Welcome to
Permanent Tourist
This is the personal website of Mark Howells-Mead, a British photographer and WordPress web developer/designer in Switzerland.
Lead photo: flooding in Verdun, France, 2026
Latest blog posts
The blog is the heart of this website, with content on a wide range of topics which interest me. The archives contain entries going back to 2004.
Dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants
Published in
We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants in order to see more and farther than they do – not, of course, thanks to our own sharp eyesight or size, but because the size of the giants lifts us up. Bernard of Chartres
Modern WordPress makes almost any website possible, but success depends on clear communication and practical, long-lasting solutions — not technical complexity. In my day job at my web agency Say Hello, I do not believe in selling overly complex or inflated technical solutions. Instead, I focus on delivering the simplest professional solution that fulfils the
Hard Knott from the pass road
Published in
During our time in the Lake District in 2024, I did a lone hike to the top of the fell which I’ve been driving past ever since first visiting the region in the 1990s.
Blog posts about hiking and walking
Hard Knott from the pass road
Published in
During our time in the Lake District in 2024, I did a lone hike to the top of the fell which I’ve been driving past ever since first visiting the region in the 1990s.
Lunch at the glacier
Published in
Taking the cable-car to a traditional mountain restaurant below vast cliffs for a birthday treat.
Random things in January 2026
Published in
It’s been over two years since I last published one of these, but I enjoyed doing them and so I think I might try and reboot my monthly photographic reviews.
Autumn colour in the Rosenlaui valley
Published in
A long but beautiful hiking route with a couple of short steeper sections, best done in autumn.
Videos
Years of photography and drone flying have filled my archives with memories. This short film combines some of my best 2019 clips from Switzerland, Wales, and England.
A picturesque dog walk to the tidal island of Oronsay, off the coast of the Isle of Skye.
Lots of work stopped me from going out so much, but we did get in a great trip to canton Wallis.
Making more of an effort to publish moving pictures, including one from Dartmoor in June.
Places
Faulensee
Faulensee is a small village on the shores of Lake Thun in Switzerland, which I have called home since 2011.
Ballenberg
A Swiss site to which historic buildings from all over the country have been painstakingly relocated.
Mürren
A small village in the spectacular mountains above the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland.
Wengen
A small village clinging to the mountainside of the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland.
Étang de la Gruère
The “Gruère pond” is a small lake in the pine forests near Saignelégier in the Swiss Jura mountains.
Delley-Portalban
A village, harbour and area of lake houses in the woods on the southern shore of Lac de Neuchâtel.
My life in the internet
I’ve been designing and creating websites and browser-based web applications for 30 years. Website projects using content management systems are the main focus of my professional career and I began contributing to the WordPress community as a theme and plugin developer, translation editor and WordCamp speaker and co-organizer in 2009.
Recent photography
The main drive behind my days out used to be a specific goal of taking photographs. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised more and more the value of experiencing life and taking photographs while doing so. That being said, I usually have my camera bag and my drone with me in the boot of the car when we’re travelling around, and my iPhone is always ready to capture a scene on the go. These are some of my favourite recent photographs.
