Articles written by Pete Buckley

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About me - Pete Buckley

Hi and welcome to my page on Helium.

Pete Buckley's my real name - no hiding here - and I'm based near Blackburn in the North of England. My passion is for travel - especially to the World's high places and wilderness areas - so most of what I write for Helium

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Travel > France Places to visit in France: 3 of 31
In The Auvergne The road system at Le Mont Dore is a mystery. The puzzling part is not so much, how to find your way around but why it was designed in such a way in the first place. While most towns concentrate on sending the traffic around the centre on a ring road or bypass, here the opposite applies. To get anywhere, one m... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Spain: 2 of 13
Galicia - World's End and the Coast of Death. Heading up the hill from the pleasant fishing town of Ribeira and following the signs towards Corrubedo, we crossed the low spine of what was now our home peninsula. It was October in the region of Galicia in North West Spain and our jouney today would take us along the Coast of D... More..
Travel > Travel Diaries & Adventures (Other) Travel experiences: Hiking adventures: 5 of 17
The ascent of Gray's Peak, Colorado The sharp grating noise from the floor of my hire car brought to mind nightmarish words such as excesses and clauses and something about not driving on 4 wd roads. It's significance here was that the Steven's Gulch Road had won this particular battle and that I'd now need to turn around wit... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Norway: 1 of 3
It was the week before Christmas in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. Jacqui and myself had arrived here for a weekend break as neither of us had been to Oslo before and Norway seemed like a good place to be at Christmas - Oh and did I forget to mention that it was 2p return on Ryanair! Yes - that was 2p - plus tax of course. I do... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Hiking in Wales: 1 of 2
For just over 110 years the little train has chugged its way through sunlight and storm, from its home in the old slate mining town of Llanberis, to the end of the line just beneath the stony peak called Yr Wyddfa better known as Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Most ascents of the peak originate therefore from Llanber... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Mountains of Norway: 1 of 2
Galdhopiggen - Northern Europe's Highest Mountain This country is a pleasure to drive in - some of Europe's best roads and no cars on them! I'd crossed the Sognefjell road which rises to over 4000 feet, from the Sognefjord via Turtagro and was heading down through a valley reminiscent of the Llanberis Pass in North Wales, but... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Hiking in the English Lakes: 1 of 1
Just over 30 years ago on a damp Spring day, a young boy arrived for the first time at Wasdale Head to a scene of high peaks lost in racing grey cloud and precipitous screes plunging from swirling mists into still dark water. Even the journey from Barrow in Furness had left a lasting impression, one of deep rugged valleys and... More..
Travel > France Travel destinations: Haute Loire, France: 1 of 1
As its name suggests, the region of Haute Loire in France's eastern Auvergne contains the headwaters of the Loire River that along with a fair selection of the Chateaux for which the Loire is known, and some remote mountain country overlooking a maze of limestone gorges to the east. In this short visit, we'll start in the mai... More..
Travel > North & South America Hiiking in Colorado: 1 of 1
The deer and fawn stood in the roadside clearing a couple of yards from the line of the forest and about 10 yards from where I sat. The morning sun shone on their glossy coats as they took turns grazing the long grass and checking around for possible threats. The pair were quite aware of, and happy with my presence, so I was ... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Gorges du Tarn, France: 1 of 1
The land here fell away precipitously. Far below, the river meandered its stony course while across the vast gulf of warm summer air, rose the opposite side of the gorge, a line of sheer cliffs and leaning spires of stone. We'd journeyed here by heading south on the N88 leaving the Auvergne behind for Languedoc Roussillon bef... More..