The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The Southwest Coast Path: Lyme Regis to Lulworth Cove, Dorset

Having a few spare days in the UK at the end of September, I took the train and bus down to Lyme Regis to pick up where I left off 15 months ago walking the Southwest Coast Path in South Devon. This latest installment covered about 50 miles over four days, walking generally west to east along what’s known as the Jurassic Coast. In 2001 the Jurassic Coast was designated a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO and it remains England’s only Natural World Heritage Site. According to UNESCO, “The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth’s history. The area’s important fossil sites and classic coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.”

Without more ado, here are some of the photo highlights from my four days’ walking.

The sea wall leaving Lyme Regis. The weather was to prove somewhat problematic
Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium). I’ve shown these before, but in late September there weren’t many flowers blooming.
The archeologist statue. Note the rock hammer.
An artistic gate, seemingly celebrating the Vikings
Looking back on Charmouth, with Lyme in the far distance
View east towards Golden Cap, the highest point on the South Coast of England — though only 191m above sea level.
View west from Golden Cap. Brambles, along with bracken and gorse, were my frequent companions.
Wind-sculpted hawthorns on the way to West Bay, towards the end of day 1
A typical dry stone wall, seen shortly after leaving West Bay on day 2
Hive Beach. The weather was rapidly deteriorating. . .
A wind vane along Cogden Beach. Winds were from the SSW, gusting to 45 kts.
A beach poppy (Glaucium flavum). My last photo on day 2 as I placed my camera in a dry sack for the duration of my rain-soaked walk to Abbotsbury.
A wooded inland path on leaving Abbotsbury. With dry clothes and a mild, (mostly) sunny day, my spirits had markedly improved.
Fishing boats on the Fleet, en route to Weymouth. “An extensive oasis of relative calm compared with the open sea across Chesil Beach, the Fleet Lagoon is a vital shelter and feeding area for wildlife.”
A picturesque farm
A Painted Lady
Sandsfoot Castle, Weymouth. Along with Portland Castle, this artillery fort was built during the 16th Century to provide defense for the Portland Roads and harbor.
Castle Cove, Weymouth. I deviated a bit from the SWCP to walk along this beach.
The colorful Weymouth harbor
Weymouth beach, early morning on day 4
Smuggler’s Inn. Built in the 13th century, the Smugglers Inn was a major landing place for smuggled goods in the 17th century. I was too early for lunch, but enjoyed a soda water and lime along with some breakfast fruit, provided gratis by the accommodating waiter.
Coastguard cottages at White Nothe. Amazingly remote (for England) and completely off grid, from a distance I thought it was an old manor house. One of the cottages was for sale the prior month at £225,000. I enjoyed a pack lunch at the WW2 pillbox on the right.
An atmospheric view east. The rains this day were thankfully brief.
Coast view towards the Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove
The Durdle Door, a popular tourist attraction
Lulworth Cove, where my 4 day walk ended and I caught the Jurassic Coaster bus to the Wool train station and the return to Englefield Green

Back at my desert home in St. George, Utah, I am enjoying the warm (and dry!) days hiking and swimming. My next overseas adventure will be during the holidays. Christmas morning will be spent exploring Petra, Jordan with Maggie and other clients on a guided KE Adventures trip. So, until the New Year, a hiatus from blogging. But not, of course, from the outdoors!

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking the White Mountains of Crete

The rugged peaks, dramatic gorges, and scenic coastal paths make western Crete a wonderful hiking destination. The White Mountains, (Lefka Ori in Greek), composed chiefly of limestone, are the southern-most range in Europe. Nonetheless, they’re high enough to receive snow during the winter months and hold it until early spring. Both the snow covered uplands and the blanched limestone rocks contribute to the name of the range, the largest on Crete, occupying a considerable area of the central and western portions of the island. A good introductory reference on the Lefka Ori may be found here.

My one-week trip to western Crete was, once again, with KE Adventures, whose itinerary includes descending the longest gorge in Europe, climbing the highest peak in the White Mountains, as well as scenic coastal walking. With three separate guest house bases, we were able to cover a wide range of the natural highlights of the western Crete. Enjoy the photos!

Morning view from my Hotel Exari balcony, Omalos. This mountain hamlet was our home for the first two nights.

Our first day’s hike was to the summit of Mount Gingilos. At 1980m, it is not as high as other peaks, but its relatively easy access, purported great views, and exciting trail to the summit made it a good – if a bit challenging – choice for our first hike.

