May 8th, 2013 at 3:00PM: Not feeling healthy? Go hiking. Two new studies from the UK show that a hike, or even a good walk around the city streets, boosts mental and physical health.
A new survey by Ramblers, the British walking charity, found that a quarter of adults in Britain walk for an hour or less a week. And when they're talking about walking, they don't mean hitting the trails in the local nature reserve, they ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
hikes posts
Go Hiking: It's Better For You Than You Thought
May 8th, 2013 at 3:00PM: Not feeling healthy? Go hiking. Two new studies from the UK show that a hike, or even a good walk around the city streets, boosts mental and physical health.
A new survey by Ramblers, the British walking charity, found that a quarter of adults in Britain walk for an hour or less a week. And when they're talking about walking, they don't mean hitting the trails in the local nature reserve, they ...Springtime In Green Spain: Time To Get Out Into The Countryside, And Under It!
Apr 29th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
Green Spain has finally emerged from a miserable winter into a glorious if unreliable springtime, so it's time to get out and enjoy the region's natural beauty.
The northern coastal strip of Spain consisting of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Region has the best outdoor and underground adventures the country has to offer. Its combination of scenic hikes and extensive caves is ...Mount Kilimanjaro Defeats Jordanian Princess
Mar 12th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
It looks like money and privilege can't buy everything.
Princess Sarah Princess Sara bint Al Faisal of Jordan, niece of King Abdullah II, failed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the Tanzania Daily News reports.
The 18-year-old princess tried to scale the famous mountain last weekend with a large entourage of assistants and Jordanian international students. She reached the Kibo point at 4,700 ...Castle Drogo, England, Opens To Public
Mar 10th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
The last castle to be built in England is opening to the pubic, BBC reports.
Castle Drogo is more of a stately home than a castle, since it was built long after artillery made castles obsolete. It was started in 1910 by Julius Drewe, founder of the Home and Colonial Stores, near Exeter in Devon. World War I and the Depression slowed down construction and it wasn't completed until 1930. The ...Photo Of The Day: The Iconic Torii Of Kyoto, Japan
Feb 15th, 2013 at 5:00PM:
Today's Photo of the Day comes from our Gadling Flickr Pool, submitted by Luke Robinson. This image perfectly captures the endless, iconic aisles of torii gates in Kyoto, Japan. These vibrant, vermillion arches are located in Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Tens of thousands of the gates form a path that winds through a forest and up Mount Inari.
...Hiking To The Hollywood Sign (No GPS Required)
Dec 10th, 2012 at 10:00AM: I studied abroad in Ireland but I never kissed the Blarney Stone. I visited the Great Pyramids at Giza but refused to pony up for the classic photo on the camel. And I went to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, but didn't bother to put a wish or prayer in one of its crevices. I don't have an interest in checking off travel cliché to-do boxes or even making bucket lists, but for some reason that ...GPS Guided Hikes Explore Mysterious Yorkshire Rock Art
Sep 16th, 2012 at 4:00PM: Yorkshire, in northern England, is famous for its beautiful countryside where hikers pass through remote moors and climb rugged hills. They can also explore an enduring mystery of Europe's past.
Yorkshire has some of England's largest concentrations of prehistoric rock art. Drawings of recognizable animals or objects are rare. Instead, most are abstract images like these "cup and ring marks," ...Scottish Wildcat May Go Extinct Within Months
Sep 14th, 2012 at 4:01PM:
A new survey by the Scottish Wildcat Association of the endangered Scottish wildcat has revealed only about 35 purebred individuals, prompting the group to announce the cat may go extinct within months, the BBC reports.
It was previously thought that their population numbered about 400. Another survey, funded by Scottish Natural Heritage and published last month, estimated about 150 breeding ...How To Create A Successful Hiking Route
Aug 31st, 2012 at 4:00PM:
A couple of years ago, I spent six enjoyable days hiking the East Highland Way and wrote a series about it for all you fine folks. Back then this trail through Scotland had only just been established by devoted hiker Kevin Langan.
I felt like a real pioneer when I did this route. The 82-mile journey from Ft. William to Aviemore was unmarked and there was no guidebook yet. Kevin was kind ...
Police Urge Hikers To Learn Orienteering Instead Of Relying On Smartphones
Aug 16th, 2012 at 12:00PM: Police in northern Scotland have issued a call for hikers to learn orienteering rather than relying on their smartphones for navigation, the BBC reports.
