Soča River

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

On the penultimate day of our holiday we decided to do a valley walk down the beautiful Soča river, renowned for its gorges and the colour of the water, it really is that colour! Our plan was go straight to the campsite for the evening and then catch a bus up the valley so that we could easily finish our walk at the campsite with zero faff. We were able to check in early at the campsite, and after a quick turnaround we quickly did the 20min walk to the bus stop. Unfortunately the bus never turned up, or at least it was over 40 mins late, however thankfully we were able to hitch a lift up the valley directly to our ideal start place. The spot where we joined the Soča river was immediately beautiful and the first photos of the day were taken, before we headed up into the Korita Mlinarice, a gorge which is just off the main river and is well known for its waterfalls. The walk was mostly very close to the river, which gave plenty of photo opportunities, some of which resulted in me. Read the full article…

Ljubljana Day Trip

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

On our way back to the mountains from the coast we stopped off in Ljubljana for the day. It was a really beautiful city with a variety of architecture, great views over the city from the castle, lots of regional shops, an outstanding market and full of friendly people. During the day we did a city tour and then explored the city, before enjoying dinner at a restaurant which showcased local food whilst remaining very good value, before heading back to the van. On the way back to the van we walked along the river to capture the city at night, which in my opinion is one of the best ways to capture the atmosphere of a city, especially when there is a river as the city lights and reflections bring the city to life.

Izola sunsets

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

Due to a poor weather forecast in the mountains we headed down to Izola on the Slovenian coastline. Living in Munich the mountains are very close, but the sea is a long way away, which meant that it was great to be able to drive from the mountains to the cost in only 90mins. On the way out to dinner I was able to capture the sunset as we walked past the harbour, before a lovely dinner with a tasting menu consisting of local seafood and Slovenian wine.

Triglav Seven Lakes Valley

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

The Triglav seven lakes valley is very well known valley and is renowned as being an excellent but long approach to climb Triglav via a route with no technical difficulty. We however decided to head into the valley and explore some of the lakes as a day walk. Despite the walk being a “valley walk”, it was by no means an insignificant day out as we covered 18km with 1000m of ascent. The walk was very enjoyable, but we did spend a lot of the day in the forrest and it would perhaps have been better to have started earlier so we could have made our way further up the valley to the next lake, or even to have made a circuit. The walk initially took us up in the forrest to Koča na Planini pri Jezeru, where there are a number of old huts, along with a modern hut, in which it is possible to stay. After enjoying the views, it was straight back into the forrest again until we emerged at the remote settlement at Planini Dedno Polje. Due to the time we didn’t hang around here, or. Read the full article…

Mala Mojstrovka North Arête (Severni raz)

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing, Slovenia Short Link

The north arete on Mall Mojstrovka had been recommended to us by a number of people, so we set off back to the north face of Mala Mojstrovka, this time heading past the klettersteig and onto the start of the climb. We found the climb using the following topos, which we found online: The climb was very mixed, some some excellent pitches on great rock, but with plenty of easy but almost unprotected pitches up loose rock. It may be related to being out of practice, but I found route finding on the route pretty difficult, especially up the easy sections, however with the use of the above topos I think we just about managed to stay on route most of the time. Due to the time taken to route find we ended up taking quite a while on the climb, which was added to by the time it took us to commit to the horrendous looking exit as described in the Bergsteigen topo, as it looked so improbable from the start of it. Eventually we were at the end of the climb and made out way up to the. Read the full article…

Martuljek Waterfalls (Martuljški slapovi)

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

On our rest day we decided to head to the Martuljek waterfalls as they had been recommended by a friend, and we had been reliably informed that the hut above the first section of waterfalls was well worth a visit. The walk up the first section certainly did not disappoint, as it was immediately interesting with lots of smaller waterfalls in a beautiful gorge as we approached the main waterfall of the lower section. This main waterfall was absolutely stunning, and with the position of the sun and the water spray created some beautiful lightning conditions. Unfortunately the path up to the second waterfall was shut, which was a shame as this waterfall is apparently even bigger, but it did give us an excuse to have more of a rest day than we had initially planned. We made our way to the Brunarica pri Ingotu hut for lunch, which is situated on a beautiful meadow just outside of the forrest. Here we enjoyed some typical slovenian mountain food, before heading back down into the valley.

Prisank Fensterweg Klettersteig (Kopiščarjeva & Grebenska pot)

Alastair BegleySlovenia, Via Ferrata Short Link

On the summit of Mala Mojstrovka we were talking to some other people who recommended the Prisank Fensterweg, so the next day that is what we planned to do. We were very surprised when we arrived at the top of the Vršič pass at 7am to find that the car park was already full. Thankfully there was still space just above the lower car park, which didn’t add too much time onto our day. The route was an enjoyable way of climbing the mountain, but it was very busy, with lots of people who were not used to being on steep terrain with plenty of rocks around. The majority of the route was very easy, but there was a short crux which had a very long queue which climbed up a few chimneys before squeezing through a rift. We were soon approaching the end of the first klettersteig where we had to go through a massive window in the rock, which you can see from the valley. This section was not technically difficult at all, but there was a large queue to get out at the end of the route,. Read the full article…

Mala Mojstrovka Klettersteig (Hanzover pot)

Alastair BegleySlovenia, Via Ferrata Short Link

On our first day in Slovenia we decided to climb Mala Mojstrovka via the klettersteig up the north face (Hanzover pot). This was a relatively short day given the height of the summit, as the route starts from the Vršič pass at 1611m, if you are lucky enough to be able to park on the top. After a brief ascent from the car park, we soon reached a col which gave us a wonderful view of the north face, and our route. The route was a wonderful way of climbing the mountain, as it wound its way up thorough unlikely looking terrain, with outstanding views and really enjoyable scrambling on rock. It is not a route to do if you are looking for really well protected klettersteigs or technically difficult routes, but if you want a great day out in the mountains then I would highly recommend it. All too soon we arrived at the top of the klettersteig and emerged from the shady north face into the sun. It was a shame to have finished the klettersteig, however it was a relief to emerge into the warm sunlight. From. Read the full article…