Author Archives: Stuart Forster

I always enjoy hanging about outdoors and today I’m doing that, literally, 1,500ft up a Welsh mountainside. Wearing a red jump suit, a helmet and goggles, I’m strapped into a harness similar to those worn by hang-gliders

Wandering along the quiet lanes of Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s La Noria district, close to the waterfront, it’s hard to believe that the locals are busy gearing up for Carnaval, one of Europe’s biggest street festivals.

Night descended on Salzburg’s busy marketplace well over an hour ago. People of all ages stand in the crowd, milling between the warmly lit wooden stalls of the Salzburger Christkindlmarkt, the traditional Christmas market on the square in front of the city’s baroque cathedral.

“Sometimes, I walk here for an entire day without meeting anyone,” says Anne Kurepalu, my guide, as we stride along a trail cut through the dense, pine-scented forest of Lahemaa National Park in northern Estonia.

Rush hour ended a couple of hours ago but traffic is at a standstill on the cobbled streets of downtown Lisbon and pedestrians are weaving between the vehicles. People are heading back into the city to celebrate the Feast of St Anthony.

It’s not quite 6am and I’m already walking on a muddy trail in Rwanda’s lush Nyungwe National Park. I’ve been told that an early start is essential