SAMARIA GORGE & GIGILOS

SAMARIA GORGE

FRAGILE BRIDGE

THE GATES

KRI KRI AT SAMARIA VILLAGE

BEAST OF BURDON AT SAMARIA VILLAGE

SHALLOW CAVE IN SAMARIA GORGE

ROUTE TOWARDS GIGILOS

ROCK ARCH ON WAY TO GIGILOS

ME ON THE SUMMIT OF GIGILOS

LAST FEW STEPS DOWN

At 15km, the Samaria Gorge is the second longest gorge in Europe (after the Verdun Gorge in France). The name is derived from Santa Maria, whose church is located half way down the gorge in the abandoned village of Samaria. The gorge walk is perhaps the most famous in Crete and is, in part, why we came to Omalos, just a few km from where it starts.

George, the owner of the Neos Omalos Hotel, drove us the short distance to the Samaria National Park ticket office, where, for €5 each, we were permitted to enter the park and start our descent of the gorge.

For the first couple of hours this involved a long zig-zag path that took us down the side of the gorge to the stream bed. From there on we were constantly crossing from one side of the stream to the other on stepping stones. Sometime after midday we reached Samaria Village where we ate our lunch. It was hot so we drank plenty and refilled our bottles before continuing on our way.

The terrain was much flatter thereafter. Crude wooden bridges began to appear as an alternative to stepping stones when stream crossings were necessary. Eventually we reached 'The Gates', the narrowest section of the gorge where the 300m high gorge walls are just 3m apart.

We exited the National Park after 13km of walking. There was a bar immediately outside the park where we enjoyed refreshing drinks before continuing the last two km to the village of Agia Roumeli on the southern coast of Crete. We had booked into the Agia Roumeli Hotel, so after checking in, we changed into our swimsuits so that we could  bathe in the Libyan Sea. Although early in the season the water wasn't too cold.

We ate at the Hotel and then wandered around the village, picking up food for the following day from the local mini-markets.

The next day involved walking all the way back up the Samaria Gorge again. Since most people start from the top, as we did on the preceding day, we saw very few people on the way up until we reached the half-way point at Samaria Village. As before, we ate our picnic lunch here. Rubi teased a Kri Kri (a Cretan Goat) in an attempt to get a good photograph and was nearly rewarded with a head butting.

After then, the upward climb became more strenuous, with the final couple of km being extremely steep. We had climbed over 1,200m to get back to the start.

Unable to walk much further, Rubi called George, the Hotel owner, for a lift and within a short while we were enjoying a shower in our hotel room.

In the evening we were were joined by German couple Albert and Sandra and found plenty to chat about as we consumed a couple of glasses of Ouzo each.

On Sunday, our last full day in Omalos, the plan was to climb Gigolos, an intimidating looking mountain of hard grey rock, nearly 2,000m high. It was a tough climb on stoney paths with precipitous edges. It took us over 4 hours to get to the top, the last sections requiring hands as well as feet. It rained a little as we stopped for lunch by the summit, but fortunately this cleared by the time we needed to descend. The rocky paths and the scree made the descent slow and laborious, but happily George was able to pick us up again when we got back to the start.

On our last night in Omalos, we reflected on how varied our walks in the area had been. In the morning we would be catching the bus back to Chania for some well deserved rest.

CHANIA & OMALOS - CRETE

VENETIAN HARBOUR IN CHANIA

VENETIAN LIGHTHOUSE AT SUNSET

NEOS OMALOS HOTEL

ANCIENT CYPRESS TREE NEAR KOUKOULE

SUMMIT OF KOUKOULE

VIEWPOINT AT KALERGI REFUGE

SOME INDICATION OF A PATH TO KAIMENI SUMMIT

HARD WALKING - OMALOS PLATEAU IN BACKGROUND

KAIMENI KEFALA SUMMIT

BACK DOWN TO THE PLATEAU

Tuesday 28th May. Other than the fact that the EasyJet aircraft's air conditioning wasn't working, our flight from Gatwick to Chania Airport was uneventful. For €2.50 each, the coach from the Airport took us directly to Chania bus station, which happened to be just 50 yards from Alena Apartments, where we would stay for the night.

