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Category Archives: History & Culture
New Life in Scotland’s Ancient Forests
On the banks of the River Tay by Dunkeld in Perthshire stands the ancient “Birnam Oak”, reputedly the sole surviving tree of the famed Birnam Wood of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s “Scottish” play, Malcolm’s soldiers camouflaged themselves with branches from Birnam Wood before capturing Macbeth’s stronghold … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged ancient woodland, birch, Birnam Oak, Cairngorms, Caledonian Pine Woods, charcoal making, community woodlands, coppicing, Forest of Spey, forest schools, Glen Finglas, Glenmore Forest, Highland Birchwoods, highland clearances, Highlands, history, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Tay Woods, Macbeth, native woodlands, oak, Pass of Ryvoan, Perthshire, Scots pine, spirit of place, tanning industry, Trossachs, wood pasture, wood turning, Woodland Trust
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Secrets of the Wild Wood
Like a scene from a distant lost world, the damp woods of the Inde valley between Hahn and Walheim hang with a mass of tangled ivy. Dead branches, rotten tree stumps and slippery, moss-covered rocks litter the ground, making for treacherous conditions underfoot. Ominous, … Continue reading
Posted in Aachen & Euregio, History & Culture, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Aachen, ancient woodland, Blaustein, Bluestone, brophytes, Camperdown Elm, Devonian limestone, Eifel, Eifelsteig, Hahn, Inde, Konelimunster, Lime kilns, mosel, nature, nature conservation, outdoors, Raeren, saproxylic species, spirit of place, venwegen, Walheim, woodlands
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Meeting a Himalayan Legend: the Man who Conquered Everest
Mountain tourism in Nepal has been very much in the spotlight recently following the tragic deaths of 16 Sherpa guides on Everest last April. In October last year, unseasonal snow storms in the Annapurna region accounted for a further 43 deaths, including many … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, Mountain Treks, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places, World
Tagged Adventure Tourism, Bon Po, Chomolunga, Climbing, Community Forestry, Community Forestry Program, Everest, Everest Base Camp, Gokyo Ri, Himalayan Trust, Himalayas, Kathmandu, Lukla, Mani Rindu, Namche Baazar, Nepal, Nepal Earthquake, Phaplu, Reforestation, Sagamartha National Park, Salleri, Sherpas, Sir Edmond Hillary, Solu Khumbu, Sustainable tourism, Tengpoche, Tibetan Buddism, Tree Nurseries, trekking, VSO
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“Away With the Fairies” – The Legend of Doon Hill and Robert Kirk
As a child I spent many, happy summer Sundays sailing on my Dad’s boat at Loch Ard; a scenic forest-fringed loch, located in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park within the Trossachs region of Scotland. In 2002, this area became part of Scotland’s first National Park, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs, … Continue reading
Posted in Family, History & Culture, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Aberfoyle, Atlantic oak woods, Bonnie Banks, clootie wells, clooties, Doon Hill, Elves, Fairies, Fauns and Fairies, heritage trees, In Scotland, legends, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, magic and mystery, nature, outdoors, Rev Robert Kirk, sacred groves, spirit of place, The Little People, Trossachs, Trossachs Trail, woodlands
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Caribbean Colours of Scotland’s Wild West
On my wall hangs a picture by Scottish landscape painter John Lowrie Morrison, showing a brilliant white shell sand beach washed by a sea of aquamarine and turquoise. Although almost childlike in character, the picture buzzes with latent energy, the brooding peaks of … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Wild Places
Tagged aquamarine, Basalt, Book of Kells, Bottlenose Dolphins, Cadell, Carribean, Celtic Christianity, colours, Fingal's Cave, Giant's Causway, Inner Hebrides, Iona, Lords of the Isles, Mendelsohn's "Hebrides" overture, Mull, Peploe, Scotland, Scottish Colourists, Sir Walter Scott, St Columba, Staffa, turquoise
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Charlemagne’s Warriors
A haunting spectacle could be viewed in recent days behind Aachen’s ancient octagonal cathedral; ranks of solemn, stately figures could be seen lined up in neat rows, oddly reminiscent of the terracotta Emperor’s Warriors or the Lewis Chessmen. The figures celebrate the 1,200th birthday of Charlemagne, the Dark Age … Continue reading
Bernkastel Kues
We spent Easter around the little historic wine town of Bernkastel on the middle Moselle. I love the town’s ancient little market place, (very reminiscent of “Trumpton”) along with its winding streets and leaning half-timbered houses. The steep South and SW facing slopes produce … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Andel, Bernkastel Doctor, Bernkastel Kues, mosel, Moselle, Mulheim, Riesling, Vineyards, woodlands
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Tuscan Towers: Medieval Highrise of San Gimignano
As I surveyed the lush, rolling hills, woods and vineyards of the Tuscan landscape from the medieval hill town of San Gimignano, I couldn’t help but wonder why the Romans ever bothered to head off to invade hostile enclaves and dark forests of Northern … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, Urbanism
Tagged corporate culture, Ghibellines, Guelphs, Italy, medieval architecture, Milan, San Gimignano, skyscrapers, spirit of place, Tuscany
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Spring Woods of the Eifel
Spring really has sprung ! …at least here around Aachen and in the sheltered woods and glens of the Eifel, an upland plateau area which lies between Aachen and the river Mosel. This is a great time of year to be out and about in nature in the … Continue reading
Posted in Aachen & Euregio, History & Culture, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Aachen, beech, forests, Heimbach, herb paris, Monschau, mosel, oak, Ruhr, sawmills, wildflowers, wood products, woodlands, Zweifall
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In the Allgäu Alps
Whilst very popular with German holidaymakers, the Allgäu region by Obersdorf in SW Bavaria, is virtually unknown territory to British visitors, who instead head off in droves to “bigger name” alpine resorts such as Chamonix, Grindlewald and St Moritz (perhaps pausing … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, Mountain Treks, Wild Places
Tagged Allgäu, Bad Hindelang, Balderschwang, Bavarian Alps, Bergbauern museum, Bolsterlang, Diepolz, Fortingall Yew, Güntlespitze, Grasgehrenalpe, Großer Widderstein, Hörnerbahn, Hörnerdorfer, Hinterstein, Illertal, Imberger Hornbahn, Immenstadt, Kleinwalsertal, lederhosen, Mittlere Spitalalpe, Nebelhorn, Neuschwanstein, Oberbayen, Obermaiselstein, Obersdorf, Riedberger Horn, Sonthofen, Walais, Weiherkopf
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Off the Beaten Track 