The North face of Mount Gingilos from the end-of-road trailhead. Our route to its summit is from the right side up to the obvious saddle.
A natural arch on the path up Mount Gingilos
A majestic Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
Mediterranean wild thyme (Thymbra capitata)
Mount Gingilos summit pole. The fog had completely obscured any view long before we reached the summit.
Three of our group of 5 descending one of the numerous scrambly bits near the summit.
A Mediterranean cypress living on the edge

Our second day’s hike, down Samaria Gorge, could not have been more different. From the same trailhead as the previous day, we descended this wildly popular gorge to the sea, about 15 km and more than 1200 meters lower. Most of the 1000 or so daily hikers came by bus from the popular tourist resorts in eastern Crete, so we had plenty of company.

A view down Samaria Gorge from near the top
A lovely stream with oleanders
The chapel of Agios (saint) Nikolaos
A friendly wild Kri-kri goat (Capra hircus cretica), endemic to Crete and highly endangered
View up the Samaria Gorge
A stream flows along large parts of the gorge, including the last 10 km.

After descending the gorge, we stayed in the remote hamlet of Agia Roumeli near its base. This village is only accessible by water or foot, and was quite charming once the day-trippers from the Samaria Gorge left in late afternoon. Following a rest day, we continued our hiking week along a coastal section of the long distance E4 walking path.

Morning view from my balcony in Artemis Studios, Agia Roumeli
Our coastal hike was from Agia Roumeli to Loutro along the E4. Here is a typical view through a pine forest along the route, with the Libyan Sea to the right.
The remote (and welcoming) Agios Pavlos (Saint Paul) taverna
The Agios Pavlos byzantine church
Coastal view with Marmara beach bottom center (not seen here)
The Marmara beach restaurant, where we had lunch. This photo was taken a couple of days later when we returned here to start our final hike.
Marmara beach and caves. The warm water and a couple of swim-through caves made our two hours relaxing here quite enjoyable. As one must either take a boat or walk, this beach was never too crowded.
Phoenician fort archaeological area near Loutro along the E4
Loutro, the end point of our lovely coastal walk. Loutro is yet another town on the south coast of Crete without direct road access.

At the conclusion of our coastal walk, we transferred about one hour by ferry to Sfakia, where we stayed for our final three nights. Despite having road access, Sfakia was charming nonetheless, with numerous harbor-side tavernas and not too much tourist kitsch. The hotel we stayed in was completely forgettable; I would recommend the Xenia Hotel instead if you’re ever in the area.

Our penultimate hike was to the summit of Mount Pachnes. We ascended a jeep road that took us 90 minutes to reach the trailhead at its terminus.

Mount Troharis (2401m) from near the trailhead. We couldn’t see our objective, hidden in the central Lefka Ori, for for the first hour or so of the hike.
Some of our group climbing towards Mount Pachnes’ summit (at right)
The Vagabond Hiker on Pachnes’ summit (2453m). While relatively warm even at that altitude, the strong winds made wearing a buff on my head seem sensible.
Summit view west towards Volakias with Gingilos behind to the right (above the white patch of scree)

Our final hike was a horseshoe from Marmara beach up the Aradena Gorge to the ancient town of Anopoli, with a descent to Loutro after lunch. The Aradena Gorge, one of more than 50 on Crete, is in many ways more spectacular than Samaria Gorge – and with far fewer people!

The entrance to Aradena Gorge behind Marmara beach
A griffon vulture over the gorge. Although we saw these majestic birds nearly every day, getting a photo of one was another thing entirely.
Lilac chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus), or Monk’s pepper. Along with Oleander, one of the few flowers we saw this late in the season. We also saw numerous sea onion or red squill, also common on Sardinia (see my post from last September).
A friendly goat (not wild) we saw in the Aradena Gorge. Goats are a major cause of the environmental degradation throughout the Lefka Ori.
Some hikers on a deviation to avoid rockfall in the gorge.
Our group in the Aradena Gorge
The Aradena bridge. At 138m, the highest in Crete.
A portion of the abandoned village of Aradena, deserted after a family feud in 1948 left multiple dead
Church of Archangel Michael near Aradena village. Mount Troharis is in the background.
View of prickly pear cactus and a cistern on the outskirts of Anopoli (literally, “high town”) where we had lunch. I ended the hike here, taking a taxi back to Sfakia while the others punished their knees in 34C heat on the 700m descent to Loutro.

I’m back in the UK for the next few days, before returning to the US on Thursday. Four days of hiking the South West Coast Path this past week provided quite a contrast to Crete, and will be the subject of my next blog post.

Now that summer’s over, get outside and enjoy the cooler weather this autumn!

