I used to travel a lot on Swiss to Switzerland in the days before I discovered easyJet but Swiss suited this time – yes, even for a flight at 6am – and not only was it punctual and my bag second off at Zurich but I was impressed to receive a simple breakfast included in the price. The excellent Swiss transport system conveyed me to my first stop at Innertkirchen,

a small town just a short distance from the more well known Meiringen, famous for its Sherlock Holmes connections with the Reichenbach Falls. Before I went, I suspected Innertkirchen to be slightly off the main tourist trail: maybe it is but it seems nonetheless to attract a lot of visitors and bikers who enjoyed the rides over the nearby Grimsel, Susten and Furka passes.

I went for the Grimsel Pass and, despite my flagging efforts to stay awake on the bus, the sun and an early start meant, yes, I nodded off but I woke up in time and found the Grimsel area stunning: like a crater almost and the most enchanting place to walk around and take photos.

I stayed at the Hotel Hof & Post which couldn’t be more convenient. Simple yet popular and friendly, it is but yards from the train stop on the short hop from Innertkirchen. But this is a remarkable train: probably only about 6kms for the whole journey, it has four intermediate stops before reaching its final station including one in a tunnel and the driver personally greets travellers onto the train and occasionally checks tickets. This one carriage train struck me as working on goodwill.