The great balcony in the clouds: the Tour du Mont Blanc to Chamonix

December 11, 2024 Trip reports alps, chamonix, france, french alps, long-distance trails, mont blanc, self-guided walking, tour du mont blanc 1 Comment

This is the last of four posts describing our trek around the Tour du Mont Blanc in September, a classic 170km circuit of Western Europe’s highest mountain. After starting out from Chamonix and walking the western section through France, we crossed Italy and Switzerland, and arrived back on the French border at Col de Balme. The story continues from there.

A window into the past: the Tour du Mont Blanc from Switzerland to France

November 27, 2024 Trip reports alps, france, italy, long-distance trails, mont blanc, self-guided walking, swiss alps, switzerland, tour du mont blanc 0 Comment

This is the third of four posts describing our trek around the Tour du Mont Blanc in September, a classic 170km circuit of Western Europe’s highest mountain. After starting out from Chamonix and walking the western section through France, we crossed Italy and arrived on the Swiss border at Grand Col Ferret. The story continues from there.

Walter Bonatti’s ferret: the Tour du Mont Blanc from Italy to Switzerland

November 13, 2024 Trip reports alps, france, italian alps, italy, long-distance trails, mont blanc, self-guided walking, switzerland, tour du mont blanc, walter bonatti 2 Comments

This is the second of four posts describing our trek around the Tour du Mont Blanc in September, a classic 170km circuit of Western Europe’s highest mountain. After starting out from Chamonix and walking the western section through France, we arrived on the Italian border at Col de la Seigne and looked down into a valley rich in history.

Valleys of mountain joy: the Tour du Mont Blanc from France to Italy

October 30, 2024 Trip reports alps, chamonix, cicerone guides, france, french alps, italy, long-distance trails, mont blanc, self-guided walking, the natural adventure, tour du mont blanc 1 Comment

Last year Edita and I hiked the famous GR20 long-distance trail along the spine of mountainous Corsica. It was our first experience of so-called ‘self-guided’ trips, where an operator books your accommodation and luggage transfers, but you make your own way from point to point. We were keen to do another, and there was an obvious one to try next.

Why The Salt Path is one of the great books about long-distance hiking

August 7, 2024 Reviews and tributes britain, cape wrath trail, iceland, laugavegur trail, long-distance trails, raynor winn, scotland, south west coast path, travel writing 0 Comment

I don’t often read Sunday Times bestsellers, but this year I read three in quick succession, all by the same author, including one that has struck a chord with so many people over the last five years that it has transcended its niche and broken into the mainstream. The book in question is The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

Walking the Preseli Hills and Pembrokeshire Coast

April 17, 2024 Trip reports britain, county tops, long-distance trails, pembrokeshire coast path, preseli hills, wales 0 Comment

With crappy weather on the cards for the Easter weekend, we decided to do something a bit more relaxing. I had never been to the Pembrokeshire Coast, with its rugged cliffs and secluded coves, nor walked the coastal Preseli Hills that were the source of the giant stones of Stonehenge.

I asked Microsoft Copilot to give me a route description for Corsica’s GR20…

December 20, 2023 Humour chatgpt, corsica, france, gr20, guidebooks, long-distance trails 2 Comments

You wouldn’t believe what happened next! It’s that time of year again, when I delve into the wonders of modern technology and ask AI (that’s artificial intelligence, not insemination) to help make sense of the world’s great mountain questions.

The Spasimata Slabs: the day I nearly died on Corsica’s GR20

December 6, 2023 Trip reports cicerone guides, corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking, via ferrata 2 Comments

The weather had been good for the best part of two weeks, but the rain gods were preparing for the last dance. We were about to cross the Spasimata Slabs, the most dangerously exposed section of the trek, and we were going to cross them at the worst possible time.

A surfeit of scrambling: walking Corsica’s GR20 North

November 22, 2023 Trip reports corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking 1 Comment

When I signed off the last post, I was enjoying a delicious pork rosti and a pichet of vin rosé at a palatial hotel tucked away in the forests of Corsica. How on earth did I prise myself away from that luxurious setting and get on with the hardest section of the GR20?

Rosé, ridges and laricio pines: walking Corsica’s GR20 South

October 25, 2023 Trip reports cicerone guides, corsica, corsica aventure, france, gr20, long-distance trails, self-guided walking, the natural adventure 2 Comments

I’ve known about the GR20 for over 20 years, but it slipped to the back of my mind as I focused on peak bagging in the greater ranges. I sensed that long-distance hiking in Europe was something I would enjoy later in life. I guessed I must have reached that stage now.

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