Where are your favourite walks?

Started by vandermolen, July 22, 2020, 01:17:46 PM

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vandermolen

Quote from: kitsune on July 25, 2020, 06:28:18 AM
it's nowhere near as stunning as the previous entries, but I like walking in LaBagh Woods, in the Northwestern outskirts of Chicago
Looks very nice to me.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: Iota on July 25, 2020, 07:04:26 AM
There are so many great walks in and around London, many on the Thames alone. It's wonderful for example walking along from the South Bank to Southwark Cathedral, past the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the reconstruction of Francis Drake's Golden Hinde, with views across to the City and St Paul's, and ending up in one of the many excellent eateries around there. Or crossing Tower Bridge and down to St Katharine's Dock e.g. These walks are sadly going to be slightly different since coronavirus, as they are often buzzing with activity and people.

Some of the most spectacular 'walks' I had recently were in Yosemite National Park, California. The Porcupine Creek Trail springs to mind, where one emerges at the end, from dark, wooded slopes onto the heart-stoppingly glorious sight of Half Dome, Clouds Rest and plunging views of Yosemite Valley. All in brilliant sunshine when we were there.



Half Dome at the end of Porcupine Creek Trail (from the internet)


Lots of nice walks around there in the Chilterns. Do you remember the name of the pub?
How great! Never (sadly) been to USA but I can relate very much to your London walks as I grew up in Central London (Earl's Court - according to myself and my brother and 'South Kensington' according to our parents) and I went to school very close to St Paul's, in Blackfriars. In my younger days I used to meet an old school friend at the school (by Blackfriars Bridge) and after playing 5-a-side football in the old school gym we'd go jogging along the Embankment and cross over either Westminster or Hungerford Bridge and return the other side of the River. Happy days!
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: Spotted Horses on July 25, 2020, 07:41:07 AM
The George Mitchell Nature Preserve which, perhaps ironically, was named after the guy who basically invented fracking.
Very nice. Thanks. Reminds me of some of my local walks.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mirror Image

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on July 24, 2020, 08:14:56 AM
Is it a case that there aren't any volunteers to maintain the trail?

PD

I suppose so, PD. I haven't walked this trail in probably 20 years or more.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: kitsune on July 25, 2020, 06:28:18 AM
it's nowhere near as stunning as the previous entries, but I like walking in LaBagh Woods, in the Northwestern outskirts of Chicago
Looks cool and inviting to me!  :)

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Iota on July 25, 2020, 07:04:26 AM
There are so many great walks in and around London, many on the Thames alone. It's wonderful for example walking along from the South Bank to Southwark Cathedral, past the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the reconstruction of Francis Drake's Golden Hinde, with views across to the City and St Paul's, and ending up in one of the many excellent eateries around there. Or crossing Tower Bridge and down to St Katharine's Dock e.g. These walks are sadly going to be slightly different since coronavirus, as they are often buzzing with activity and people.

Some of the most spectacular 'walks' I had recently were in Yosemite National Park, California. The Porcupine Creek Trail springs to mind, where one emerges at the end, from dark, wooded slopes onto the heart-stoppingly glorious sight of Half Dome, Clouds Rest and plunging views of Yosemite Valley. All in brilliant sunshine when we were there.



Half Dome at the end of Porcupine Creek Trail (from the internet)


Lots of nice walks around there in the Chilterns. Do you remember the name of the pub?
Haven't been to Yosemite before, but would love to go there.  I miss walking around London.  Haven't walked along the Thames before, but your walk sounds wonderful (including food)!   :)
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Spotted Horses on July 25, 2020, 07:41:07 AM
The George Mitchell Nature Preserve which, perhaps ironically, was named after the guy who basically invented fracking.
Looks like you have the whole place to yourself?  :)

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Brian

#27
Quote from: Iota on July 25, 2020, 07:04:26 AM

Lots of nice walks around there in the Chilterns. Do you remember the name of the pub?
The Village Gate. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire. Only proper cheeseburger I had in my year of UK life, and also a spot where I chatted with a fellow who wasn't quite ready to go home to his wife and kids and somehow downed 7 pints during our conversation. As an American, I was called on to settle a bar argument - which politician was more attractive, Condoleezza or Hillary  ??? ??? ???

Iota

Quote from: vandermolen on July 25, 2020, 07:40:15 AMI grew up in Central London (Earl's Court - according to myself and my brother and 'South Kensington' according to our parents)

Haha, great importance hangs by such distinctions!

