The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Algarve Coastal Hikes

For several years I’ve been trying to schedule a hiking trip to this area of southwest Portugal, but other travel plans kept on postponing it. In late September I finally managed a week at an AirBnb in the coastal town of Lagos, joined by Maggie. While we didn’t do as many hikes as I planned – barely scratching the surface of the potential for an avid hiker – our week was a great introduction to the area, its paths, beaches, food, and history. Enjoy a few highlights. . .

Morning balcony view from our Airbnb apartment. Located just outside of the Old Town, since we were renting a car, with all the mod cons it was perfect for a one week stay.
Jacaranda mimosifolia. In typical fashion, this tree was about the only photo I took in the lovely historic center of Lagos!

From Lagos to Porto de Mos and beyond

This 14 km started right out of our apartment door. Although popular on a Sunday, it was absolutely amazing!

Steps to the sea at Ponta da Piedade, the southern-most point near Lagos
An arch at Ponta da Piedade
Coastal grasses and rock formations, Ponta da Piedade
Praia do Canavial. A gorgeous beach that required a steep descent to reach. Either because of that or because it is a nudist beach, there were few people!

Rota Circular do Cabo de Sao Vicente

The southwestern-most point in Europe was our trailhead for this 17 km loop hike. The coastal portion was definitely more interesting than the inland part!

Forto de Santo António de Belixe
Red squill (Drimia marittima). I had seen this autumn-blooming species on both Crete and Sardinia.
Snails on a pole. Was it the warmth or the moisture that drew them?
Maggie at Praia da Ponta Ruiva where we had our picnic lunch
Selfie with Maggie near Praia das Eiras
Coastal view north from near Pedra das Gaivotas
Autumn squill (Prospero autumnale). If it weren’t for the squills, we would have seen very few wildflowers in late September!

Alvor Walkways

This wasn’t really a hike, more an easy stroll. My plantar fascia had become inflamed and I needed two days rest before attempting even this easy 8 km walk.

Marsh view. I was hoping to spot some migratory birds as this was right along the coast east of Lagos, but there was little to reward my endeavors.

Seven Hanging Valleys

Easily the most popular hike in the area, and perhaps the entire Algarve. With great weather, lunch at a beach café at the halfway point, and a spectacular coast, this must-do hike was a fantastic choice for our last day in Lagos.

Rocha do Elefante
Farol de Alfanzina
Praia do Carvalho

I’m not sure exactly when this post will be published, but I am either in Morocco, the Canary Islands, or back for a short stay in Hastings before heading to Southeast Asia and Australia for the winter.

Happy Trails wherever you happen to be,

The Vagabond Hiker

The Southwest Coast Path: Minehead to Westward Ho!

More precisely, this installment of my SWCP odyssey turned out to be 5 days of hiking divided into two parts: from Minehead to Combe Martin, and – after suitable recovery – from Westward Ho! to Barnstaple. Enjoy the photos and chronicle. . .

Minehead, Somerset, has the distinction of being the official starting point for the Southwest Coast Path, now a part of the almost-completed England Coast Path. As I just missed the bus from the Taunton train station, I chose to take a taxi to save nearly 2 hours’ journey time. Big mistake. That 23 mile ride set me back more than 110 GBP, about twice the cost of the First Class train from Hastings! Other than the typical August beach vibe, Minehead has little to recommend it and early the next morning I began walking. As usual for these shortish segments, I carried all that I needed in my rucksack, taking advantage of lodging and restaurants each day.

View of Minehead beach towards the west and the start of the Coast Path, on a gray day.
Minehead Coastguard Cottages in a lush garden along Quay Street.
The SWCP starting monument
A long way to go!
View along the path, with bracken. Despite the overcast, at no time during my walks did it rain.
Valerian. Ok, I was a bit desperate for wildflower photos at this time of year!
Steep descent danger sign. I wimped out and took the slightly less steep, but better protected, route.
Wayside Cottage, looking almost Swiss

Porlock Marsh. It was at this point early on the 2nd day that I performed an emergency duct tape repair on my water bladder. This just about lasted the day.
The remote and picturesque St Beuno’s Church, Culbone
The path through oak woods, with the Bristol Channel below
An elaborate entrance gate along the path. No signage to give a hint of its history.
Two heathers together: common (left) and bell (right). By this point the path had left Somerset for North Devon.
Countisbury Parish Church, appearing half-submerged on its eponymous hill east of Lynmouth
Orchard House Hotel, Lynmouth. A Grade 2 Listed property and highly recommended for an overnight stay if you’re ever in Lynmouth.

