Germany’s digital Deutschlandticket costs only €49 for travel on all services, except the speedy intercity ones. In addition, young people up to 14 years old always travel free with the national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn (DB), when travelling with adults. Germany has long been a leader in green living, and they put their money where […]
Sometimes we forget to take out our maps before booking a walking holiday and look at what tracks and trails, mountain or maritime, lie just beyond a border. We often focus on a single destination and see it as just one box of adventures, when there might be many more to enjoy just a train […]
The dragon takes centre stage in Bhutanese culture, even in its alternative name, Druk Yul, which means Land of the Thunder Dragon. It’s a country that excites prospective visitors, but it can also intimidate them a little as it has some unique tourism rules in place. It’s far from a dragon, however, but simply seeking […]
There are some lake districts in Europe that are world renowned, such as Lakes Como or Constance, Loch Lomond or England’s Lake District of course. However, we want to add a few more watercolours to the picture and highlight lakelands that are lesser known to some, but where walking or cycling trails abound, not only […]
Hut to hut hiking is for those who don’t need frills on their forays into nature. Nature is beautiful enough without needing crisp white linen and a Chardonnay at the end of the day. If you are seeking out remote trails with a bed, bathroom and a bit of banter at the end of the […]
City breaks are a must sometimes, when the culture vultures in us get peckish, if romance is on the radar, or simply because you’ve always had a burning desire to wrap yourself in a country’s specific urban heritage. However, sometimes walking on concrete or cobbles isn’t quite enough for us, and we also want to […]
We should never take national parks for granted – a phenomenal global network of natural wonders protected for the good of the planet and its people. The world’s first was Yellowstone in 1872 in the USA, partly thanks to Scottish emigrant and advocate of conservation, John Muir. A worldwide movement of national parks then began, […]
“Mountains return to us priceless capacity for wonder which can so insensibly be leached away by modern existence, and they urge us to apply that wonder to our own everyday lives.” – Robert Macfarlane, Mountains of the Mind There are few people who can express the magic and mystery of mountains better than British writer, […]
Rather than calling them easy walking holidays, we should really refer to them as ‘taking it easy’, because not everyone wants to be summiting at sunrise or counting cols as they go. We respect that people have varying degrees of mobility and, if we can support adventurers who aspire to just getting out there, breathing […]
Do you have the ‘coastal condition’? For some, it may be chronic and for others, there may only be mild symptoms. These include an insatiable craving for sea air, and no trip to a swimming pool or around the local lake will pander to it. Or do you feel an ache all over when you […]
The European rail network is a gift to natural adventurers and, if you book in advance, you can get some great value tickets too. You are also cutting your carbon costs big time. As well as being very green, travelling by train is a fantastically laid-back start to your walking holiday, with no luggage restrictions, […]
The first recorded ascent of Morocco’s Mount Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak, was a hundred years ago, on 12 June 1923, by the Marquis de Segonzac, Vincent Berger and Hubert Dolbeau. However, you don’t need a title to top Toubkal (4,167m) these days. You just need a good level of fitness, an excellent local guide, […]
