North Devon: Bull Point, Morte Point, Mortehoe and Lee

Date: Friday 12th December
Route: Bull Point Lighthouse to Morte Point, Mortehoe Village, Lee and back to the lighthouse
Distance: 7 miles

I'm conscious that this is the first blog post since August - we have actually done a few walks between August and December, but, apart from a few old favourites in Cornwall that I was too lazy to blog about at the time, not really any to write home about.

That changed this weekend, with a trip to North Devon, staying in one of the cottages at Bull Point lighthouse on the coast between Ilfracombe and Woolacombe (see here for more details). Built in the 1870's, the lighthouse is at the end of a very narrow winding lane, on top of the cliffs amongst dipping hillsides and alongside the South West Coastal Path.

This means that it is possible to walk outside the grounds and straight into the midst of a walk from the AA's 1001 Walks collection. The path follows the coastline with steep climbs and knee-jarring descents, alongside ship-wrecking rocks, deserted beaches and gorse bushes. The first landmark is Morte Point, a jutting headland with views back towards Bull Point and on to the sandy beach at Woolacombe.

From Morte Point a few minutes of hillside path leads to the road to Mortehoe Village, which boasts three pubs, a couple of village shops and even a museum. The walk then winds away from the coast, through a caravan site and beautifully situated farm and down a steep and leaf-strewn woodland slope into a wooded valley of moss-covered trees and rhododendron bushes. Once out of the woods the path continues to the village of Lee, where it meets up with the coastal path again.

The last section of the walk back to the lighthouse is typical coastal path - three very steep climbs (for which walking sticks definitely help to ease the pressure), a couple of corresponding descents, bracing weather and great views of the sea over to the right, the island of Lundy and plenty of crumbling rocky cliffs.

A brilliant walk in an amazing location to blow the cobwebs away and cleanse the soul on a chilly winter's day - definitely one to write home about.

Swiss Alps - Trockener Steg to Furi

Date: Friday 8th August 2014
Route: Saeumerweg from Trockener Steg to Furi
Distance: 4.5 miles

Possibly the most challenging walk of the week, from Trockener Steg all the way down to Furi, the Saeumerweg starts with a trip up to the mountain hut overlooking the glacier you take the cable car over to arrive at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Whilst this is not the steepest of climbs, there are a couple of tricky sections over rocks and uphill through snow, but the effort is rewarded by a breathtaking view down.

You can of course skip this section and just take the path down the mountain, but frankly, how often do you get the chance to get this close to a glacier?

Once back to the main path, it is a knee-shreddingly steep walk pretty much all the way down to Furi - by the time you have left upper rocky stages and the seemingly endless zig-zags through flowers and butterflies to reach the grassy outskirts of Furi, the prospects of a sit-down and an ice cream are very appealing. 

Swiss Alps - The Marmot Trail

Date: Thursday 7th August
Route: Blauherd to Sunnegga along the Marmot Trail (Murmelweg)
Distance: 1.5 miles

After walking on Gornergrat earlier in the day, we still had some energy left to try an alternate route from Blauherd to Sunnegga. The marmot trail turned out ironically to be one of the few walks of the week on which we didn't see a marmot, a cute critter like a cross between a beaver and a meerkat, but this easy downhill path included lots of wood carvings and information about marmots, yet more amazing flowers and great views down to Zermatt again.

Swiss Alps - Gornergrat to Riffelalp

Date: Thursday 7th August 2014
Route: Gornergrat to Riffelalp
Distance: 4.5 miles

Another way of walking down the hillside from Gornergrat station, but with a slightly different (and more interesting) route than our similar walk on Tuesday.

Rather than hanging around taking photos at Gornergrat, we started the walk immediately - and because we did, we encountered far fewer people en route, which meant we had more time and space to enjoy the views and the walk.

We began by following the Aussichtsweg path, but rather than diverting to Rotenboden station we picked up the Riffelseeweg path all the way down to Riffelberg. This slightly meandering path takes in a few tarns/ small lakes and is not only more picturesque, it has better views across the imposing mountains and glaciers to the left.