It was late afternoon, so we quickly settled in so that we could take a walk down to the Venetian Harbour to enjoy the views, look around the tourist shops, and find a restaurant. We settled on the Mixalis, which served us a mixed grill to share, preceded by a salad and followed by a chocolate sweet and Raki, the latter provided in a small bottle along with two shot glasses. We soon learned that this was the traditional way to end a meal in Greece.

We slept well that night, but needed to be up early to catch the 07:45 bus to Omalos in the White Mountains to the south of Chania. Not long after 9:00 we arrived at the Neos Omalos Hotel where we would stay. It was too early to book in, so we loaded what we needed for a day-walk into our rucksacks, left our suitcase, and headed up a mountain path which would take us to Kalergi Refuge.

This was a 4 hour walk which involved climbing difficult, rocky mountain terrain. Route-finding was assisted by the blue and red splashes painted onto the rocks.

The highest point of the walk was Koukoule at an altitude of 1631m. Shortly after we reached Kalergi Refuge, from where the views were spectacular. In particular, we could we could see down the Samaria Gorge which we would be walking along later in the week.

Climbing down from the Refuge was at least as difficult as climbing up although it was fascinating watching the Lammergeiers (Bearded Vultures) encircling us on our descent. Perhaps they were hoping that one or both of us would expire.

Finally, a 4km walk across the Omalos Plateau brought us back to the Neos Omalos Hotel. Once there we were able to enjoy a welcome shower and sample their cuisine.

We had a bit of a lie-in next morning, not getting down to breakfast until 9:00. We didn't leave the Hotel for a walk until gone 11:00. Although the day's walk was shorter, it was much tougher with rocks and trees to contend with on largely pathless terrain. Our route took us to the summit of Kaimeni Kefala at 1401m, where we ate our picnic lunch at nearly 3:00pm.

We returned to the Plateau by following a stream bed all the way down to the road, which we then followed back to the hotel. We were out for about 6 hours in total, but the day was most satisfying - for me because it involved tricky navigation and for Rubi because she was able to cope with such challenging terrain.

After supper at the hotel, we enjoyed a hot chocolate in our room using our newly acquired travel kettle. We needed to sleep well, for tomorrow we would be walking the length of Samaria Gorge.

SOUTH DOWNS WAY

SUNDAY 7TH APRIL 2019 - THE BEGINNING

ON OLD WINCHESTER HILL

LUNCH ON BUTSER HILL

BURITON & STILL GOING STRONG

BURITON POND & CHURCH

WILDCAMP NEAR AMBERLEY

STILL HANGING IN THERE

'JILL' WINDMILL

SEVEN SISTERS

MADE IT!

From the Sunday the 7th to Wednesday the 17th of April 2019, Rubi and I walked the South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne. To get to the start we left the car in Fareham and took the train (although part of the journey ended up on the bus due to work on the line). After being photographed by the sign at Winchester's City Mill, we commenced our journey at about midday.

The first part of the journey took us 13 miles east across Cheesefoot Head to Exton, where friend Andy picked us up so that we could spend the night at my house. He took us back next morning to continue the walk, which involved crossing Old Winchester Hill and Butser Hill until we reached Queen Elizabeth II Country Park. We continued through the park to reach Buriton, where this time we were collected by Simon, who took us back to Rubi's house for the night, picking us up again in the morning to return us to Buriton.

From Tuesday 9th, we were on our own, and we walked from Buriton to Cocking via Harting Downs. We stayed in the delightful Moonlight Cottage in Cocking, where they served us an evening meal as well as breakfast. From there we continued to Amberley via Bignor Hill. Accommodation was expensive in Amberley, but we were carrying sleeping bags and a tent, so pitched up at nearby High Titten Wind Camping Plot. Along the way we met Chris, another long distance walker, who accompanied us much of the way and also camped at High Titten. We ate dinner together at the Bridge Inn, but the night was cold and there was ice on the tent when we arose in the morning. Chris continued on his way while we took the short walk back to Amberley to enjoy breakfast at Riverside Tearooms before resuming our easterly heading.

Thursday's walk was a long 15 mile stretch that took us past Washington and Steyning, and over the River Adur, to the YHA Hostel at Truleigh Hill, where we had booked a private room. We caught up with Chris along the way, and he accompanied us to the hostel where he was also staying. However, whilst we enjoyed our warm room, he braved the cold outdoors in his tent. We parted company next day as we headed to Lewes, deviating a little from the official route. We were met in the Tesco's car park by Alison and the grandchildren Isaac and Susanna to be taken back to their house for a couple of nights. It was great to relax and rest our feet as we shared our Saturday with the family.

