Martigny

We went to Martigny together so that I could explore while Daniel did a training run up the mountain. Daniel's runs begin at the Château de la Bâtiaz and so that is where my adventure began.

Château de la Bâtiaz

The castle takes its name from the Latin word "bastida" meaning fortress or fortified place. It was commissioned by the Bishop of Sion in the thirteenth century and changed hands several times between Sion and the Count of Savoy. It was burnt on 13 November 1475, but the military importance and defensive position of the castle compelled the new bishop to restore it. The château was destroyed again in 1518 and all that remains today is the central building and the tower.

An imposing fortress overlooking Martigny

The central courtyard

The Hall of Knights

The construction of the tower was taken very seriously and the emphasis was on its defence systems. There are very few windows in the fort, and those which exist are for lookout posts or archers only. The outer courtyard has three trebuchets in it, there is a canon just inside the gate and two other 'war machines' are also on the site. The walls of the tower are 3.5m thick and have a staircase winding up inside. (There are two toilets inside the walls as well!)

The tower rises above the dungeon, which is next door to the torture chamber. The castle sits among picturesque vineyards today, but in the early 16th century those vineyards were gallows. There are 125 steps up to the top of the tower and the views from the top are pretty impressive.

The dungeon, complete with torture instruments and a skeleton

The view from the top of the tower looking up the valley.
Note the terraced vineyards on the slopes of the mountain.

The view down the valley. In the distance there is a wind turbine farm.

Martigny is a gateway town to numerous hiking and skiing trails. After visiting the castle, I followed the little yellow trail signs up through the vineyards and then up and up and up! I walked in the direction of Ravoire, winding up some pretty forest trails.

Lots of options from Martigny

The trail up from the castle through the vineyards

Quiet forest trails

After exploring the mountains, I headed back down to check out the town. Martigny has a population of 15,000 people and it is a bustling town with lots of shops (boutiques and outdoors) and a range of restaurants. The Dranse River flows from the Valais Alps into the Rhone here and there are lovely walks and parks along the river. Martigny has a lot to offer - maybe one day we'll skip the mountains and enjoy the town instead!

An ornate bridge over the Dranse River

Zurich Parcoursvita

The Zurich Insurance Company started an initiative called Parcoursvita in 1968 to encourage outdoor recreational sports and promote a healthy lifestyle, quality family time and contact with nature. Today there are 500 trails all over Switzerland, sponsored by Zurich and maintained by the local communes. These trails 'borrow' 2-3km of forest trails with an easy, medium or difficult rating, and each course has 15 stations for stretching and strength work.

Map of Switzerland with the Parcoursvita routes marked
Blue = easy; red = medium; black = difficult

AUBONNE
We first learnt about these trails at the welcome dinner for new residents in Aubonne as our village maintains a Parcoursvita near the Arboretum. The course is 2.1km and has a medium ranking, and the whole trail is in the shade of the forest, next to the Aubonne River.

MONTRICHER
We love this trail so much we decided to explore some of the other routes in our area. We went back to Montricher (which is an access point for Mont Tendre) to test out the 2.6km course there. It is a difficult course and there is a lot more climbing and less shade than Aubonne.

APPLES
We also checked out the Parcoursvita in Apples, which is more similar to Aubonne -  2.2km and medium. It was a very nice shady course and we'll definitely go back to keep fit.

RAVOIRE
I checked out the Parcoursivita at Ravoire while Daniel did a training session in the Alps. This one was 2.4km and had a black rating - lots of climbs! Unfortunately it wasn't very well sign-posted and I got pretty lost. This meant I had more climbing to do than anticipated, but I got to enjoy some pretty great views while I was out.

The route coincided with parts of a trail called 'Les fours à pains de Ravoire' which goes past the 13 communal bread ovens which were built in the 1850s to serve the 20 hamlets in the area and were still used into the 1950s. According to the website, "Ravoire has the largest concentration of bread ovens in Valais, and possibly in Switzerland. An association for safeguarding this heritage is being formed." How's that for a claim to fame?

LES DIABLERETS
While Daniel completed a 55km race in the mountains around Les Diablerets, I completed the 2.5km parcoursvita. This is the best one I've seen so far - lots of green mossy rocks and trees along the wood chip trail, magic toadstools popping up here and there, and the beautiful Grande Eau river on the side. This one is a moderate difficulty route.