After a refuelling stop for tea and cake at the Riffelberg cafe, we carried on past the Riffelberg Hotel to pick up the Mark Twain Weg, immortalised by the American author in a booklet mocking the fashion for Alpine expeditions. This easy, winding walk descends through the grassy hillsides, complete with multiple species of flowers and the real danger of treading on one of the many butterflies that flutter alongside the path.

If you only do one walk from Gornergrat, I would recommend this one.

Swiss Alps - Matterhorn Glacier Trail

Date: Wednesday 6th August 2014
Route: Matterhorn Glacier Trail - Trockener Steg to Schwarzsee
Distance: 3.8 miles

Walk of the week, without a doubt!

After taking a cable car up to the highest station in the Alps - the aptly if somewhat grandly named Matterhorn Glacier Paradise - we came back down from the very snowy (and highly ski-ed) mountain to the cable car station at Trockener Steg to start the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, which again was highly recommended.

The walk starts beside a lake and heads towards the Matterhorn, with a glacier alongside the path on the left (a glacier!) and stunning views across multiple peaks to the right. The whole first section of the walk feels like an alien landscape, with frequent cairns adding a Himalayan flavour. Unlike trekking in the Himalayas, however, the path gets very close to the base of the mountain, before heading back over the hillside and into more grassy countryside on the way to Schwarzsee.

A beautiful, other-wordly walk through breath-taking scenery, with unparalleled views in every direction.

Swiss Alps - Blauherd to Sunnegga via five lakes

Date: Tuesday 5th August
Route: Blauherd to Sunnegga via the 5-Seen Weg
Distance: 4.7 miles

Recommended by our holiday rep, the 5-Seen Weg takes a meandering route from Blauherd (slightly further down the valley than Gornergrat) down to Sunnegga (where a funicular railway connects with a station by the river in Zermatt). The route takes in 5 lakes, of varying degrees of size and prettiness and varying shades of blue and green - if you are feeling particularly adventurous you can even swim in a couple of them.

The route is signposted throughout, though it can be slightly confusing in places, especially after the first lake, where you double back before heading downhill. The path makes for easy walking for the most part, though the final section to the Leisee, near Sunnegga does involve a couple of uphill sections. This is a popular path, so you are unlikely to get much silent contemplation of the stunning views, but with great mountain and glacier views at the start, pretty lakes with rolling panoramas of the countryside beyond and even the occasional marmot, it is a lovely way to spend a few hours, either before or after taking the cable car to the summit at Rothorn.

Swiss Alps - Gornergrat to Riffelberg via Rotenboden

Date: Monday 4th August
Route: Gornergrat to Rotenboden then on to Riffelberg
Distance: 3 miles

Our first high-level walk of the week was one of the shortest - but the awe-inspiring scenery brought us back to the same location later in the week for a longer version (see Thursday 7th August for an alternate - and arguably better route).

From a station in the centre of Zermatt, the Gornergrat railway powers out of town, up through the tree-line and on to the high mountains, as it has done since 1898, climbing to over 3,000 metres, from where it is possible to see 29 4,000m+ peaks (weather permitting) and multiple glaciers.

After a frenzy of photography in all directions, we followed a couple of signposted paths down the mountain. The walking paths are not only well sign-posted, but also numbered - and all you need is one of the freely available free maps and activity guides to give you multiple walking options.

We started off on the Aussichtsweg down to Rotenboden, with yet more stunning views out over the mountain landscape and the sprawling glaciers, then from Rotenboden picked up the Sonnenweg down to Riffelberg, at a lower level, walking through flower-strewn hillsides before taking a break at a cafe with a stunningly sunny roof terrace and views of the Matterhorn.

We thought that this was all pretty mind-blowing, both in terms of walking and scenery, but there was even better to come...

Swiss Alps - Zermatt Circular via Zmutt and Furi

Date: Sunday 3rd August 2014
Route: Zermatt to Zmutt, then on to Furi and back to Zermatt
Distance: 6 miles

To quote Keanu Reeves in the Matrix: "whoa!"

