Category Archives: Wild Places

Winter in the Vulcan Eifel

Posted on January 2, 2017 by moselman

When you think of the Earth’s great volcanic regions, you tend to think of places like Pacific NW America, Indonesia, Iceland or the Aleutian Islands; Germany, by contrast, certainly isn’t a location which naturally springs to mind. Despite this, as little as just 10,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places | Tagged Lieser, Manderscheid, Meerefelder Maar, Mosenberg, Vulcan Eifel | Leave a comment

Neuschwanstein – In the Fantasy World of the “Fairytale King”

Posted on November 13, 2016 by moselman

With 1.3 million visitors annually, King Ludwig II’s fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein certainly isn’t “off the beaten track” by any stretch of the imagination. The iconic Castle is one of the Europe’s best known tourist haunts and has provided and inspired the backdrop for many a … Continue reading →

Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, Mountain Treks, Uncategorized, Wild Places | Tagged Allgäu, Alpsee, bavaria, Burg Falkenstein, Füssen, Hohenschwangau, Loengrin, Ludwig II, mass tourism, Nesselwang, Neuschwanstein, Oberbayern, Pfronten, Starnberger See, Tannheimertal, Tristan and Isolde, Wagner, Walt Disney | Leave a comment

In the Footsteps of Rob Roy

Posted on October 19, 2015 by moselman

October is often a great month to visit Scotland and autumn 2015 was no exception, with fine settled conditions prevailing; effervescent morning mists dissolving away to leave clear skies and dramatic low angle sunlight. It was great to be back … Continue reading →

Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Mountain Treks, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places | Tagged Aberfoyle, Balquidder, Callander, Clan MacClaren, Creag an Tuirc, Kirkton Glen, Leny Estate, Loch Doine, Loch Katrine, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Voil, native oakwoods, Rob Roy, Rob Roy's Cave, Robert the Bruce, Stirling, West Highland Way, Wild goats | Leave a comment

Season of Mists

Posted on October 12, 2015 by moselman

Autumn is my favourite time of year to be out and about exploring the woods, fields, moors and meadows of the surrounding countryside. As well as the vibrant red, gold and orange hues of wild cherry, maples, birches and beech, there are … Continue reading →

Posted in Aachen & Euregio, In Europe, Trees & Greenspaces, Urbanism, Wild Places | Tagged autumn, autumn colours, biodiversity, birch, conkers, cultural landscapes, fly-agaric, foraging, Hohes Venn, mushrooms, norway maple, steuobstwiesen, street trees, sweet chestnuts, Urban Greenspace, urban trees, wild cherry, wild harvests | Leave a comment

Into the Canadian Wild

Posted on October 6, 2015 by moselman

This is an edited version of an article that was originally produced for a UK paddlesports magazine. It follows a canoe trip we made to the Bowron Lakes in British Columbia in 2002 : The road stretched to the far … Continue reading →

Posted in Canoe Trips, Mountain Treks, Wild Places, World | Tagged 100 Mile House, Barkerville, BC Provincial Parks, bears, Big Bar Creek, Bowron Lakes, British Columbia, Canadian Rockies, canoe camping, Caribou Gold Rush, elk, Fraser River, golden eagles, Highway 97, Horsefly, Ispha Mountain, Issac Lake, Lanezi Lake, lynx, McLeary Lake, moose, otters, Quesnel, Una Lake, Western Canada, Wilderness canoeing, wilderness conservation, Williams Lake | 1 Comment

Alps at the Crossroads: Green Utopia or Developers Paradise ?

Posted on September 3, 2015 by moselman

It all looked great; a traditional apartment in the alpine village of Oberjoch, located at 1200m in the Eastern Allgaü region of Bavaria and close to the beautiful Tannheimer Valley in neighbouring Tyrol. With Germanic diligence I scanned the latest version of Google satellite maps for any items … Continue reading →

Posted in In Europe, Mountain Treks, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places | Tagged Allgäu, architecture, Bad Hinderlang, bavaria, Bavarian Alps, climate change, farm tourism, forest education, Green Tourism, Hintersteinertal, local distinctiveness, Oberjoch, Schattwald, ski developments, Slow tourism, Sustainability, Sustainable tourism, Tannheim, Tannheimertal, timber constructure, Vilsaplsee, wellness resorts | Leave a comment

Range of Light

Posted on August 31, 2015 by moselman

A week in Scotland at the end of August gave me the chance to revisit some old haunts around Stirling and the Trossachs. I am reminded that the light in Scotland is not quite like anywhere where else; a seemingly … Continue reading →

Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Mountain Treks, Wild Places | Tagged Ben A'an, Ben Ledi, Big Country, Comrie, Dumyat, Dundarn, Eileden, John Muir, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Runrig, Southern Highlands, Stirling, Strathearn, Stuart Adamson | Leave a comment

New Life in Scotland’s Ancient Forests

Posted on March 2, 2015 by moselman

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 | Leave a comment

Secrets of the Wild Wood

Posted on February 26, 2015 by moselman

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 | Leave a comment

Meeting a Himalayan Legend: the Man who Conquered Everest

Posted on January 21, 2015 by moselman

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 | Leave a comment