Newfoundland - August 2023

 In August 2023 I enrolled in a Road Scholar program to travel and hike Newfoundland's Discovery Trail. I arrived in St. John's 4 days early so that I could explore Newfoundland's capital city, one of the oldest cities in North America and the easternmost city on the North American continent. Newfoundland and neighboring Labrador have been inhabited by humans for about 9000 years. There were 5 indigenous cultural groups, the S. Inuit, Inau, Livyer, Mi'kmaq and the Beothik.  The Beothik lived in Newfoundland but went extinct in 1820. The other 4 indigenous cultural groups comprise about 9% of the current population.  Then came the Vikings, Leif Ericson and others, around 1000 AD, and in 1497 explorer John Cabot, carrying patents from King Henry VII, "discovered" Newfoundland.  Soon many English and Irish explorers and fishermen immigrated to Newfoundland, mainly to take advantage of the rich fishing grounds and especially the abundant and easily caught cod.  A thriving Salt Cod Industry developed with large shipments of cod being shipped annually to Europe.

  I enjoyed exploring St. John's, a lovely city with one of the world's most sheltered harbors.  After 4 days I joined the Road Scholar group, and after hiking up Signal Hill to Cabot's Tower, and then travelling to the Cape Spear lighthouse, the easternmost area of land in North America we boarded a coach and travelled 3 hours away to Port Union on the  Cape Bonavista peninsula.  It was from here that we would explore the towns of Port Union, Trinity, Elliston, Bonavista, and King's Cove, and hike different sections of the Discovery Trail for the next 6 days.  Here are some photos that illustrate the scenic beauty of Newfoundland.

Dramatic sedimentary rock formation on Kings Cove trail

Coast viewed from the Klondike Trail

Klondike Trail

Klondike Trail

Historic village of Trinity on Trinity Bay

Sea stacks visible from the Skerwink Trail

Coastline, Skerwink Trail

Isolated sea stack seen from the Skerwink Trail

Pitcher Plant, provincial flower of Newfoundland

Lighthouse at Cape Spear

Cabot's Tower on top of Signal Hill

Visiting Looe and Polperro in Cornwall

 After finishing my hike on the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire, I decided to visit one of my favorite destinations in the British Isles --- the county of Cornwall in SW England. I took a train from Filey, the end point of my Cleveland Way hike, and travelled to York. At York I was able to get a direct train to Liskeard in Cornwall.  This trip involved traveling almost the length of England and I arrived Liskeard after 8 pm. I then got a train to Looe on the branch line and arrived late at night, after 9:30 pm and checked into my airbnb.                                                                                                                                   Looe is a very picturesque coastal village and is divided into East Looe and West Looe by the Looe River and the harbor. I spent two days exploring this lovely coastal town. On another day when the weather was beautiful and no rain was forecast, I took a bus to Polperro which is another very lovely Cornish coastal village. I explored Polperro and then hiked the Southwest Coast Path back to Looe. Polperro is located in a valley. The pretty cottages and shops extend down the valley and then there are many cottages separated by narrow winding lanes located near Polperro's sheltered harbor. The hike from Polperro back up the coast to Looe was about 5 miles, and I encountered beautiful coastal scenery all along the way.  Here are a few photos that should give you a feel for these two attractive Cornish coastal villages and for the scenic nature of the 5 mile hike. (NOTE: The photos loaded in reverse order from what I anticipated)

Returning from the hike to Looe Harbor and beach at low tide

Talland Bay up ahead

Cross honoring lives lost in WW II on the coast path

The coast path closely follows the coast

Cornish coast between Polperro and Looe

Leaving the sheltered harbor at Polperro. The hike begins.

Protected entrance to Polperro Harbor

Polperro Harbor

Herring gull at Polperro Harbor

Polperro Harbor

Narrow lane in Polperro village

West Looe

At my airbnb in East Looe with West Looe across the river.

West Looe and harbor

West Looe and Looe River

Arrival at the Looe rail station

  

Hiking the Cleveland Way

In September 2022 I returned to England to attempt another long-distance solo hike, this time on the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire. This is England's 2nd oldest National Trail, completed and opened to hikers in 1969. It is about 108 miles in lenght. I arrived at London Heathrow, took the Heathrow Express to London Paddington, and then a taxi to London Kings Cross station. The short trip took a long time because of all the traffic diversions in place because of the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey. From Kings Cross I took a train to York and then a bus to Helmsley, the official start of the Cleveland Way. The first half of the hike was spent inland crossing the moors of the North Yorkshire National Park, and the second half of the hike involves coast walking, starting at the coastal village of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, and then down the North Yorkshire coast to the coastal village of Filey, the terminus of the Cleveland Way. Along the way after leaving Saltburn, the hike took me to the lovely coastal villages along the coast -- Staithes, Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, Scarborough, and finally, Filey. The scenery crossing the moors was wonderful and the hike along the coast was replete with dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. I managed to complete the entire trail with the exception of one day when I took a taxi for several miles and another day, because of rain showers and aching feet, I took a bus from Robin Hood's Bay to Scarborough. The hike was much more rigorous than I had anticipated. There was a fair amount of walking on flat terrain, but hiking across the moors involved steep ascents followed by challenging and somewhat dangerous descents as I crossed from one moor to the next. The coastal walking was also challenging at times when a valley or descent down to a beach required hiking down and then back up flights of steps to return to the cliff top. I experienced clement weather with very little rain. I met few hikers attempting the walk the entire distance of 100+ miles but those I did meet were very friendly and interesting people. When I finished the hike I traveled to Looe, a lovely coastal village in Cornwall, for some R & R and more exploring, including a hike on the Southwest Coast Path from Polperro to Looe. After visiting Looe I traveled to Luckington where I visited with my longtime English friend Clive Renton. We spent a wonderful day together exploring Tintern Abbey in Wales. Here are some photos of my hike on the Cleveland Way

The Feathers Hotel, my lodging in Helmsley

The start of the Cleveland Way, and the first of many gates

Lovely Rue Bridge and the church in Helmsley

Rievaulx Bridge

Ruins of Rievaulx Abbey

Sutton Bank and the view author James Herriot called "the finest view in England"

Cairn on Live Moor, at one time a Bronze Age burial mound

Preparing to hike Scarth Wood Moor

The trail up to the top of imposing Roseberry Topping

At the summit of Roseberry Topping

The pretty coastal village of Staithes

My third encounter with hikers Sherry and Kristi

Steps leading down to Skinninggrove Beach

"Circle" sculpture, one of several sculptures along the coastal walk

Dramatic coastal scenery

Rinswick Bank Top Village

Yet more lovely coastal sceney

The Whale Arches at Whitby framing Whitby Abbey

Whitby harbor

Whitby Abbey, inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula"

Leaving Whitby

Coastal scene from the cliff path

Dramatic cliffs, these on the way to Robin Hood's Bay

The beach at the popular coastal town of Scarborough

Filey Brigg, the peninsula on the approach to Filey