The view from Colderon Hondo

A moody red sunset caused by the dust in the air. Taken from Pozo Negro.

A Barbary Ground Squirrel at Colderon Hondo

Sea Anemone.

Another Barbary Ground Squirrel.

Sorry about this being a rubbish post, but count it as a bit of background info as to why I needed (but certainly didn’t deserve) a summer of getting out and about.

If you ever happen to find yourself in Brussels on a Tuesday night and you’re in need of a drink and some music, try and find your way to Bonnefooi, a great bar near the Bourse (the massive steps outside what I think is a bank in the centre). Unlike most British bars which have a wide front and often a dancefloor, a lot of the bars in Brussels, including Bonnefooi, are long and narrow with the bar itself running along one side and are often split over several levels. This was all accompanied by a DJ providing an oh so mellow vibe thanks to some RJD2 and Squarepusher. After choosing to drink Kwak pretty much for the fact that you drink it out of something more suitably described as a quaffing device rather than a glass, I headed up the narrow staircase at the end of the long bar to settle myself for the evening on one of the sofas. Soon after setting myself down, the DJ took his leave with a fade out and was replaced by the joyous pops of a Hammond organ accompanied by a drummer on a 3-piece kit fed by a steady flow of beers. Whilst it’s possible to find similar bars in the UK, this is the sort of place the for some reason is so much easier to find in Europe. In my opinion, this is possibly down to the fact that the typical British night out is to get slaughtered whilst hurling yourself around to over-produced pop. Whilst this can be fun once in a while, you never get the same buzz from a crowd as you do from seeing a live band play.

When in Brussels, one of my favourite things to do at night is to buy a couple of beers and head over to the Grand Place with several hundred other people of all shapes and sizes and backgrounds. There are fat people, thin people, black people, white people, homeless people, executives, friends, couples, locals, tourists and people by themselves looking to just chill out. So many people just seem to head there for a beer bought in one of the night shops and to soak up the vibe. A vibe that is created by these people going there to soak up the vibe in the first place. In the dim light cast down upon the square from the buildings that box it in, you’ll heard people laughing, instruments being played and the general hum of chatter.Being able to just sit in one of the most famous squares in Europe, legally drinking a beer on the street and just either sit or lay there and have a natter is possibly the most social way of drinking possible.

The Grand Place is a rather odd place, being a blend of gothic architecture and something else that looks like it was dreamt up by the architect whilst on a particularly enlightening journey courtesy of a cocktail of opiates and various other psychoactives. Nothing really fits, each building was designed completely separately to its neighbour, in fact parts of the same building sometimes look completely different. They were all sort of just shoved in to place with a giant crowbar until they fit, and if they didn’t bits were just chipped off until they did. Whilst this all makes for a complete architectural Smorgasbord, it somehow just adds to the charm of the place.

As I said, it’s an extremely chilled out place. However, from time to time a wave of excitement may ripple through the crowds of people, as I found out on one of my last nights in Brussels. As myself and Madi were sat having a beer and a chat, a few wolf whistles were blown towards the opposite side of the square to us. Nothing too unusual of a place with so many people, however these whistles rapidly became cheers and laughter. As I stood up to see what the cause of the excitement was, I could see half a dozen women preceding the wave of cheers and whistles in a whirl of glitter and hair made most probably from recycled carrier bags and milk cartons. strolling across the square. Half a dozen very tall, squarely built women who clearly didn’t wear stilettos very often. Half a dozen very tall, squarely built, stiletto wearing women who were clearly not women.

Unfortunately, due to the fact I was on the other side of the square, getting to the ladies/gents quickly wasn’t really an option, so this was taken just before they left. But before leaving, prompted by the wave of whistles and cheers, the six of them walked up the set of steps behind them and on to a flat platform to elevate them above the crowds, whose entire focus was now on them, struck a pose, encouraging yet more excitement within the crowd, and then stepped down again to each stride out of the square with an air of purpose about them. They left in the same direction that they came from, so one can only conclude that the aim of their stroll through the square was purely to raise eyebrows and get themselves some attention. Whilst cheers and whistles were directed at them for the whole time from three hundred strong crowd, each and every one of those cheers and whistles had a hint of respect behind it and was of pure enjoyment. Not a single malicious heckle was thrown at them as they entertained the crowd for a brief couple of minutes.

I’ve just realised quite how long this post is (half the length of most of my university assignments, and it’d usually take me several hours with the encouragement of rum to get me this far on an assignment), so I’ll try to wrap it up. A few must see things to do in Brussels if ever you find yourself there are certainly a beer in the Grand Place, frites from Place Flagey (apparently the best frites in the world), and gorge yourself on chocolate. You’ll have a while to wait for the frites, and you’ll certainly have to put up with a little rudeness, however they’re worth it! And with the chocolate, you can eat as much Swiss chocolate as you like. Most of it is made in Belgium for the Swiss.

The shot above was taken whilst Skiing in Verbier, Switzerland in 2009 when we had a stunning bluebird day.

The sunset in this photo was shot in January of this year when filming for a university project at Dodd Wood. It was taken from the roadside of the A591 between Bewaldeth and Bothel.

This snowy view of the Anoch Eage Ridge was taken from Coire Gabhail in November 2008 after we had a lucky break in the clouds after a very bleak day on the mountain.

This stunning sea mist was shot as it rolled in over the foothills of the Anti-Atlas mountains on the coast of Morocco in February this year whilst I was out there on a paragliding trip.

This shot of Blencathra was taken on a bluebird day in Jan 2010 when out walking.

Just as a teaser though, we had an injured leg from a crash, several broken parts to our hire cars, the band that play in the bar in Star Wars (You know the one!) and me paying out of my arse to get a camera back that was never even used.

As well as that, I’ve got a rather substantial amount of photos shot of the paragliders and if you’re lucky, possibly some video. So just hold out whilst I do my dissertation…then I’ll do some more posting.

In the mean-time though, just to keep it relevant, have a man holding his canopy.

And not quite so relevant… have a moped by the sea (it was in Morocco though).

With the abundance of flat water (even though there is only one true lake), sooner or later it was inevitable that I’d end up in a sea kayak getting some lake touring done in the Lake District. Being one of the most beautiful places in the UK, it makes sense to get out and about to get to see all it’s natural beauty from a view point many haven’t and won’t get to, whether it’s in the mountains, on the crags or on the water. Doing it at night though….well you don’t quite get to see the place quite as well, but I’ve lived here 3 years now, I’ve seen it quite a lot and it seemed like it’d be more of a challenge at night.

Myself and two friends from uni (Luke and Laura), headed down to Ullswater layered up with thermals and armed with head torches, glow sticks and our paddling gear. After getting kitted up, we climbed in to our kayaks and launched in to the lake, breaking it’s obsidian like surface in a landscape bathed in moonlight. On such a still night, each of our paddle strokes was silent as our kayaks carved through the smooth surface with just the slightest rushing noise as the water ran along the sides of our boats. We’d launched around about the middle of the lake and were paddling down towards Pooley Bridge, some 3 and a half miles of paddling with water for a hundred or so meters either side of us and dwarfed by the dark outlines of the surrounding hills against a clear sky. Even with the glowing lights of the various properties dotted along the lakeside, the middle was a profoundly lonely yet peaceful place to be, but a place where the company of friends is very much appreciated as opposed to being there alone.

Taking a kayak out at night really isn’t a great way to see any of the sights of the Lake District, but it really is a different way to experience them and one well worth doing, especially on such a calm night.