Feature · 8 Jul 2020
Trekking the Tour du Mont Blanc backwards
OK, Cicerone’s Jonathan Williams didn’t really walk the Tour du Mont Blanc backwards, he just went the 'wrong' way round.
Articles
24 articles found
Feature · 23 Feb 2020
Hill-climbing heaven in beautiful Bellino
The quiet upper Valle di Bellino offers multiple options for one-day round-trip walks to the many surrounding 3000m+ peaks. It lies between the better-known Monte Viso and Queyras...
Feature · 15 Jul 2018
Route des Grandes Alpes – cycling through the French Alps
Jonathan and I took on our biggest cycling challenge yet, to ride 650km and climb 15000 metres in 9 days, creating a sort of elegant reversed question mark shape as we tackled the...
Feature · 1 Jul 2017
Walking in the Haute Savoie – in the footsteps of Alfred Wills
Aside from offering top-notch Alpine walking, the Haut Giffre area of the Haute Savoie has some interesting history. Alfred Wills, one of the founders of the Alpine Club and...
Feature · 5 Jun 2017
GR5 Vosges and Jura – walking the borderlands of France
When the time came to update their Cicerone guide, Les and Elizabeth Smith were happy to have an excuse to revisit the Vosges and Jura. This section of the GR5 winds down through...
Feature · 8 May 2017
Challenges and surprises cycling the River Loire Route
For the past two summers, Mike Wells has been cycling up and down the Loire Valley in central France researching his new guide to the Loire cycle route. Here he recaps some of the...
Feature · 6 Mar 2017
Crossing the Crête des Gittes on the GR5
The GR5 is one of the world's classic treks. The section through the French Alps takes nearly a month and involves long distances, big climbs and staying in high mountain huts. Jonathan Arlan chose it as his first long distance walk. Literally...
Feature · 9 Jan 2017
An overnight off-piste adventure in the Vanoise
Earlier this year James, Dave and Paul ventured out to Val d’Isère to try some backcountry skiing and snowboarding. The lads from High Wycombe climb a summit, ski and board...
Feature · 5 Sept 2016
UTMB 2016 - A 170km run around Mont Blanc
Cicerone's Joe Williams recently competed the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc - A 170km (105 miles) mountain race with 10,000m of ascent around Month Blanc. Here he tells his personal...
Feature · 4 Aug 2016
Trekking the GR5 from the North Sea to the Mediterranean - Logistics
Third and final article in the series, covering the logistics of trekking the GR5 long distance hiking trail. The route goes from the North Sea to the Mediterranean through The...
Feature · 11 Jul 2016
Trekking the GR5 from the North Sea to the Mediterranean - History
Walking the full GR5 from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. This 2300km journey passes through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and small parts of Switzerland. The...
Feature · 12 Jun 2016
Trekking the GR5 from the North Sea to the Mediterranean - Highlights
The GR5 (Grande Randonnée 5) is a trail – a marked route in some places – that begins in Hoek van Holland and runs for about 2300km through the Netherlands, Belgium,...
Feature · 11 Mar 2016
Trekking with an Infant 3: Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc
Jen Lumanlan travelled from the USA and did the Tour of Mont Blanc with her daughter when Carys was only eight weeks old. This article is the third of three in which she shares...
Feature · 8 Feb 2016
Trekking with an infant 2: Before you go
Jen Lumanlan travelled from the USA and hiked the Tour of Mont Blanc with her daughter when Carys was only eight weeks old. This article is the second of three in which she shares her experiences of taking an infant trekking. Here she focuses on...
Feature · 8 Feb 2016
The Velo Francette - France's newest long-distance cycle route
Gillian Thomas explores France’s newest long-distance cycle route the Velo Francette, through Normandy, Pays de la Loire and Poitou Charentes from Ouistreham to La Rochelle.
Feature · 8 Feb 2016
Marvellous Mercantouring
There is a well-kept secret in the southern French Alps, a quiet but unforgettable ski tour which winds its way through the heart of the region. Here professional mountain guide Tania Noakes outlines the Traversée du Mercantour as it passes through...
Feature · 8 Dec 2015
Trekking with an infant 1: Starting to plan
Jen Lumanlan traveled from the USA and did the Tour of Mont Blanc with her daughter when Carys was only 8 weeks old. This article is the first of three in which she shares her...
Feature · 13 Oct 2015
The Haute Route Alps – a long tough cyclosportive
The Haute Route Alps is 791km and almost 22,000m of ascent over seven consecutive days in some of the world’s most spectacular scenery. Regular Cicerone Extra contributor...
Feature · 13 Oct 2015
‘Far from the madding crowd’ in the Dordogne
After a successful trip to Var last year, James Benson ended up trail-testing another Cicerone walking guide to France with his family this year – this time Walking in the...
Feature · 13 Jul 2015
Following My Camino to Santiago
Gail Delahunt shares her experiences joining a group walking part of the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in the north west corner of Spain and discovers there’s much more to following a...