above layers of cloud-capped


mountains. It’s a 45-minute, moderate hike


from the station to the mountain top, but for a slightly more challenging hike suggest the ascent to Galtenberg, the highest peak in Alpbach (around six hours). There’s a weekly guided walk there that departs from the Tourist Information Office, and it’s free with the Alpbachtal Seenland Card. Anyone staying in the area will get one on arrival, and the pass gives access to cable cars, buses and local museums.


There’s a similar deal over in


the Wildschönau Valley (around 40 minutes from Alpbach), with free guided walks every day during the week from Niederau. I can vouch for the moor walk – a charming uphill stroll through forests filled with purple orchids, wild herbs and tiny strawberries, which finishes with a barefoot wander through the muddy but glorious moorland. Odd as it sounds, it ended up being one of the most memorable experiences of my trip, with bottle-green pine trees, fresh shrubbery and distant silhouettes of mountains at every turn, and spongey moss squelching underfoot.


HOW TO SELL


Target the


Austrian Tirol at active families and older


couples with good fitness.


The best time to visit is June to September; there are few


tourists in May, so it’s a good time for a quiet, relaxing break, but lifts don’t


start until June. In summer, easyJet flies direct four times a week from Gatwick to Innsbruck, and Ryanair flies to Salzburg, both about two hours. British Airways is bringing in a twice-weekly service from Heathrow to Innsbruck next summer.


ABOVE: Alpbach town centre 42 travelweekly.co.uk 21 July 2016


w FREE WHEELING But the Tirol isn’t just a haven for hikers; smooth terrain and trails marked according to difficulty make the region ideal for cycling, and there are now more than 3,500 miles of bike routes. Among them lies the longest


continuous track in the Alps, the Bike Trail Tirol, a 600-plus-mile odyssey in 32 sections. If that’s not enough to entice cycling


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