We were dropped back in Lewes town on Sunday morning, and walked south along the River Ouse to rejoin the official South Downs Way path. It was a shortish walk (only 11 miles) that took us to Alfriston, where we stayed in the village Camping Park. The night was still cold, but not as much so as before. In the morning we walked back to Alfriston village for breakfast before continuing with the final leg our walk to Eastbourne via the Seven Sisters. We had booked two nights at the Berkeley Guest House. This gave us time to have a good look around Eastbourne, which made Tuesday 16th a very relaxing day.

To return home on the 17th we decided to catch the train from Berwick railway station, just north of Alfriston. Getting to Berwick took us past the Long Man of Wilmington and made our total walking distance 111 miles. We had enjoyed every part of the walk and, although not always warm because of the north-easterly wind in our faces, the weather had been generally good.

THE SLOW WAY HOME

FOGGY VIEW FROM HIGH CUP NICK

PEN-Y-GHENT CAFE IN HORTON

FLOWER POT GIRAFFES IN SETTLE

MALHAM BECK EMERGING FROM COVE

COLD WAR BUNKER IN YORK

LUNCH IN YORK'S RAILWAY MUSEUM

REPLICA OF STEPHENSON'S ROCKET

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL

RADCLIFFE CAMERA IN OXFORD

RESIDENTS OF OXFORD'S MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Our Hadrian's Wall trek had been the climax of our holiday, but the fun wasn't over yet as we were in no hurry to get home. The plan was to take our time and stop by a few interesting places along the way.

After a lazy start to Sunday 12th August, we had lunch at the Rose & Crown, whose car park we had used to car-camp overnight. We then took advantage of our English Heritage membership once again by driving to Brougham Castle, near Penrith. After spending an hour or two there, we continued on to Dufton, which had a public car park with facilities where we were able to car-camp.

Next morning was wet and dreary, but I had every confidence that the weather would improve as I led Rubi up High Cup Gill to enjoy the magnificent view down the valley  from High Cup Nick. A bit of scrambling on slippery rock was required to reach the viewpoint. Sadly, however, the better weather did not materialise. We did manage to get a view down the valley as we had hoped, albeit through the mist, but by the time we got back to Dufton we were soaked through.

After changing into something dry, we continued our southward journey. We were generally heading for Horton in Ribblesdale, but on reaching the YHA hostel in Hawes we decided to stop for the night. They asked for £59 for a family room, but Rubi had seen it advertised on-line at only £49 and they agreed to accept that. We were a little surprised to subsequently discover that this so-called 'family room' contained bunk beds for two persons only, but weren't in the mood to quibble. We made ourselves a pasta and vegetable meal in the kitchen, which we enjoyed with red wine as we chatted to other guests.

On Tuesday morning we drove past Ribblehead railway viaduct and stopped near the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe at Horton in Ribblesdale on our way to the market town of Settle. As I got out the car in Settle I realised that my wallet was missing. It could only be either in Horton or back at YHA Hawes. We drove back to where I had parked in Horton, but there was no sign of it there. Meanwhile, Rubi hade phoned the manager of the hostel who had undertaken a search for it. Happily, it was found in the bin in our room. The bin was located behind a chair, and my guess was that I had placed it on the seat of the chair and it had slid into the bin withput me noticing.

Panic over, we drove back to the hostel to collect it, then back again to Settle. It was lunchtime by now but, as luck would have it, we found an superb place to eat in the town centre. Both the quality and price at the Singing Kettle restaurant and tea room were outstanding. On our walk back to the car, we saw lots of 'flower pot' sculptures outside houses, created for the annual competition.

Our journey then continued across the moors via Black Gill Lane to Malham, where I took Rubi to see the famous Malham Cove where Malham Beck emerges from below the cliff face. Afterwards, we car camped in the car park of Malhamdale United Primary School which was, of course, closed for the holidays.

Wednesday's journey took us to York. We would visit another English Heritage site, the Cold War Bunker just to the west of the city, and arrived outside it just in time for a first class guided tour. It was chilling to think how close the prospect of nuclear war seemed to be just a few decades ago.

