Featured

A life less complicated

Featured / freedombird / 13 Comments

Having completed a large chunk of the British coastline and visited 1467 beaches on the way, ventured into the unknown, crossing the English Channel for the first time and seeing what the coastline of France has to offer and adding a further 459 beaches to our tally, we are off again. This time, as a complete change we are on the pursuit of stunning scenery and again crossing the channel and meandering down the core of Western Europe to see what we can see…

If you would like to see our earlier journeys around the UK, they have loosely been grouped together by location and you can find the links below.

NB some of the links below are not yet working properly as it is a work in progress….

Beach Guides:

To catch up with our earlier adventures in:

  1. North coast of Cornwall from 5th October 2017 to 11th February 2018 –   Freedombird in Cornwall
  2. Back in Cornwall at various times to complete the coastline – Freedombird back in Cornwall
  3. North coast of Devon from 11th February to 19th March 2018 – Freedombird in North Devon
  4. Somerset from 19th March to 29th April 2018 – Freedombird in Somerset
  5. South Wales coast from 29th April to 14th August 2018 – Freedombird in South Wales
  6. West and North Wales coast from 14th August to 21st October 2018 – Freedombird in West and North Wales
  7. North West England from 21st October to 26th November 2018 and 27th January to 4th February 2019 – Freedombird in North West England
  8. Cumbria from 27th January to 5th April 2019 – Freedombird in Cumbria
  9. South Coast of Scotland from 5th April to 25th May 2019 – Freedombird on the South Coast of Scotland
  10. West Coast of Southern Scotland from 26th May to 17th July 2019 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Southern Scotland
  11. Edinburgh and surrounding area from 18th July to 30th July 2019 – Freedombird in Edinburgh and surrounding beaches
  12. East Coast of Southern Scotland from 28th July to 15th September 2019 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Southern Scotland
  13. North East England from 12th September to 20th November 2019 – Freedombird in the North East of England
  14. Yorkshire from 14th January to 22nd February 2020 – Fredombird in Yorkshire
  15. Lincolnshire from 23rd February to 13th March 2020 – Freedombird in Lincolnshire
  16. Norfolk and Suffolk from 15th to 24th March 2020 and 28th June to 18th July 2025 – Freedombird in Norfolk and Suffolk
  17. Inland England on various dates travelling through – Freedombird in inland England
  18. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 11th September to 14th October 2024 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  19. North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys from 15th to 27th October 2024 – Freedombird on the North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys
  20. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 28th October to 15th November 2024 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  21. In the Highlands of Scotland from 15th to 26th November 2024 and 10th to 21st June 2025 – Freedombird in the Highlands
  22. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 8th to 17th April and 31st May to 5th June 2025 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  23. Outer Hebrides Part 1 from 22nd April to 12th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 1
  24. Outer Hebrides Part 2 from 10th May to 30th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 2
  25. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 15th to 18th June 2025 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  26. North and West Coast of France from 11th September to 7th December 2025 – Freedombird on the North and West Coast of France

Thursday 22nd May 2026 (Part 2) – a lovely walk from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg….

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The bus was crowded and with hindsight we should have walked down as it was probably only a couple of miles, but we are here now. The village was very busy, every cafe / bar doing a great trade on this beautiful afternoon and in fact after the serenity of Murren we were quite keen to see what needed to be seen and then move on, we started at the bottom and walked up the main street….

Pretty but too busy, so enjoying the part shade we joined the few other walkers on this glorious afternoon walking up the footpath back to the car park at Stechelberg, taking a few moments to wonder at Staubbachfall one of 72 waterfalls in the valley surrounding Lauterbrunnen….

From then on it was almost just us and nature with our guiding beacon the Jungfrau, oh and a few tunefull cows and goats proudly clattering their bells as they munch on the lush grass….

You could just loose yourself here….

We passed a couple of small picnic areas with benches and tables on the way, one with a compostable toilet and barbeque area and several other stopping points with fresh water fonts / troughs and plenty to bins – very walker friendly. There was even one of those vending machines selling cheese and random cooked sausage as well as drinks and normal snacks.

A short drive back down onto site after a lovely day, some much needed food and a bit of planning is now required and some decisions need to be made.

Considerations:

  • I am struggling to find anywhere to stay in Switzerland for the weekend as the sites are either fully booked or massively expensive. As an example the site we are currently on, that we would have happily stayed on is £55 a night and even at that, I would have had to have booked it when we arrived as they only had a couple of spaces available. The ACSI card that we used to stay at £28 per night doesn’t apply at the weekends.
  • I had wanted to do the 3 pass route through the mountains – the Furka, Susten and Grimsel but they do not open until June.
  • It is incredibly difficult to find places to park up and leave the van to explore on foot without incurring a ridiculous parking charge.
  • The weather is forecast to be very hot over the next week or so which will make driving around and visiting places a bit of a challenge.

