hikinit

If you’re after some organised fun then perhaps there is no better way to fuel your need to adventure than to book yourself onto the iconic Caminito Del Rey walkway in Southern Spain. Once dubbed, ‘ The World’s Most Dangerous Walkway’ following five deaths in the late 90’s, The Kings Pathway has been restored and now welcomes over 86,000 visitors a year.

Occasionally in life I’ve been told to go to Hell. I’m sure they all meant I should visit a small town of Hel which lies at the end of a 35km peninsular in the Baltic Sea. Taking their suggestion to heart, I’ve booked a cheap flight for Friday 13th with the intention of walking the entire length of the peninsula, to Hel; but will I make it back?

It’s a late evening and the TV is on in the background, mostly serving as background noise; at least up until ‘Abandoned Engineering’ peaks my interest. The show starts with a typical narrator enthusiastically introducing The 52 Tunnel Road. I’ve never heard of if but with a name like that, and after watching a couple of minutes of dramatic footage, I’m hooked. It’s not long before I’m online trying to work out how I can explore this for myself.

Up until very recently it was unbeknown to me that Northern Spain is home to a spectacular mountain range, The Picos de Europa, or the Peaks of Europe. What have I been missing? The range is largely made up of limestone stretching for about 20km with the highest peak being Torre Cerredo (2650m) all within a national park of the same name.

The Curonian Spit is a 98km long thin stretch of land separating the Baltic Sea and Curonian Lagoon. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site which covers the Russia exclave of the Kaliningrad Oblast to the south and Lithuania to the north. The narrowness of this massive geological phenomenon hasn’t gone un-noticed by ‘Team Doinit’ so after trying and failing to find any documented accounts of someone walking the Curonian Spit we assembled an eight person team to see if we could do it.

Preikestolen (or Pulpit Rock) is one of the iconic images of Norway and it is no wonder why. A pleasant three hour hike accessible to any novices, rewards you with some of the most spectacular fjord views in the World. It makes for a great weekend getaway, a weekend Dan Nusl fully intends to enjoy.

For anyone who has approached England by sea, over the English Channel (or la Manche, depending on your point of view), across the Strait of Dover you can’t help but be mesmerised by the magnificent wall of white which greets you. Another way to experience these iconic cliffs is from above and thats exactly what I’m going to do.

High up in Norway’s polar region lies Nordkapp. Translated to ‘North Cape’ it’s often yet inaccurately credited as Europe’s most northern point. In fact if you are up for a moderate hike you can get a little further north where much fewer visitors venture.