After a gruelling day walking to the Col de Cou – 12.6 kms and 4 hr 20 – I decide an easier stroll is required. Ross, basing his choice on Tommy’s recommendation of last year, picks on the scenic Gorges du Dailley which looks fine according to the website. I’ll have words with him when I get home!

We navigate some scary hairpins above Martigny to reach the car park at Les Granges and set off through the village, which is perched on the steep hillside, along a shady woodland path, complete with nature trail signs on local trees and fauna.

After a couple of kilometres we arrive at a bridge over a huge waterfall and, after that, the foot of a steep staircase. Off we go…it is so steep I have to hang on on one side and use my walking stick on the other as I get vertigo…just when I think we’ve reached to top, another section appears like magic. This goes on for about 180m…

However there are some magnificent views of mountains Ross has climbed in summer and winter, when ski touring. He gets his peak finder out and this gives me a chance catch my breath while he identifies all the peaks.

At one stage we reach a top and I breathe a sigh of relief as the final ascent is closed due to refurbishment. Phew! But to get to the restaurant we have to take the ‘high road’ which turns out to be a vertiginous path for another 80 m or so. Finally we meet the road and it leads to a nice little mountain restaurant, where we have a well-earned beer/shandy and some lunch.

Deciding to go the scenic route back (in our household the scenic route is an euphemism for the wrong way) instead of going downhill all the way, we have to do more climbing.  This is hard on my ankle which is still weak after the sarcoma surgery as the higher you go the more you have to come down and, for me,  coming down is harder than going up! Sense of humour failure alert! Finally we reach the top and meander down back towards Les Granges, past some ubiquitous pretty cows, flower and vegetable gardens and bucolic haymaking scenes.

Stroll it was not, but rewarding in terms of views and something different!

The bridge at the start of the walk over the waterfall