Looking back to Blacklands Beach, Lynmouth, on the initial climb to Lynton.
The Valley of Rocks, by a long shot the most popular walk in the area.
A bold robin, hanging out near the bench where I consumed my packed lunch
Looking back on the Coast Path and vertiginous Heddon’s Mouth below
An impressive waterfall. Nearly all “combes” (deep, narrow valleys) had some sort of stream flowing down them to the sea.
An atmospheric coastal view back to the east. This is my favorite photo.
Heather (and gorse) on the Great Hangman
Summit rock pile on the Great Hangman. At 318m, this is the highest point along the SWCP.
View towards Combe Martin. . . still a long ways down!

The first three days of what was intended as a 7 day walk to complete this section of the SWCP ended at Combe Martin. As you can see from the All Trail stats, the walks were long and had many steep ascents and descents. By this point, my plantar fasciitis had become so excruciating that the next morning I resorted to a taxi to my next hotel, and then a bus the following day to my hotel in Barnstaple, essentially granting me two days of rest to recuperate. It was just what the doctor ordered!

After two days lazing around, with limited time completing the entire section of the SWCP was off the table, so instead I chose to walk the last two days in reverse direction (west to east) from Westward Ho! as the path was essentially flat and buses were readily available if plantar fasciitis reared its ugly head (foot?!) again.

The market town of Barnstaple was far better than my (admittedly low) expectations. Staying here the final three nights (that was my plan all along) meant that I only carried a light day pack, taking advantage of the bus connections from the nearby depot. A great vegan restaurant provided a respite from the heavy Devon cuisine. Add in live music one evening and a reasonably priced, yet elegant hotel, and what’s not to like?

Surfers at Westward Ho! beach. Westward Ho! is the only town in the English language with an explanation point in its name.
The natural pebble ridge and sandy beach at Northam Burrows Country Park
Saltwater marsh with Appledore
View from the RNLI Appledore Lifeboat Station. That’s a Tamar-class lifeboat on the right if you’re curious.
Irsha Street, Appledore. The Coast Path follows this picturesque street.
Old boats and the River Torridge

Bideford’s Tarka the Otter, from the book by Henry Williamson. The Long Bridge is behind.
View of the River Torridge
Blue houseboat on the River Torridge
Bridge spanning the Tarka Trail, which here coincided with the Coast Path. The entirety of this day’s walk was on tarmac, hence the 3 star rating.
Barnstaple and the River Taw, end point for my week’s (well, 5 days) walking

A rainy day in Hastings and my mind beginning to shift to my next trip. . .

In six days I’m off to Uzbekistan for some hiking & culture in the country at the heart of the Silk Road. I’ll leave you with two photos from my balcony at Rocklands in Hastings, once again my home away from home.*

Rocklands Dawn
Rocklands Dusk

The Vagabond Hiker

* – when queried about my “home”, depending on the context I respond either “Utah” or “Planet Earth.”

Walks, Hikes, and Via Ferrate in the Alta Val Camonica, Brescia (Lombardy)

Located northeast of Milan and west of the Dolomites lies Val Camonica, a valley in Lombardy that’s one of the largest in the Central Alps. It stretches about 90 kilometers between the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, from Lago d’Iseo to Passo Tonale, Passo Aprica and Passo Gavia. The entire valley is crossed by Fiume Oglio, the fifth largest river In Italy, starting a few kilometers above Vione in Ponte di Legno where two streams meet. At the southern end it empties into Lago d’Iseo, with its waters eventually joining the Po River. The largest rock art site in Europe, with more than 300,000 petroglyphs spanning 8000 years, is found in the lower and middle portions of the valley, which in 1979 was designated Italy’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. With limited time and high summer temperatures, I left exploring this fascinating pre-Roman and Roman history for another visit.

Staying at an Airbnb apartment located in the village of Vione at 1250 mslm, for four weeks I walked, hiked, and climbed via ferrate in the upper (alta) end of the valley, an area I had driven through once in 2018, but had never visited. Portions of two major parks, Stelvio, and Adamello, are found above the Alta Val Camonica, which provided the impetus for my sojourn here. I was doubly fortunate in having my brother and sister-in-law join me for 10 days and a few of the hikes. It certainly took some effort to reduce the nearly 400 photos to some semblance of a reasonable blog post. Enjoy!

