Ski Touring in Austria

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

After first ski touring four years ago in Scotland I decided that I wanted to go to the alps. This year it finally happened thanks to now having a friend who lives in Münich. The week could not really have been any better, as there was plenty of fresh snow in the weeks running up to my arrival and then an excellent stable, sunny and cold forecast for the week of my trip. Combined with this the air remained extremely clear so we had brilliant views into the distance in every direction. On the first day we headed to Hochfügen so that I could remind myself how to ski and it turned out to be a great day with quiet pistes, excellent snow and plenty of sun. We did get a bit carried away and managed to ski 37km downhill with 800m of descent. The next day we headed over to Küthai for two days of day touring as a more gentle introduction before we headed up into the mountains. Schafzöllen Monday was our only day of bad weather, but as the forecast improved we decided to head out for. Read the full article…

Cycle Touring the Devon Coast to Coast

Alastair BegleyRoad Cycling Short Link

With a surprising early spring weekend Becky and I decided to get back on our bikes by jumping in the deep end and cycle touring the Devon coast to coast. The route was from Ilfracombe to Plymouth via sustrans route 27, which is mostly off road due to old railway lines and follows the Tarka trail, Granite way and Drake’s Trail. After the initial shock at how heavy the bikes were when loaded up with our gear the initial climb out of Ilfracombe went surprisingly well. We were soon well on our way and made reasonable time to Barnstable where we stopped at a bike shop for some warmer gloves! The rest of the first day was mostly enjoyable cycling on good cycle paths, with some road at the end of the day. We didn’t quite make it as far as we had planned but managed to find a good spot to wild camp before Okehampton. In the end this turned out to be an excellent idea as it meant we were sheltered from the wind which was fairly brutal the next morning. The next morning we woke up to. Read the full article…