Softly, softly
Wide vistas with blue skies and imposing mountains may be good camera fodder, but they can also become a bit monotonous.
Softly, softly
Étang de la Gruère
A little bit of the Scottish Highlands in Switzerland.
Loch an Eilein
Jo took me to visit Loch an Eilein, in the Rothiemurchus estate, during one of my first trips to Scotland way back in 2005. I love pine forests and, in particular, Scots pines, so I was in my element there. The walk around the loch is an easy one, ranging 4-5 miles over pretty unchallenging terrain, and offers plenty of…
Harder to Roteflue
Hiking in the rain along an unexpectedly steep route from the viewpoint above Interlaken.
Airolo, Switzerland
Deep amongst the mountains which form a natural boundary between the northern and southern sides of the Alps, Airolo sits below the old, snaking Gotthard Pass road. The intrepid northern motorway motorist heading south for the sun arrives in Airolo gratefully, often having queued for several hours on busy summer weekends to pass through the Gotthard Road Tunnel, which emerges here…
Unterbergli, Switzerland
At Unterbergli, on the way to the Sigriswiler Rothorn, there is a large meadow on the privately owned alp. Access is on foot only, and entails a 450m metre ascent of a pretty steep path through the forest. Once there, you reach a haven from the world: whilst I was there, I saw mountain hare, red deer and several…
Spitzi Flue, Switzerland
Spitzi Flue is the very Swiss-German-sounding name of a huge promotory of rock on the “Sigriswilgrat” (or mountain ridge). Although the rock looks a bit small in this photo, it’s actually the tip of a rockface around 500 metres high. (Compare with this photo, in which a climber stands atop the pinnacle.) I hiked up to Unterbergli from Wilerallmi on…
Winteregg, Mürren, Switzerland
The mountain station and restaurant at Winteregg, halfway between Grütschalp and Mürren, is a great place to enjoy a sunny lunch on the large terrace and enjoy the terrific, panoramic views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
Big old hill
One of the most challenging hikes I've done: up the steep and winding path through the forest from Beatenberg to the summit of the Niederhorn.
Interlaken Golf Course
I took a walk up through the woods from Heimwehfluh, near Interlaken. The top of the walk, after half an hour or so of wheezing and muscle aching, was high above the end of Lake Thun. Aside from enjoying the walk, having some exercise, and enjoying the view, I also discovered that the golf course in Interlaken has…
Ballenberg in autumn
Jo and I took a stroll around the Ballenberg open air museum on her birthday weekend a couple of weeks ago. The museum and its buildings are officially open to the public between April and October, but the site, its paths and woodlands are left accessible after the business closes up for the winter. It’s a lovely, quiet and ridiculously picturesque…
I like Austria
I really like Austria (at least, the little I’ve seen of it just recently). We were on the border between Bavaria and Tyrol for our anniversary and it was the first time I’d done more than pass through a narrow sliver of the country on the south-eastern tip of Lake Constance to photograph a wedding. The weather…
Major Oak, Sherwood Forest
As I was running ahead of time when returning to the airport after my recent trip to Yorkshire, I decided to take a break in my journey at an interesting spot en route. Seeing the signs from the motorway to Sherwood Forest, I decided to divert to the visitor centre, take a stroll through the woods and and…
The Clootie Well
Travelling, even in my own country, has given me much more interest in the places which many pass by, giving them little thought as they are so familiar. A small Forestry Commission car park at the side of the road not far from Inverness offers a place to stop at one such place: the "Clootie Well" at Munlochy.
The Jungfrau Region in Autumn
A panoramic view of the snow-laden alps above the autumnally beautiful forests near Interlaken in Switzerland.
Black Forest in a day
Photos from a day on the road, travelling a total of around 720 kilometres from our home in Switzerland to the Black Forest in southern Germany.
Ewok View
Shallow depth of field brings a special feeling to a photograph, altering scale and reality so it looks just a little unusual. By setting a wider aperture in your camera, the depth of field will become smaller and the areas nearer to and further away from the camera will be more and more out of focus. By using the most…
View from here
One of my favourite aspects of our home in Spiez is the fact that we have such interesting and ever-changing views across the town and up to the wood behind our house. It’s particularly lovely to look out of the windows late at night, when neighbouring homes are sinking into darkness and when the surrounding area is so silent.
Summer afternoon at Oeschinensee
Jo and I visit the alpine lake of Oeschinensee, in a mountain valley above Kandersteg, and take a dip to cool ourselves off.