Ponte di Legno confluence. This lovely town about 7 km north of Vione was a bit touristy, though I expect nothing like during the winter skiing season.
Val di Cané stream and house. This valley, one of numerous side valleys radiating from Val Camonica, was directly behind Vione, and a popular location for both hikes and picnics.
A betony-leaved rampion
European yellow rattle
View at the head of Val di Cané.
Laghetti di Pietra Rossa, above Val di Cané, taken on my second hike from this valley.
A frog I spotted at the pond in the previous photo
Vista from Bocchette Val di Cané to Val Grande. This pass was the turnaround point for my second hike from this valley.
Horses seen on a loop hike to Bocchette di Val Massa from Val di Cané, my third from this valley.
WWI stone wall at Bocchette di Val Massa. The Italian-Austrian front lines were along many of these mountain passes.
A large-flowered selfheal
The hamlet of Case di Viso, several kilometers above Ponte di Legno, and the starting point for our hike to Rifugio Bozzi where we had lunch.
My brother, Mark, walking at Trincee, old World War I fortifications, adjacent to Rifugio Bozzi
Mark above Passo Paradiso, a hike that started with taking a cabinovia (gondola lift) from Passo Tonale. We went “off-piste” for a bit of scrambling away from the crowds on this hike.
The Vagabond Hiker relaxing above Passo Paradiso
Velvetbells, one of my faves
Presena Glacier and sign mentioning the geotextiles covering it, in a futile attempt to halt the melting. Note Presena Bar 3000 at the upper left. The cabinovia line to the top is not really visible here.
Mark and Norma on a short hike from Bar Presena 3000, at the top station above Presena Galcier. The glacier on the right is the Adamello, the largest in Italy.
Moss campion and granite. Unlike most of the limestone Dolomites to the east, much of these mountains are granitic.
A cottage near Sant’Apollonia, starting point for our challenging hike to the three Laghi di Monticelli
A pano taken at the third lake, the highest of the three
View toward Monte Gavia from the third Laghi di Monticelli. Mark can just be spotted on the right side of the lake here. Less than two weeks later I would attempt to climb Monte Gavia.
Hooved locusts with minder
The Alta Val Camonica above Temù. Walking in the Camonica Valley proper was a great way to enjoy an “off” day.
Creeping bell-flower
Fiume Oglio, above Temù.
A stream on the trail from Val Bione on a Rifugio Petitpierre – Corno d’Aola loop from Rifugio Valbione
Tall yarrow. Most were white, but some a vibrant pink like this example.
Monte Gavia and Monte Gavia “Sud” (on the left) from the trailhead at Passo Gavia. At 2650 mslm, this pass is the highest vehicular pass above the Val Camonica. (NB: the “Sud” appellation is my own invention).
Monte Gavia “Sud” summit view back towards the trailhead and Lago Bianco.
On the summit with Monte Gavia background. After recent rains, an icy descent to the col connecting them convinced me to defer the higher peak to another day.
My last two excursions of note were both Via Ferrate (VF). Here is the less than exciting start to the VF Alpini & Austriaci on the north side above Passo Tonale.
Edelweiss. This single plant near the beginning of the Via Ferrata Alpini was the only one I saw the entire month I stayed in Vione.
Clouds roll in on a north-side traverse
View south down to Passo Tonale
Torrione d’Albiolo summit and cross
The remote Cocchiale basin with three (unnamed) alpine lakes
A local I encountered on the route . . .
. . . and the rest of this Ibex’s family
Up close with some moms and kids. I saw Ibex three days, but on the VF Austriaci I finally managed some decent photos.
Screenshot from the PeakFinder app, taken from my balcony. The two labelled peaks on the Via Ferrata Dei Fiori in the Adamello Mountains are circled in red. Pardon the elevations in feet rather than meters.
Another less than exciting start on Via Ferrata dei Fiori, from Passo Paradiso.
WWI graveyard of barbed wire
View from the Passo del Castellaccio. Some major wooden structure was built here during WWI.
Plank bridges aid this traverse, with two climbers seen in the V-notch on the right. Neither this nor the previous day’s Via Ferrate were all that difficult, provided one doesn’t suffer from vertigo!
Several climbers heading up to Panorama Point, about the only actual climbing on this VF route
A selfie view north on the Via Ferrata dei Fiori
View from the first Passerella
The first Passerella, a VERY long cable suspension bridge
Looking back on a dramatic vista with the second Passerella
Small-leaved gentians and granite
Glacier buttercup. Yes, there were some flowers in this land of rock and ice. Hence perhaps the name Via Ferrata dei Fiori has some justification.
View along the Via Ferrata dei Fiori towards Presena Bar 3000
My lunch view from the Corno di Lago Scuro. Note Bivacco Passo Lago Scuro (bivouac) at the lower right.
Punto di Lago Ghiacciato (upper left) with Bivacco Passo Lago Scuro. From here it was a 45 minute walk to the top of the cabinovia at Bar Presena 3000. Altogether a fine, if a bit crowded (even mid-week) ferrata.
And the obligatory mountain sunset photo. Alpenglow from my balcony in Vione. The amazing views made returning to my apartment each afternoon a pleasure.

Following a brief stay in Hastings, I will depart on Sunday for Minehead in Somerset to embark on another installment of the Southwest Coast Path. Seven days’ hiking west from there will bring me to Westward Ho!, where the challenge of completing this long distance trail started for me more than seven years ago. Stay tuned,

The Vagabond Hiker

Categories

Subscribe for Updates