Lifting the curse

Travels in mountain country where nations have little meaning

To cycle up a mountain is to pedal into a world of paradoxes. Mountains are a playground and a torture chamber; a means of outdoor adventure and inner discovery; an opportunity for wonder, a guarantee

The Pyrenees reserves its best treasures for walkers prepared to venture off the well-beaten trail, says Teresa Levonian Cole, on a solo holiday in Ribes de Freser

hey say that Wales is home to more sheep than people, the UK has more potholes than miles of road, and at any given time a third of all French workers are on strike. But should you believe them? In my

It’s hard to imagine a better place to start a ride. At 1,326m Briançon is the highest city in France. And with 300 clear days a year on average, it’s also one of the sunniest. To describe the morning

Nestled among the jagged pinnacles of the Dolomites at the rock summit of the 2,239m Passo Pordoi is a blue-green bronze monument that commemorates the Italian legend Fausto Coppi. The five-time Giro