[gordon g]

Hi Eternity,

My photographic passion is landscape and the natural world too. I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of the Peak District national park, so getting to the honey pot views is quite easy for me. But I actually spend far more time out locally in small venues off the beaten track, looking for the detail shots and smaller scale landscapes where it is easier to express my own interpretations.
The local venues are easy to find - even in cities we are surrounded by wildness (as opposed to wilderness, which is really very scarce in these crowded islands), so just get to know you local parks, patches of waste ground, canal paths etc. There will be a wealth of detail to explore, and it doesnt take much investment of time or money to find it.
Big views and iconic landscapes are a different thing. When planning a photography trip to somewhere new, I will look for coffee table books and postcards of the area to get a feel for likely honey pot locations, then get out an OS map and look for secondary locations in the area that will suit different times of day or weather conditions, to give myself plenty of options to fill a day whatever conditions I am faced with. I tend to think about what 'big shot' I want to look for - what weather, time of day, tide state etc I will need for it, then plan around that, bearing in mind I need venues for rainy, windy (from different directions too), overcast, bright sun (!) etc, and come up with a menu of places to choose from. This gives me a good chance of having a productive trip and coming home with some keepers, even if the 'big shot' doesnt happen.
Other people's reactions to a camera on a tripod usually make me smile - the general assumption seems to be that there is a very rare bird around, even when the camera is pointing at a flower from a distance of a few inches... That said, I usually meet with curiosity and interest rather than negative reactions, and have had some very interesting conversations with passers-by as a result. Locals will often know of good places to go which may not have figured in your research as well, so a bit of chat can get you into places you wouldnt have got access to as well. (I have been invited into private estates and closed beaches before now as a result of a friendly chat over the tripod)
Going in company is fun, and on trips away I tend to go with a group of photographer friends, but I find that with a group of landscapers, we will spread ourselves around the area, and generally get engrossed in our own visions until we meet up again at the car at the end of the shoot. The companionship comes before and after the shoot, sharing ideas, enjoying each others' images, chatting in the pub about new and old locations, people we have met there etc. My local trips and day trips away are usually solo, and it does give a lot of freedom to change plans according to whim.
Hope that helps.

Gordon