Quote from: vandermolen on July 25, 2020, 07:40:15 AMI went to school very close to St Paul's, in Blackfriars. In my younger days I used to meet an old school friend at the school (by Blackfriars Bridge) and after playing 5-a-side football in the old school gym we'd go jogging along the Embankment and cross over either Westminster or Hungerford Bridge and return the other side of the River. Happy days!

That sounds like a really nice routine. Such rituals can inspire real fondness for me too, particularly when looked back on from some distance.


Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on July 25, 2020, 08:31:20 AM
Haven't been to Yosemite before, but would love to go there.  I miss walking around London.  Haven't walked along the Thames before, but your walk sounds wonderful (including food)!   :)

Yes the food's a nice part of it! 8) Whether en famille, or just one or two of you, there's really a fantastic choice!

Quote from: Brian on July 25, 2020, 10:18:39 AM
The Village Gate. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire. Only proper cheeseburger I had in my year of UK life, and also a spot where I chatted with a fellow who wasn't quite ready to go home to his wife and kids and somehow downed 7 pints during our conversation.

Ah, not a pub I know/knew. The one I was trying to think of and couldn't when I was typing my post, was The Wellhead also in Wendover and which also closed. It had something of a 'Bohemian' reputation at one point.
I used to play squash with a guy, a few years older than me, who downed eight pints or more almost every night, for most of his drinking life! He's still going strong though and can regularly be seen riding around on his mountain bike! Though beer consumption has radically reduced ..

Quote from: Brian on July 25, 2020, 10:18:39 AM
As an American, I was called on to settle a bar argument - which politician was more attractive, Condoleezza or Hillary  ??? ??? ???

A vital question after seven pints I imagine ..  ::)

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Spotted Horses on July 25, 2020, 10:46:12 AM
The photo is perhaps 50 meters off the trail, and we pretty much have the place to ourselves there. Waling the usual 2.6 km loop we might encounter half a dozen people.

Our parks can look just like that, with a typical temperature of 37 centigrade. It feels cooler under the canopy of trees. I still come out drenched in sweat.
Ooh!  Ouch!  I'm feeling sunburnt already! And, yes, in the summertime, it's important to exercise/hike early in the morning...or a stroll after dinner.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Spotted Horses on July 25, 2020, 03:20:08 PM
Actually we can complete the entire walk without being exposed to direct sunlight. Very dense canopy of trees. We just get steamed by the heat and humidity.
Do you try and go out early these days?
Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

Quote from: Brian on July 25, 2020, 10:18:39 AM
The Village Gate. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire. Only proper cheeseburger I had in my year of UK life, and also a spot where I chatted with a fellow who wasn't quite ready to go home to his wife and kids and somehow downed 7 pints during our conversation. As an American, I was called on to settle a bar argument - which politician was more attractive, Condoleezza or Hillary  ??? ??? ???
Yes, it occurred to me that Mount Caburn near Glynde was a long way to come for a walk from Texas  8)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: Iota on July 25, 2020, 11:10:06 AM
Haha, great importance hangs by such distinctions!

That sounds like a really nice routine. Such rituals can inspire real fondness for me too, particularly when looked back on from some distance.


Yes the food's a nice part of it! 8) Whether en famille, or just one or two of you, there's really a fantastic choice!

Ah, not a pub I know/knew. The one I was trying to think of and couldn't when I was typing my post, was The Wellhead also in Wendover and which also closed. It had something of a 'Bohemian' reputation at one point.
I used to play squash with a guy, a few years older than me, who downed eight pints or more almost every night, for most of his drinking life! He's still going strong though and can regularly be seen riding around on his mountain bike! Though beer consumption has radically reduced ..

A vital question after seven pints I imagine ..  ::)
Yes, those central London jogging excursions with my old school friend were very nice, especially when we ended up in a pub afterwards.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

MusicTurner

#33
Some lovely entries here. I tend to cycle a lot, and such trips would be outside the thread's subject, but besides many, mostly one-time walks when abroad, I am currently in Zentral Zealand for some days, away from Copenhagen, and the Åmosen area near Jyderup has been quite a discovery, with traditional, undulating and rural Danish scenery along Jyderupstien/The Jyderup Hiking Path. The path in itself is 59 km, but there are many options besides that one.