Afterwards, we walked towards the city centre, but didn't quite get there because we came to the National Railway Museum. This museum is free to enter, yet contains the most astounding exhibits, including famous locomotives such as the Flying Scotsman, Mallard, Eurostar, a Japanese Bullet Train and so much more. We had lunch at tables made to look like a dinning car. It was hard to drag ourselves away, and by the time we left to continue into York city it was well past 5.00pm. Naturally, we took a look at York Minster.

Back at the car we drove south to Retford where we parked up for the night by a sports field.

Thursday morning we continued on to Lincoln, parking just outside the city centre and walking in. There was a long uphill walk through the main shops before we arrived at Lincoln Cathedral and the nearby Bishop's Palace, another English Heritage site which we entered.

I had arranged to meet an old work colleague, Alan, and his partner Joan, at Sutton Bridge near Kings Llyn in the afternoon, so we didn't have long in Lincoln. Rubi bought some discounted hiking trousers in Blacks, and I bought some camping chairs, after which a brisk walk back to the car was necessitated.

We reached Alan & Joan's house at about 3.00pm, and spent a while exchanging news. Alan is a keen radio ham and cyclist, whereas Joan is more into walking and has trekked a section of the Camino de Santiago.

Alan prepared dinner whilst Joan took us for a local walk. The evening involved reminiscences of times gone by and discussing mutual friends. After several  of glasses of wine it was time for bed.

After breakfast, we said our farewells to Alan and Joan and continued south to Cambridge, using the Madingly Road park and ride to get into the centre. The day was warm and pleasant, ideal for wandering around the historic university city. We took lunch in Côte Brasserie which wasn't cheap, but Rubi paid, haha. Most of the colleges charged a fee to enter, but we were quite happy to view the beautiful buildings from the outside.

We resolved to continue the university theme for the final day of our holiday, and drove south-west towards Oxford, parking near some houses just off the A41 on the east side of Biscester. Thus, on Saturday morning, we continued to the Redbridge park and ride to the south of Oxford and soon found ourselves outside the Sheldonian Theatre. We strolled in the vicinity of the Bodlean Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs before popping into the nearby Museum of the History of Science, which was full of scientific instruments, some dating back to when the earth was considered the centre of the universe.

A walk up Parks Road took us to the Museum of Natural History, which was even more impressive, with dinosaur skeletons and exhibits demonstrating the processes of evolution. We didn't leave until closing time.

We were soon back at the car and on the final stage of our journey home. It had been a great holiday. We had been away from home for just over 3 weeks, and during that time we'd had lots of fun and created many memories. It was time to get back to reality for a while - until the next adventure, that is.

HADRIAN'S WALL (3)

MEMORIAL BRIDGE OVER RIVER EDEN

CARLISLE CASTLE

ORNAMENTAL SEAT NEAR CARLISLE CASTLE

NEARLY THERE

END OF THE LINE

KING'S ARMS IN BOWNESS-ON-SOLWAY

THIS IS WHERE WE WALKED

RUBI'S STILL SWOLLEN TOE

Although our walk on Friday 10th August still followed long sections of the route of the wall, there wasn't much to see. It had been raining overnight so it was also wet underfoot as we departed Sandysike Farm.

We hadn't had much of a breakfast so we cracked on and after six miles of walking reached The Stag Inn at Low Crosby. It started to rain heavily as we stepped inside. Our hunger was satisfied by some excellent jacket potatoes with salad, and the rain stopped just before we settled up and left.

The afternoon's walk was a relatively easy bimble into Carlisle City, crossing the M6 and hugging the River Eden for much of the way. We left the Hadrian's Wall path just after the Eden Bridge and walked to Carlisle City Hostel in Abbey Steet, where we had a private room. Luxury again! It was only about 4.00pm, so after dropping our rucksacks off we took an easy stroll to the nearby Carlisle Castle for a look around, once again taking full advantage of our English Heritage membership. The two German girls from Sandysike had left the bunkhouse before us, and we met them again in the Castle grounds. Our English Heritage membeship also enabled us to visit Cumbria's Museum of Military Life which was located within the Castle walls. The Castle and museum were both excellent.

