My mother told me that I should write an article on how to do Switzerland on the cheap... I daresay that this is a thinly-veiled criticism on my frugality rather than a compliment but hey ho, I may just take her up on it.

I was back in Zermatt for the first time in four-and-a-half years and undoubtedly would have loved to have been back earlier. I remember the days (about twenty-odd years ago) when one sterling pound would fetch 2.3 Swiss Francs but these days both rates are pretty much one to one. Zermatt, my favourite holiday destination, is world famous and attracts high prices thus making it a wrench for someone like me!
Back in 2022, I stayed in the Bolero Appartements in a comparatively quiet area of Zermatt and cooked for myself. That time, I had booked through booking.com but the small but perfectly adequate studio never again to my recollection appeared through booking.com and only far more expensive and larger apartments were offered. I therefore wrote directly to the Bolero this time asking for the same small studio and booked it directly at, trust me, a bargain £70-a-night and paid up in advance.
Swiss Railways day passes can be booked, as I remember, six months in advance and have a number of tickets at the lowest price (currently CHF52) after which the fare rises. Mine were booked six months in advance.
I booked with Swiss early, with heavy bag containing all - allowable - food and just made it under the 23-kilo allowance after a repack the night beforehand at the convenient Travelodge Stockley Park and off I went very early so that I could complete my shopping comfortably that afternoon on arrival in Zermatt.
I am not quite sure what happened but I used two Swiss trains which were unthinkably delayed: only slightly but somehow I still ended up in Zermatt earlier than I had planned. The key to my studio in the Bolero had been left for me and, since my last visit, the place has been refurbished and I had a larger room which was very comfortable. Okay, working the hob took me a while but I ate well and, if you like, enjoyed "window-shopping" in Zermatt restaurants and ogled at the current prices.
I had three full days and essentially managed five-and-a-half hours walking each day. In late September, not all gondolas, lifts etc were in operation but, whatever, how better to have a healthy and invigorating holiday than walking everywhere (and thereby saving on transport costs...) Some of the money saved did go in using a nice spa and sauna at the Capricorn Hotel to soothe aches and pains after my walks, mind you.

My favourite area in Zermatt is Schwarzsee. It is an easy enough walk to Furi after which most sane people take a cable car to Schwarzsee. Okay, I admired the scenery on Shanks's Pony on the way up and remembered the quote in some book about the long-distance marathon runner where the main problem was the last 200 yards. Seeing the Schwarzsee hotel tantalisingly close felt the same but my more dilatory pace at that stage increased when I saw competition from behind and, being a reluctant but still comparatively competitive soul, couldn't bear being overtaken by a person less than half my age. A renewed and rejuvenated person - not immediately obvious, I grant you - made it there first.

I was very lucky with the weather and each day was glorious with barely a cloud in the sky. The walk down from Schwarzsee was lovely too and easier although I admit that the last half-hour before reaching Zermatt is usually quite demanding. Five hours of walking with the prospect of walking over stones, boulders and tree roots isn't quite as easy as it looks. Anyway, the heat of the sauna undoubtedly helped and I went to the other side of the valley the next day and again with no transport involved.
I admit that I did not quite reach Riffelberg where I had planned but, nonetheless, the slightly lower Riffelalp was every bit as nice. Throughout my stay, I enjoyed visiting some tiny chapels situated in and around Zermatt. One such, on this walk, is in the delightful hamlet of Findeln on the way down.
One area of interest for me is the history of mountaineering in and around Zermatt. I have always been led to believe that a successful ascent includes a safe return, something which did not sadly happen after the Matterhorn was first scaled in July 1865. Some were lost soon afterwards the descent had begun and one, Michel Croz, is buried in the Mountaineers' Cemetery behind the Parish Church of Zermatt, St. Mauritius. When I found the grave, Juillet 1865 quickly suggested that this could be the one I was looking for. Many others have perished not only on the Matterhorn but other nearby peaks, some of which are over 4000 metres high. Not on the scale of the Himalayas but certainly impressive.
As part of the Haute Route/Europaweg starting from Chamonix and ending in Zermatt was closed, I decided to head back up towards Schwarzsee on my last full day and was able to stop and watch a marmot at close quarters. This one had surprisingly not seen or heard me but, shortly afterwards, a high-pitched squeal alerted by another family member signalled that there was danger about. Marmots are a comparatively common site higher up in the mountains.
Zermatt at night is also captivating and I enjoyed a couple of far shorter walks after being sustained by my meal. In short, I find it a wonderful place to walk and I have already been in touch with the Bolero about next year's holiday.

A 1 p.m. flight from Geneva meant a train departure at just after 6:30 a.m. as the journey, through wonderful scenery, takes almost four hours. A lady at the Swiss departure gate at Geneva Airport seemed keen to check my passport before saying that she thought she recognised me and wondered if I was a famous actor... Let's just say that I went away feeling elated but, sadly for her, she went away deflated. I did admittedly see Richard Burton's former house from the train just outside Geneva but that was as close to any film credits that I can conjure up.