+ ON A SWISS ROLL
Switching off the motorhome engine, we hear nothing save for the pocket-sized Susasca River burbling away quietly, far below. Tufts of mist thread around the eye-level mountain heads while lichen-layered rocks, wet with drizzle, litter the lower slopes.
We’ve already reached the top of the Flüela Pass, having avoided ritzy skiing resort Davos in favour of the beauty of the landscape we now find ourselves in. Passing a lonely chapel on the climb, angelic white beneath a slate roof against the pine trees, the backdrop is reminiscent of Snowdonia or the Cambrians.
Mountain streams tumble to create a lush wetland of moss and wiry grass, disrupted by a flurry of pink thistle or yellow ragwort. Suddenly, in the remote stillness, we’re aware of being watched.
Our gaze shifts from the elongated valley of the Susasca and the descent we’re about to attempt, to an old log buried in the bedraggled grass right by our side. There, we spot beady eyes, then a damp nose.
Finally emerging from its residence, a marmot greets us. Enamoured by our new friend and his many cousins who follow, it’s a long interval before we make the lengthy descent to Susch and the Engadin valley.
An epic journey
Our acquaintance with these new furry friends marked the midway point for us on a Grand Tour of Switzerland.
Created as a touring route by the Switzerland Tourist Board, the Grand Tour’s signposting, with typical Swiss accuracy, was completed in 2016.
My three children and I took on the 1000-mile circuit through, across and around all 26 cantons (regions) of this beautiful country.
This comprehensive route offers visitors the chance to see every city, notable landmark and landscape, alongside highlighted attractions and 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
If you complete the entire journey, in effect, you’ll have ‘done’ Switzerland!
Our tour began six days previously, in the north-west of Switzerland. Skirting the border city of Basel, and with a plan to spend more time in the countryside than in the cities, we picked up Grand Tour signposts that took us to the French-speaking Jura.
Quiet roads, country lanes
Climbing out of the historic city of Delémont (capital of the Jura canton), we were instantly surrounded by quiet and visually striking scenery – lush, gently undulating meadows interspersed with large swathes of