The following day we would walk from Carlisle to the western end of Hadrian's Wall at Bowness-on-Solway, and then return to Carlisle by bus. Thus, we didn't need most of the stuff in our rucksacks. We sorted out what we did need into Rubi's smaller rucksack and everything else was taken to the car, which was parked only 15 minutes walk away. We then enjoyed a tasty chicken dinner and a bottle of wine at the local Nando's before enjoying a comfortable night's rest.

Our last day took us back past the Castle to rejoin the Hadrian's Wall path, and then westward along the River Eden to Grinsdale, Kirkandrews, Burgh by Sands, Drumbugh, Glasson, Port Carlisle and finally Bowness-on-Solway. There was no wall to be seen. After a photo session at the 'official' end of the walk on the bank of the Solway Firth, we headed to the King's Arms for a celebratory drink. I calculated that we had walked 97 miles over the week, and Rubi had still been suffering pain from her injured toe throughout that time. She had wanted to do this walk and was clearly determined to compete it in spite of the discomforts involved.

I had carried Rubi's minimally loaded rucksack on this final day, and the lighter loads enabled us to cover the fourteen and a half mile distance in good time. Indeed, we were able to enjoy an hour sitting outside the pub and still catch an earlier bus than expected.

All too soon we were back at the car, our Hadrian's Wall adventure now officially over. Where now? Well, I had used our 'Britstops' directory to arrange for us to car camp in the car park of the Rose & Crown pub in the village of Low Hesket, about 20 minutes drive away. Thus, after picking up some vegetables from the supermarket along the way, we settled in for a quiet night. We did however pop into the pub for a G&T nightcap though, and had pre-booked a table for Sunday lunch the following day.

HADRIAN'S WALL (2)

FRIENDLY LOCAL

GREENCARTS CAMPING BARN

A LOT OF OUR WALKING LOOKED LIKE THIS

SYCAMORE GAP

ALONG THE CRAGS

MILECASTLE 39

SWIFT'S NEST AT HADRIAN'S WALL C&C SITE

LEAVING HADRIAN'S WALL C&C SITE

It was now Tuesday 7th August. We tidied up our wigwam and embarked on our third day of walking, this time just about all of which would be alongside the B6318. At least it was straight, so we could cover distance quickly.  We did take a brief shortcut on the road just before Chollerford to save 15 minutes and get us to Chesters Roman fort a little earlier, so that we could have a good look around the English Heritage site and museum. We were lucky enough to arrive just in time for an exciting falconry display.

Our digs for the night was the camping barn at Greencarts Farm, which we shared with Katerina from Switzerland, plus a group of four girls, all of whom were trekking Hadrian's Wall. Unlike us, though, they were all walking from west to east.

There was no evening meal available at Greencarts, but we did join forces with Katerina and Alex (another walker who would be sleeping in a caravan outside) and get some pizzas delivered from nearby Hexham. The farm did sell us some wine and beer to accompany our food.

Wednesday's walk involved only about 4 miles of the B6318 before we left it to climb Sewingshields Crags to reach Housesteads Roman fort, the most extensive and impressive structure on the wall. We viewed the displays in the English Heritage museum before enjoying our picnic lunch outside. There were some light showers whilst we ate, but not enough to dampen our spirits.

We continued our westward trek along the crest of the crags, enjoying the spectacular views to the north. We passed Crag Lough with the famous Sycamore Gap shortly after, and climbed up to the highest part of the Wall at Winshields Crags (345m). There were some steep ascents and descents on this section. When we reached Caw Gap we left the path to find Hadrian's Wall Caravan & Camp Site where bunkhouse accommodation for the night had been booked.

We were lucky enough to have the room to ourselves, and a small shop on-site enabled us to prepare a simple curry meal using the microwave oven available. The room was attached to the toilet and shower block, so wasn't the quietest place to be, but for a mere £15 each it sufficed. We used our own sleeping bags to avoid being charged for bedding. Above the entrance to the bunkhouse was a swift's nest with five baby chicks waiting their mother to feed them.

We continued along the ridge next morning in good weather, dipping down to beautiful Cawfields Quarry and, later, Walltown Quarry. After then, the route flattened out as we passed through Gilsland to reach our third English Heritage Roman fort at Birdoswald in time for a lunch break in the courtyard and a quick look around.

We still had seven miles to walk to reach our third bunkhouse, this time at Sandysike Farm just beyond Walton. We would be sharing with two German girls. There was no food available here so we ordered takeaway kebabs to be delivered from nearby Brampton.