The Chemin des Narcisses bis

Dwight Peck's personal website

Winter 2015-2016

Retirement is still as much fun as ever

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

The Chemin des Narcisses bis

And splendid weather for it

The Chemin des Narcisses is a signposted walk above Les Avants over Lake Geneva -- we were here in December last, and had so much fun, we're back. 6 May 2016.

Like sensible people, we're taking the automatic funicular 200 metres up the hillside to Sonloup. Very inexpensive.

Arriving at the top. The gate opens automatically.

More renovations to the hotel at Sonloup.

Setting off on the Chemin des Narcisses (this place is famous for its springtime narcissus, but it's evidently still a bit too early)

Off we go.

A sign at the head of the trail warned that, because of recent "works", there've been some perturbations to the trail. And how.

The local scenery -- the Dent de Jaman and the Rochers de Naye

Stepping lightly round the huge machine tracks

No more huge machine tracks

Little ups and downs along the ridge line

Under the power lines

Power lines

Half an hour out, almost to the belvedere

Up the last little hill

The belvedere of Le Cubly (named for the village directly below)

Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), with Montreux off the left, Vevey off to the right, and France across the way

The little port at the Montreux suburb of Clarens

Looking past Vevey towards Lausanne in the distance, the Jura mountains on the horizon, and the autoroute below

The Savoy Alps

A precipitous trail down from the belvedere

Turning the corner and wending back towards Les Avants -- in the background, the ridge of Les Verraux, the Dent de Jaman, and the Rochers de Naye, with the Col de Jaman in dead-centre.

Time to go back uphill a ways: the farms at Fiaudire, and the power lines again

Villeneuve below (behind the tree), the Rhône valley, and the Dents du Midi

Local scenery

Other hikers, seeking their own way down through the pastures; a bit awkward getting over the fences

The farms at Fiaudire. We're off on that path on the right.

Thanks to the Tourist Office for thoughtful care of us

Contouring due east towards Les Avants

The whole thing's a pleasant hour and a half walk with fine scenery. Maybe with some narcissuses (narcissi) to be seen along the way, if you catch it right.

Back to Les Avants

The little house where Marlowe's mom and I lived back in about 1980 . . .

. . . at the very top (formerly the attic storeroom).

Downtown Les Avants

The hotel at Sonloup (how clever of us to have employed the funiculaire before setting out on our walk)

Whilst walking, we've discovered that we've lost the car keys. Let's see if we can find them round here.

Found the car keys, but missed the right road down the hill; that's the autoroute, right enough, but far from the entrance to it.

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