The Times - UK (2022-05-28)

the times Saturday May 28 2022

37

‘Its elegant façade and doll’s

house dimensions manage to

look grand yet inviting’

Susan d’Arcy on Ireland’s revamped Cashel Palace

do, and if you find yourself there on a

sunny June, July or August day — or in

any other European mountain range —

you’ll understand why. Dressed in

vivid green with every wrinkle of

rock visible in the fresh, clear air,

they are such an irrefutable

declaration of nature’s power

that even the gentlest activity

feels heroic: go for a walk and

suddenly you’re hiking; pedal

and you’re chasing the ghosts

of the Tour de France.

Then, when you’re done,

you’ll find few places more

soothing. Slip off your boots

and stick your feet in the nearest

mountain stream for the full, mind-

melting effect — no spa could match it.

Of course there’s more to do than hike

T

he first time I went to the

Alps was for a summer

reading holiday. I was an

undergraduate and the

idea was that we’d pile

into a rickety old chalet

above St Gervais-les-

Bains in France, study hard and get

the odd lungful of mountain air in the

afternoons. There was one problem: the

landscape in which we were supposed

to be working included the Mont Blanc

massif, one of the most spectacular

lumps of rock you’ll ever lay eyes on.

No prizes for guessing what happened

— let’s just say that my academic career

never materialised. Meanwhile I’ve been

back to the Alps a hundred times since.

Often it’s been for skiing. But I loved

those mountains first in summer and still

From yoga and

concerts to hiking

and biking, you

don’t need snow

to enjoy Europe’s

high points, says

Sean Newsom

or cycle. You might pair yoga with

climbing lessons, or walk through a pine-

scented forest before a Michelin-starred

meal. Alongside a new generation of

mountain-bike parks there are high-

ropes courses, rafting companies

on many rivers and musicians

playing in state-of-the-art

concert halls. It’s a rich and

energetic mix. If you chafe at

the inactivity of a villa break

or long for somewhere more

interesting to look at than a

beach, the mountains could well

be your natural summer home.

Here’s our pick of holidays to

wreck your summer reading plans.

Go parapenting

in La Plagne

Summer in the Alps: the best

places to stay in the mountains

Mountain trips next page

Travel

Page

44

ALAMY; AIR LA PLAGNE

Grindelwald in the Swiss Alps