Introductions

This blog is dedicated to broadening the horizons of adventurous hikers and mountaineers by introducing new walks in both popular and largely undiscovered areas of natural beauty. This will mainly be in the form of part-anecdotal, part-instructional accounts of routes I have researched and walked, all of which you will (hopefully) not have read about anywhere else. 

Although I no doubt intend to reveal some of the hidden gems I have found whilst walking in the UK, I would first like to begin the blog with a series of accounts of walks found in the southern French Alps.

The French Alps remain almost completely undiscovered, particularly by British walkers. Although the deluge of skiers which flood the Alps in the winter time tend to occupy almost every nook and cranny of the Alps (provided the slopes are good and there's a decent chairlift) in the summer visitors tend to be drawn to the awe-inspiring yet wholly over-visited honeypots of Chamonix and the other national parks, such as the Écrins.

However, for sightseers, families and experienced walkers alike, there is a wealth of undiscovered walking hidden in the southern tip of the Alps. Here, the southerly and easterly location of areas such as the Queyras regional park, the Ubaye valley and the Lac de Serre-Ponçon allow for a warmer climate in the summertime. Although as a result glaciers are difficult to find, settled weather is almost a guarantee. 

The map below gives you some idea of the area covered in the first section of this blog:

View Lac de Serre-Ponçon and the surrounding area in a larger map

Undiscovered Walks hopes to offer some suggestions regarding walking and sightseeing in this most beautiful of areas. Navigational help, maps, photographs and panoramic films will all be included. 

Lac de Serre-Ponçon from Mont Guillaume

All walks were correct at time of writing.

Enjoy.