Seven Short Adventures
By Pete Buckley
()
About this ebook
Seven Short Adventures is a collection of tales from my travels in the less visited areas of Britain, Europe and occasionally further afield. The stories recount adventures in the mountains, on wild coastlines, and to the far flung outposts whose very names inspire the spirit of adventure. On the way we will visit Scotland, Norway, Switzerland, Spain and the Colorado Rockies in the USA. All of these adventures though are suitable for any lovers of the outdoors that might be inspired by these pages, and is of reasonable fitness - so come with me and let's get out there...
Pete Buckley
I'm Pete Buckley the UK based indie author of "The Colonel of Krasnoyarsk" a high speed adventure thriller in which the reader is introduced to Russian Agent Colonel Yuri Medev and Jim Bergman of the FBI who must overcome political differences and work together to defeat a dangerous enemy - perhaps some of our politicians should read it to find out how. I have just finished the next Yuri Medev adventure entitled "The Kirov Conspiracy" due for release soon, while previously I wrote a couple of travel stories about various wonderful places such as New Zealand and the Swiss Alps. Aside from writing, travel has always been a big inspiration with hiking, biking and the outdoors taking up much of my time when I'm not looking after the kids. Thanks for visiting Pete Buckley January 2017
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Seven Short Adventures - Pete Buckley
Seven Short Adventures
Pete Buckley
Copyright 2016 Pete Buckley
Smashwords Edition
Lone Island Books
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the Smashwords Store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
http://petebuckley.wordpress.com
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Seven Short Adventures is a collection of tales from my travels in the less visited areas of Britain, Europe and occasionally further afield. The stories recount adventures in the mountains, wild coastlines, and the far flung outposts whose very names inspire the spirit of adventure. We will also visit Scotland, Norway, Switzerland, Spain and the Colorado Rockies in the USA. All of these adventures though are suitable for any lovers of the outdoors that might be inspired by these pages, and is of reasonable fitness - so come with me and let's get out there…
A few of the stories are accompanied by a link at the end of the chapter so that the reader can view the photos. These links are to my own content only and are non-commercial.
Special thanks to Julie for helping me to finish this
Pete Buckley January 2017
Also by Pete Buckley
31 Days in a Campervan is the story of a fascinating journey around New Zealand made in the summer of 2005.
A Long Walk in the Alps recounts a hike through the Swiss Alps from Grindelwald to Zermatt that begins on a trail underneath the North Wall of the Eiger and ends at the foot of the Matterhorn.
The Colonel of Krasnoyarsk is a fast moving adventure thriller introducing Russian agent Yuri Medev and Jim Bergman of the FBI who team up to crack an evil people smuggling gang.
Table of Contents
1 Travels in Norway
2 The Top of Scotland
3 Travels in Colorado
4 A Long Weekend in Grindelwald
5 A Journey to Saas Fee
6 One Summer at Glencoe Mountain
7 World’s End and the Coast of Death
About the Author
Adventure One
Travels in Norway
There was something eerie and primeval about the sound, which was instantly recognisable even to someone who hadn't heard it before. More of a wail than a howl, it rose and fell in the twilight of the northern night and was answered by another - a little closer but still some distance away – hidden somewhere amongst the trees...
Wolves have lived in the forests of Norway for far longer than humans though in recent times they have been hunted almost to extinction and today only a few packs remain. As I later found out, the southern wolves here were normally much further east than this so I was lucky to hear them at all. Perhaps the late cold spell had driven them further west. I set off through the trees back to my cabin feeling a sense of reassurance that this enduring symbol of the wild was still out there.
A couple of days later, a chilly grey morning saw me driving down a deserted road in a light rain from my cabin between Sogndal and Kaupanger in the county of Sogn og Fjordane. I had driven past the cloud topped Storehaugen Mountain and followed the wide and gently winding road past walls of endless pines and rocky bluffs that rose above the glassy waters of the Sognefjord. My small Peugeot seemed the only car on the road at that early hour.
Pulling in at the side of the road, I left the confines of my car to walk down by the shore of the Fjord in order to get a better view of a vast waterfall on its far side. The falls, which are called the Feigumfossen were awesome though such was the scale of this landscape that no sound could be heard across the still water. After the recent rain the main fall which is 218 metres in height was fed by several tributary falls that dropped from the grey cloud ceiling from something over 600 metres or 2000 feet above. The sense of peace here was absolute with the silent cascade opposite and the air motionless beneath the sheltering mountain walls. The rain too had stopped and a wintry blanket of white coated the higher hills where the cloud was starting to lift while ragged swathes of grey mist clung to the mountainsides below adding to the atmospheric nature of the view.
It was time to move on again though. The dark Sognefjord became narrower as I approached its end and I was soon passing through the tiny hamlet of Skjolden at the extremity of the inlet. Here I passed some small wooden cabins - known as hytter - that faced the mirror-calm water and to where a brightening sky was framed between the walling mountains. Somewhere down there about 100 miles away was the open sea and this - the largest of Norway's fjords - is still tidal here despite the distance inland I was. The fjords themselves were carved out by the glaciers of the last ice age to a vast scale and unimaginable depth. The Sognefjord is in places over 4000 feet or 1200m deep which was about as high as the mountain walls were above it - a fact that I preferred not to think about on the occasions I had crossed it on the ferry!
These huts you see by the water's edge are a traditional way of spending holidays in Norway and they originate from fishing and boating huts though are now to be found in the mountains and forests as well as by water. The more basic ones can be very good value for money in a country not known for bargains.
As I left the fjord behind, the landscape became even more dramatic - forbidding even. The road narrowed and followed a rushing river through low trees and meadow littered with boulders entering a narrow rocky defile or chasm in the mountains. Silvery ribbons of water cascaded from the clouds down vast grey crags seemingly thousands of feet high which threatened to block out the daylight. Now a layer of mist hung in the chill air just above the