Whilst I had vague visions of what Switzerland would be like, nothing really prepared me for the juxtaposition of sky-scraping snowy mountains, pretty wooden villages, flower-strewn hillsides teeming with butterflies and arguably the world's cutest rodent, the marmot. Walking in bright sunshine and a T-shirt in the midst of jaw-droppingly beautiful Alpine scenery is definitely a world away from trudging through English mud and rain!

We spent the week based in Zermatt - a well-established resort town packed with chalet-style hotels and restaurants, overflowing window-boxes, cuckoo clock and Swiss army knife shops, horse-drawn carriages and environmentally-friendly electric vehicles that you don't hear coming up behind you.

The town is dominated by the Matterhorn, Switzerland's highest mountain (familar to anyone who has ever eaten a Toblerone!). It's fair to say that our holiday photos are also dominated by the distinctive triangular peak.

Our first walk of the week was a very straightforward wander from the centre of Zermatt (no lift pass needed!) along the river and up - and up, and up - to the village of Zmutt, a picturesque cluster of wooden houses and restaurants on a hillside.

Once through Zmutt, the path heads onwards across the river and on past the cable car station at Furi (which you can of course take back down to Zermatt if you fancy chopping a few miles off the end of the walk). Once you get past Furi you have the option of following the (very quiet) road back to Zermatt or a choice of several winding paths through the wooded lowlands.

We did a bit of both - the photo of Zermatt above is taken from a conveniently situated rock which became the venue for the first of the week's many cheese sandwich picnics - then took a leisurely stroll into the centre of town to unfairly blame the high altitude (1608m) for our general lack of fitness (not the recent weeks of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise!).

A great start to the week's walking - difficult enough to prepare us for the week to come but easy enough to introduce us to walking in the area and get a general idea of the lay of the land.

In the valley of Chess (and cress)

Date: Sunday 29th June 2014
Route: Chess Valley Circular from Latimer
Distance: 9.5 miles

After a few walk-free weekends, today felt like a good opportunity to get out of London and get a few miles under our belt. This walk, which starts outside the picture postcard village of Latimer, is surprisingly close to the M25, but feels like a proper trip to the countryside (albeit a countryside full of high-end property and lots of Labradors).

The walk comes from the Pathfinder Thames Valley & Chilterns walk book and includes beautiful woodland, valley views, village greens surrounded by country cottages that deserve to be on jigsaws, Tudor manor houses, a riverside section, multiple pubs with decent beer gardens and (slightly incongruously) watercress beds (the fast-flowing water of the river Chess provides the perfect growing conditions, apparently).

Whilst we didn't spot the water voles that are reputed to live in the Chess, we did see a couple of foxes, a toad (in the middle of a woodland path), red kites, herons and multiple bees and butterflies. The path back to the car park was a great source of wild raspberries (and will no doubt be bursting with blackberries later in the year).

The woodland paths at the start of the walk deflected some of the heat of the sun, making this as good a walk in summer as it was when we last walked it in the spring.

None of the paths are particularly steep or difficult to follow, the Cricketers at Sarratt has an extensive menu (and a tractor in the beer garden!) and the impressive Chenies Manor, with its twisted chimneys, will welcome the Antiques Roadshow next week. If it's good enough for Fiona Bruce, it's good enough for us!

Peak District: The Tissington Trail

Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 5th May 2014
Route: Tissington Circular
Distance: 4.5 miles

If I'm honest, this 4.5 mile walk from Tissington from the AA's 1001 Walks isn't one of the most spectacular walks in the Peak District, but it did meet all of our criteria for today - short, achievable, nice scenery, at the southern end of the Peak District (so easy to get home afterwards).

There are two stretches of the walk on the Tissington Trail - a disused railway track now colonised by walkers and cyclists - plus some open countryside up and down the hillsides to and from the village of Parwich, then a final wander through Tissington, home to a pretty Hall, multiple wells and the types of shop that play well to coach trips.

Lots of pretty scenery, some surprisingly taxing climbs and quite a lot of sheep to avoid - not highly recommended but a good way to spend a couple of hours in a beautiful part of the countryside.