After a fair bit of thought and research, mindful of my remaining time in Europe and the weather forecast I have decided, not totally unsurprisingly, that we are going to head back up to the coast and complete the section from Honfleur to Calais and enjoy the sea, beach and sunshine before returning across the Channel.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 25
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Excursion – £38.69
  • O/N – £28

Thursday 22nd May 2026 – a day walking up in the mountains at Murren (Part 1)….

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An absolute stunner of a day for us today, starting with a saunter down to the Lake to gauge visibility and sure enough – pretty good….

After various discussion with the site personnel and a fair bit of googling we have decided that our best course of action is to drive the relatively short distance up to Stechelberg where there is a huge car park at the cable car / bus terminal and go from there. There was no problem parking though it was pretty full and I suspect at the weekend and during the summer parking up here will be quite a challenge. Already the views of the surrounding mountains are quite incredible….

Before getting the cable car we take a closer look at Stechelberg waterfall and the fast flowing icy blue River Lutschene….

The cable car is packed to the rafters so no chance of evening admiring the views let alone capturing them as I am having to carry Tilly – who incidentally was getting a lot of fuss and attention but we took a moment at the top when the car had emptied out and wow….

Murren was just a bit unreal with 360 degree of mountains all around – most significantly the Eiger 3970m, Monch 4107m and Jungfrau 4158m (4 times the height of Snowden!!)….

And towering immediately overhead the Schilthorn 2970m….

The main street of the traffic free village was quite busy but by wandering through the beautiful back streets it was peaceful and magical….

It was also surprisingly warm and so after a while we were quite content to find a little bit of shade and just sit for a bit soaking it all up….

Words fail but I hope the photos give you just a small measure of how stunning it is.

After taking a slightly less crowded cable car back down we caught the bus to Lauterbrunnen and will continue in Part 2.

Wednesday 20th May 2026 – a walk along the shores of Lake Thunersee….

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On and off showers through the night and morning and visibility looked a bit compromised so we postponed our mountain excursion until tomorrow when the forecast looks better and took a leisurely walk along Lake Thunersee in the direction of Thun instead….

A beautiful couple of miles took as to Sundlauenen a tiny little lakeside hamlet….

Also a stopping off point for the lake bus and we timed it just right (to see not board)….

At this point the footpath takes you on a significant climb away from the lake and above the road, which also disappears into the mountainside….

We opted to return the way we came and spend some time down by the lake, giving Tilly some green space to have some off lead play (she soon found a stick to chase) before returning to the van to plan tomorrows little adventure….

Back on site, it has warmed up nicely and the paragliders are out in their numbers providing the early evening entertainment…

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • O/N – £28.00

Tuesday 19th May 2026 – a walk into Interlaken….

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A bit wet overnight and showery into the morning but by the time we were ready to set off out, the rain seemed to have passed on by.

Starting off along the lake side and through the nature reserve….

we then turned inland following the river Aare for a good mile or so through open farmland and then the outskirts, until the weir marked our arrival in Interlaken…..

Interlaken appears to be an upmarket sprawling town with every designer outlet you could think of, dominated by two stations at either end both a hub of activity mostly feeding the tourist industry with lots of little branchlines into the mountains. Lots of open spaces and small well tended gardens add interest to the mostly modern shops and hotels, mixed in with the old….

In the very centre is a huge open field where a constant stream of paragliders come in to land after gliding down through the valley from Harder Klum the 1300m mountain sitting behind Interlaken. Here we had a break and watched the continuous perfectly executed landings with the Jungfrau (4158m one of the highest peaks in Switzerland and claiming the highest railway station in Europe at 3354m) as the spectacular backdrop….

An absolute beauty of a mountain….

Having had our fill, we set off on the same route for our return to site, arriving almost simultaneously with a few drops of rain. A little later as it had dried up again we popped down to the Lakeside for a last little walk and to enjoy the aftermath of the setting sun….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 9
  • Cookies for the way back – £7.00
  • O/N – £28.00

Monday 18th May 2026 – driving through Switzerland to Interlaken….

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A little cloudy today but mostly dry for our drive from Vaduz to Interlaken in Switzerland. With the constant back drop of snow capped mountains we made our way, mostly through valleys, so not quite as dramatic as earlier drives but a good bit quicker. We had hoped to take a few stops at the various lakes along the way but it would have meant detours into unknown villages and so we opted to stay on the main road – though we did catch glimpses of Walensee from one of the rest areas on our route…

By mid afternoon we were settled on our Campsite, just outside Interlaken on Lake Thunersee and enjoying an afternoon stroll along the lake….

The east end of Lake Thunersee is a nature reserve with a lovely gravel walkway hugging the shore before heading inland a bit along River Aare….

At the end of the nature reserve we about turned and followed an off shoot of the path out to a viewing point at the end of the lake….

Here we enjoyed a lovely bit of solitude in the sun with just the sounds of birdsong and lapping water and marvelled at the unique shade of blue and clarity of these Alpine waterways before heading back to site along the way we came….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 133
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Country No – 8
  • Groceries – £52.74
  • O/N – £29.82