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, Trekking, and Culture in the Caucasus, Part 2: Georgia

A short one-hour flight from Yerevan and I was in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, where I had rented an AirBnb apartment for the duration of my 12 day stay in the country. After KE Adventure cancelled the Georgia trip I had booked, online I found Trek Georgia, a company that leads some multi-day hikes and treks. I signed up for a four-day trip to the Greater Caucasus mountains in the Kazbegi region north of Tbilisi. Three others eventually signed up, making for some intelligent conversations with an eclectic group of clients.

Note: Due to a glitch, no e-mail notification of my previous post on Armenia was delayed. For a short background on the Caucasus region, including a map, you might want to skip down to read that post first.

Tbilisi’s National Museum Map of the Occupation (areas shown in red). While Armenians seem generally friendly towards Russians, such cannot be said for Georgians. Although their governing party is pro-Putin, nearly all Georgians despise him. The two bites he took out of the country in 2008 go a long way to understanding why.
View from the Ananuri Fortress Complex and Zhinvali Reservoir. We stopped briefly on our way north to the mountains.
A stream running through Khada gorge. Our first hike was a short one on the way to our guesthouse in Kazbegi. Sadly, road and tunnel construction made this hike the least enjoyable of the four, although the wildflowers compensated somewhat. . .
Thyme broomrape (Orobanche alba Stephan). To be honest, I couldn’t tell this parasitic plant apart from its relative, slender broomrape. My PlantNet app gave it a much higher likelihood of being Thyme broomrape, though.
Big betony (Betonica macrantha). This species has a much smaller range than common betony, which I also saw in Armenia.
Persian elephant flower (Rhynchocorys elephas). Although also native to Italy, I’d never seen this wildflower before. One of the botanical highlights of my trip.
Mt Kazbek from the Military Highway. Not a great photo as we were driving, but sadly the only sighting I had of this iconic Caucasian peak, 3rd highest in Georgia and by a long way the most popular with climbers.
The town of Kazbegi, in the district of the same name. This view is to the east from our guesthouse balcony where we spent three nights. This mountain town, now formally called Stepantsminda, is the last town before the border with Russia.
Juta Valley vista on our 2nd day hike. Many tourists were enjoying the good weather on a summer weekend in this beautiful valley.
Broad-leaved marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis) in Juta Valley
Fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea). A slightly better photo than my one from Lago di Garda in June. Once again I forgot to smell it.
A Juta valley waterfall on our second hike, heading towards Chaukhi pass.
Gentian speedwell (Veronica gentianoides). It took many photo attempts, but I finally got a decent one of this miniature wildflower. The Juta Valley had an amazing variety of wildflowers; I’ve only included three here.
The Vagabond Hiker with our guide, Nugo, on the third day of hiking. Only one other client and I hiked up to Altihut on this misty day. Altihut is the first of two refuges used on the normal ascent route of Mount Kazbek.
A religious memorial located at a pass on the way to Altihut where we had lunch.
A panel from the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument along the military highway. This monument was erected during Soviet times, but remains a popular tourist destination, in part for its dramatic location.
View northwest from the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument
Our fourth and final hike was up to Lomisa Church, a medieval Christian shrine. We were accompanied by many pilgrims on the path to this holy site.
View south from Lomisa Church. Russian-occupied Georgia starts immediately below my feet on this ridge and continues into the far distance.

After four days of hiking in the mountains, I joined a cultural group tour for a day, focused on the wine and food of Georgia. The informative (and filling!) day was provided by EatThis!, an expat-led company offering a number of different food and wine tours in Georgia. Our trip was centered in the Kakheti region, the largest – though not the only – wine growing region in Georgia. It’s location to the east of Tbilisi made it doable as a single day trip, though the company also offers multi-day trips.

Gia Togonidze, the proprietor of the eponymous winery we visited. The different wines were amazing and Gia’s wife cooked a delicious lunch for our group of five. Unlike in Armenia, I had no difficulty finding good vegetarian and vegan food in Georgia.
Qvevris drying in the sun. These large amphorae, buried in the ground, are used to age traditional Georgian wine.
Alaverdi monastery, where we stopped for a dose of history.
Gombori Pass sunset view on our return journey to Tbilisi after a very long day of eating and drinking.

I hope you have enjoyed the brief two part tour through the Caucasus. I’ll include some photos from Tbilisi (and Yerevan) later this autumn when I post some photos from the cities I visited in 2023.

My next adventure will be in Pakistan. In a few days I will leave the UK to Islamabad, and then north to Baltistan where our KE Adventures group will trek to K2 basecamp, a trip that’s long been on my bucket list. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer.

The Vagabond Hiker

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