vandermolen

Quote from: MusicTurner on July 26, 2020, 01:09:44 AM
Some lovely entries here. I tend to cycle a lot, and such trips would be outside the thread's subject, but besides many, mostly one-time walks when abroad, I am currently in Zentral Zealand for some days, away from Copenhagen, and the Åmosen area near Jyderup has been quite a discovery, with traditional, undulating and rural Danish scenery along Jyderupstien/The Jyderup Hiking Path. The path in itself is 59 km, but there are many options besides that one.
Ah, I can hear Nielsen's music accompanying the landscape! I have taken up cycling again after a 40 year break, at the instigation of my wife. I have had some fairly traumatic experiences on a bike, not least being knocked off (not literally) my bike by a low flying Dutch military jet whilst working on a farm in Zeeland (NL) between school and university. Actually the jet gave me such a fright that I drove my bike off the road and into a dyke (ditch).
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

MusicTurner

#35
Quote from: vandermolen on July 26, 2020, 08:47:25 AM
Ah, I can hear Nielsen's music accompanying the landscape! I have taken up cycling again after a 40 year break, at the instigation of my wife. I have had some fairly traumatic experiences on a bike, not least being knocked off (not literally) my bike by a low flying Dutch military jet whilst working on a farm in Zeeland (NL) between school and university. Actually the jet gave me such a fright that I drove my bike off the road and into a dyke (ditch).

Ouch! I broke an elbow on a cobbled street in Kosice, Slovakia, once when cycling, and was also once torpedoed by an unconcentrated car driver just 50 m from my home address, but the resulting knee injuries didn't last, luckily. The pros outweigh the cons as regards cycling, I think - but with the new, fast and rather heavy electric bikes and scooters, the city traffic environment has become less safe and predictable at times ... walks are mostly safe when in safe terrain, and it isn't dark. But I might not be here to post, if an evening driver on that Italian road where I took a walk back in December had decided to cross the road, suddenly and very speedily to a sideroad, just 50 cm away from the route he actually took ...

vandermolen

Quote from: MusicTurner on July 26, 2020, 09:06:11 AM
Ouch! I broke an elbow on a cobbled street in Kosice, Slovakia, once when cycling, and was also once torpedoed by an unconcentrated car driver just 50 m from my home address, but the resulting knee injuries didn't last, luckily. The pros outweigh the cons as regards cycling, I think - but with the new, fast and rather heavy electric bikes and scooters, the city traffic environment has become less safe and predictable at times ... walks are mostly safe when in safe terrain, and it isn't dark. But I might not be here to post, if an evening driver on that Italian road where I took a walk back in December had decided to cross the road, suddenly and very speedily to a sideroad, just 50 cm away from the route he actually took ...
I tend to keep to special cycle routes where possible, although it often isn't in England. My wife is far more confident on a bike. My first experience of driving abroad (Italy) last year was very nerve-wracking for me.
I nearly turned my bike into a river in Austria some years ago after I set off with the handlebars the wrong way round and discovered that there was nothing where the breaks had once been. Instead I wobbled into a wall and fell off. My wife and daughter were besides themselves with laughter.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

kitsune

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on July 25, 2020, 08:22:34 AM
Looks cool and inviting to me!  :)

PD

It is; a part of the North branch of the Chicago River runs through the woods which attracts lots of deer and other wildlife. One of the last times I went I watched a mama deer and her faun grazing peacefully. :)

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Whenever the weather permits, we like to walk to Lake Michigan, usually with the dog accompanying us. Summer:



Winter:

formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: kitsune on July 28, 2020, 07:13:53 AM
It is; a part of the North branch of the Chicago River runs through the woods which attracts lots of deer and other wildlife. One of the last times I went I watched a mama deer and her faun grazing peacefully. :)
Sweet!  Trust that you spray & check yourself for ticks afterwards?  I've had several friends get Lyme disease...some with some really bad consequences as they diagnosed it quite late.  About a month or so ago, I happened to see a mom and her faun crossing the road headed to a quiet side street; I rarely see them in my area.  :) A sign of the times.  Though I did see a bear (around 200 lbs?) checking out my veggie garden a few days ago.  It (wisely) decided that my hot peppers were not really food [and thankfully, it didn't try to open up my new composter around the corner!].

PD
Quote from: Archaic Torso of Apollo on July 28, 2020, 07:36:57 AM
Whenever the weather permits, we like to walk to Lake Michigan, usually with the dog accompanying us. Summer:



Winter:


Nice photos!  Looks very inviting!

PD
Pohjolas Daughter