Grampian Police have had to lead four separate groups to safety in the past week. The latest rescue included the use of mountain rescue teams and a Royal Navy helicopter to retrieve 14 hikers. The hikers were in the Cairngorms, a rugged ...Shapinsay: Visiting A Wee Scottish Island
Jul 27th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
No trip to Orkney is complete without seeing some of the smaller islands. They offer plenty of natural and historic sights as well as peaceful solitude.
Little Shapinsay can be seen from the main harbor at Kirkwall, but visitors often overlook it. Even though it only measures six miles long at its longest and has only about 300 residents, it's served by a regular car ferry from Kirkwall. My ...Video Of The Day: Huayna Picchu Offers Bird's-Eye View Of Machu Picchu
Jun 11th, 2012 at 6:30PM:
Standing on the mountain ridge of Machu Picchu, the most recognized site of the Incas that sits high above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, is an experience sought after by people from all over the world. Walking around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, one can't help but wonder what life was like for the Incas who lived there in the 15th century. As visitors take a moment – or in some ...
Five great hikes in Scotland
Mar 14th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. With a varied landscape of lush glens, steep mountains, and rugged coastline, there are plenty of great hikes in Scotland to satisfy any hiker. Here are five of the best.
West Highland Way
One of Scotland's most popular hikes runs 96 miles from Milngavie to Ft. William. The trail offers a good sampling of many of Scotland's ...English wildlife and nature to get more protection
Mar 1st, 2012 at 9:00AM:
I've said it before and I'll say it again--on a good day there's no country more beautiful than England. Fans of hiking, nature, and wildlife have a real treat with England's wild places, and those places just got a boost to the tune of £7.5 million ($12 million) in additional funding.
The government has selected twelve Nature Improvement Areas where nature will be protected and ...Hiking in Spain: Santoña's rugged coastline and Napoleonic forts
Feb 20th, 2012 at 1:30PM: One of the great things about hiking in Europe is that many trails pass places of historic interest. Whether you're hiking along Hadrian's Wall or to a medieval castle, you can learn about the past while living in the moment amidst beautiful scenery.
Spain offers a lot of these hikes. One is an 11km (7 mile) loop trail near Santoña in Cantabria, northern Spain.
My hiking group and I ...America's baddest badlands
Jan 17th, 2012 at 10:30AM:
One of the greatest things about the United States is its environmental diversity. From towering forests of pine to sun-hammered deserts, from snowy peaks to steaming swamps, this nation has it all.
Some of the most compelling places are also the harshest. Take this view of the sand dunes of Death Valley, taken by talented photographer John Bruckman. This is the worst part of the Mojave ...Two day hikes in the mountains of Cantabria, Spain
Nov 30th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
As I've mentioned on this blog before, I've moved from Madrid to Santander, in Cantabria in northern Spain. This region is part of what's often called Green Spain, made up of the four northern regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country. I'm loving life by the sea and I've been busy exploring Cantabria's countryside, which offers some of the best hikes in Spain. Green and ...Enjoy nudist hiking? Rethink that holiday in Switzerland
Nov 18th, 2011 at 3:00PM: Last year we reported on a major victory for nudist hiking in Switzerland. A hiker in the conservative Swiss canton of Appenzell got fined for baring all, appealed, and won.
Now that victory has turned into defeat. The BBC reports that Switzerland's highest court has ruled that local authorities can fine people for hiking in the buff. Naked hiking isn't illegal per se, but but public indecency ...Historic stretch of Hadrian's Wall repaired
Oct 15th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
A stretch of Hadrian's Wall, the famous fortification in northern England that for centuries marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire, has been repaired.
After 2,000 years, parts of the fortification meant to keep out northern barbarians are in pretty bad shape. People have stolen stones over the past several centuries and you can see parts of the wall in local farmhouses and ...Hikes near Madrid: a new guidebook shows you the way (in English!)
Sep 30th, 2011 at 1:00PM: Every year, thousands of English speakers visit Madrid on holiday or to teach English. Most never explore the many hikes near Madrid, and that's a shame. The Sierra de Guadarrama offers some challenging and varied routes, and the lowland areas of the Comunidad de Madrid offer pleasant rambles. One of the best spots is La Pedriza, which can be a tough slog and easy to get lost in.
One of the ...
