Hikes – David Kotz

Cambridge-Grantchester

Along the River Cam from Cambridge to Grantchester and back.

When I visited Cambridge, last month, I was in town for just the afternoon and had very little time to see the city or explore the university. I’m back, this time for five nights, to attend a computer-science conference (MobiSys). I chose to arrive early and go for a hike: from Cambridge to Grantchester, and return, along the River Cam. (Get it? Cam-bridge?) Along the way, I encountered four swans a-swimming and dozens of punters a-punting, dined al fresco in an orchard famed for its literary heritage; and explored a church nearly 900 years old.

Punting on the River Cam – Cambridge, England.

Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House

A midweek ramble through forest and art.

The weather is summery and I had some free time today, so I decided to take a walk in Hampstead Heath – a large, forested park in northwestern London – and stop for lunch in Kenwood House, a historic mansion that now serves as a public art museum. It was reputed to have a lovely café, so I stashed my laptop in my backpack and took the #24 bus to its endpoint near Hampstead Heath.

One of the broad avenues in Hampstead Heath, London.

Roman Silchester

A sunny hike through English countryside west of London, with a stop at 2000-year-old Roman ruins.

Another sunny day called for another excursion outside London, for a walk through the beautiful English countryside. I hopped off the train in tiny Mortimer, which is little more than a train depo, a church, a pub selling Indian cuisine, and a few houses. Soon I was traversing fields of wheat, crossing pastures with grazing cows, and following a lazy stream across the flat terrain. I tried to imagine what this landscape looked like two thousand years ago, when the Romans arrived and built an amphitheater. I was about to find out.

Surprising blue fields outside Mortimer, England.

Ysgyryd Fawr (Skirrid), Wales

A quick loop hike surrounded by splendid scenery

It’s not often I have an opportunity for a mid-week ‘bonus’ hike, but on a day spent driving across Wales, from Conwy on the north coast to Cardiff on the south coast, it’s hard not to stop somewhere in the midst of that magnificent countryside and go for a hike. I selected a small mountain called Ysgyryd Fawr, better known as Skirrid, because the AllTrails description touts its spectacular panoramic scenery. Of course, as I pulled into the trailhead car park, rain started to fall and I found myself sitting in the car, wondering whether it was worth heading out. It was!

Hikers ascend Skirrid, a small mountain in south Wales.

Mount Conwy (Wales)

A six-mile loop outside of a thirteenth-century castle village.

We are spending the weekend in Wales, including a few nights in the charming village of Conwy (CONN-wee) on the north coast. Shortly after sunrise this morning, I left the center of this historic village to hike a six mile loop up and over Mynydd Y Dref (Conwy Mountain), the dominant hill overlooking the village. Spectacular!

Mynydd Y Dref (Conwy Mountain) seen from the outskirts of Conwy, Wales.

Oxbridge jubilee

Visits to Cambridge and Oxford universities, and a long loop hike outside Oxford.

This week I had the opportunity to visit Cambridge University on Wednesday, and Oxford University on Friday, to meet colleagues and present my research. (Together, these universities are colloquially known as “Oxbridge”.) The weather continues to be sunny and beautiful, so I took the opportunity to explore each of these historic cities – and to get out into the Oxfordshire countryside for a delightful hike.

A lamb in a pasture outside Oxford, England.

Lisboa – Monsanto

Hiking around a high point in Lisbon.

As part of three-day holiday-weekend visit to Lisbon, I took advantage of the beautiful late-spring weather to hike the trilho azul de Monsanto (blue trail) loop around Parque Florestal de Monsanto (Monsanto Forest Park), the largest green space in Lisbon, perched on a hilltop overlooking the city. In the cool morning air, I had the entire park virtually to myself – with blue skies, a gentle breeze, and wildflowers blooming.

Lisbon’s Monsanto Forest Park contains a diverse range of forest habitats.

Thames Path – Chelsea to Westminster

34th consecutive weekend hike

Although the weather has been beautiful this weekend, I had little time for hiking. So, today I chose to walk a portion of the Thames Path. This long-distance path begins at the source of the Thames, in the Cotswolds, and follows the river downstream for 185 miles to Woolwich, London. (Regular readers may recall my brief visit to that downstream endpoint, at the famous Thames River Barrier, two months ago.) Today I began my walk in Chelsea, walked along the embankment until I reached the Parliament building, then turned back inland toward home.

Phoenix benches along the River Thames, London.

Hackney to Walthamstow

33rd consecutive weekend hiking!

Another weekend in London – another opportunity for hiking! Today was a lovely day – warm and sunny, with flowers blooming in the parks and dooryards. I was a bit short for time so I selected a hike on the northeast edge of London, from Hackney to Walthamstow at the end of the Tube’s Victoria line. Although most of the walk was along streets or paved bike trails, the scenery varied from residential areas, to pedestrian streets on market day, to the vast Victoria Park, to the locks and canal boats along a series of three canals, to the meadows and forests of Hackney Marsh and Walthamstow Marsh.

Broadway market in Hackney, east London.

Shetland Otter

An incredible encounter!

While we were visiting the beautiful beach at Muckle Roe – an island on the west coast of the Shetland Islands – we spotted an otter running toward the surf. It quickly disappeared under the water, but I kept close watch and saw his head appear occasionally as he hunted in a shallow bed of kelp among the rocks a few meters offshore. Then – ahah! – he caught something. I watched him swim toward shore, a crab squirming in his jaws, just barely above the surface of the water. He reached the shore, but just behind a large boulder, where I could no longer see him. I grabbed my long lens and walked quietly down the beach, behind the boulder, and peered over. There he was, just a few meters away, gnawing on his crab!