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Gile Mountain

Back in New England, briefly.

Four weekend hikes in a row – what a treat! This morning I met two friends just before sunrise to climb the tiny-but-beautiful Gile Mountain, here in Norwich. No, that’s not Norwich, England… this pretty little peak is in Norwich, New England. I happen to be back at Dartmouth for a long weekend, and took the opportunity to visit this local favorite: a short hike to an otherwise unremarkable bump in the rolling hills of Vermont, with a firetower that allows one to climb above the trees and enjoy a spectacular 360º view across the Upper Valley, the Connecticut River, and the route of the Appalachian Trail as it passes through Norwich, Hanover, and along the ridges past mounts Moose, Smarts, Cube, Mist, and culminating on the twin peaks of Mount Moosilauke.

Sunrise view from Gile Mountain. Mount Moosilauke is on the horizon at right.

Chantry Wood hike

An extended walk in Chantry Woods with about twenty other Dartmouth alums.

I had my third opportunity to hike, today, in an outing jointly organized by the Dartmouth Club of the United Kingdom and the Tuck alumni club of the United Kingdom, to the Chantry Wood area around Guildford in Surrey. About 20 Dartmouth alums and three dogs came along. The day started cloudy, shifted to hazy, and ended with blue skies, leaving all in a wonderful mood as we settled in for a late Sunday lunch at the Seahorse Pub. As the photo gallery shows, the trees were beginning to show their autumn colors, and the route exposed us to a wide variety of meadows, forests, fallow farm fields, and country lanes.
A beautiful day! [Slideshow]

A farm with vast fields, with distant view of farmhouse and barn.

Brighton

A quick daytrip to Brighton, to visit its Royal Pavilion and the famous Brighton Pier.

When I ask locals for tips about where we might explore, first, outside of London. Brighton beach is often on the list. Its historic pier is iconic, and the town itself includes several museums and historic sites. So we hopped on a train for a comfortable ride from downtown London directly to central Brighton, on a cloudy Saturday. Read on…

photo of the entrance to Brighton Palace Pier — Brighton beach pier, England.

Ivinghoe Beacon Ridgeway hike

My second hike in two weekends, just as beautiful as the first.

With one outside-London hike under my belt, at Box Hill last weekend, I was eager to try another. This weekend happens to be the annual Peak Bag, organized by Dartmouth alumni to raise funds in support of student mental health. I registered, thinking I might be an unusual participant (outside the U.S.). By the time I hopped on the train out of London, however, several participants had posted about their completed hikes in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. It is indeed a global effort! Read on, to see where we hiked.

Sheep grazing in Aldbury Nowers natural area, conserved under the National Trust.

Box Hill circuit

A circuitous ramble over and around Box Hill in the Surrey downs.

Four weeks after arriving in London for a year-long sabbatical, I was itching to get outdoors – out in the hills, forests, and meadows, after weeks of city life. Don’t get me wrong – I am truly enjoying the chance to explore London, and to adapt to city living. But I am a country mouse, at heart, and needed to be out where I could climb hills, take in broad vistas, and listen to the wind in the trees. After some online snooping, I settled on this eight-mile circular walk around Box Hill, just an hour’s train journey south of London. Read on!

Box Hill and Westhumble train station is tiny, unstaffed, but cute.

London, first impressions

The beginning of my year-long sabbatical in London.

One of the joys of academic life is the opportunity to take the occasional sabbatical – a semester or a year away from the home university, focused on research without the day-to-day obligations of teaching or committee service. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to spend my past sabbaticals abroad: as a Fulbright Fellow to the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) in 2008-09, and as a Visiting Professor at ETH (Zürich, Switzerland) in 2019-20, leading to some fabulous scientific collaborations and personal/family adventures, which I’ve documented in this blog. Well, here we go again! this time, in London.

Imperial College. A glittering glass building In one of its central quads, with a big sign "Imperial College". — In one of its central quads, Imperial College welcomes new students in the first week of fall term.

Iceland wrap-up

With a link to a complete gallery.

Ok, that’s the end of a series of posts about my week in Iceland, including visits to Diamond Beach and its two nearby glaciers, and eleven waterfalls:

Iceland – Brúarárfoss

The bluest river in Iceland!

Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.

On my final day in Iceland I decided to stop by Brúarárfoss, even though it was out of my way, because it was a beautiful day and these cascades appeared to be different than any I’d seen before. Although they are reached only by driving to the end of a long and rough gravel road, Brúarárfoss has clearly been ‘discovered’. A new gravel carpark had been hacked out of the brush, and a food truck anchored one corner. A short stroll on a bridle path brings visitors to a bridge across the stream, with upstream views of a multi-layer cascade. Perhaps most notably, the water in the central flow (where the water is deepest) is a bright turquoise color, presumably a result of its glacial source.

close-up photo of the Brúarárfoss waterfall — Brúarárfoss waterfalls, southern Iceland.

Iceland – Seljalandsfoss sunset

Nailed it! Incredible sunset light.

Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.

I was determined to visit Seljalandsfoss again at sunset, based on a tip from my guidebook. Because sunset was after 8:30pm, I assumed that most tourists (especially those from Reykjavik) would have gone home and I might have the opportunity to photograph these falls in golden-hour light with nobody else around. Boy, was I wrong. Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to know that Seljalandsfoss is the place to be at sunset. As I staked out my place behind the falls, a dozen tour buses disgorged their loads; a stream of people was flowing up the trail and around the falls in anticipation of sunset.

People hike around Seljalandsfoss just before sunset. — People hike around Seljalandsfoss just before sunset; southern Iceland.

Iceland – Kvernufoss

Another spectacular waterfall – backdrop for a romantic engagement!

Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.

As my sixth waterfall of the day I visited Kvernufoss, a short walk from Skógafoss. As I followed its brook up into a ravine, I encountered only a few other visitors. At one point, at a particularly nice viewpoint, I took a mental snapshot of a young couple – the man smiling, the woman holding her left hand upright, a shining diamond ring on her finger – while an older woman with a professional camera took photos. An engagement! How heartwarming. I did not disturb them, and traveled onward. Kvernufoss falls from a high cliff above, and has eroded a massive bowl in the tuff… enabling visitors to walk behind the waterfall and look through the cascading water to the ravine and the lowlands beyond. Spectactular! Read on…