destination and new discoveries along the way. Today, I’m sharing a gallery of photos taken in London, in January or February. It’s quite a random collection – just things I found beautiful or interesting. None appear in my other blog-posted galleries. Enjoy!
Barely noticed by anyone passing by.
I have to admit, I’d never noticed them either. Hundreds of commuters pass over the Thames on Vauxhall Bridge every morning – on foot, on bike, on bus, or in a car – and they don’t notice them. These little-known sculptures are really meant to be seen from the water – from boats plying the swirling currents of the Thames – but they are nonetheless worth a look from the bridge. After all, they include Britain’s smallest cathedral.
David Kotz 