“The spring reawakening after winter is the favourite time for country folk – leaf buds are forming on the trees, early blossoms such as the blackthorn are exploding into life as wild flowers are tentatively breaking out of the soil in March and early-April. More spectacular are May and early June, when the deciduous leaves are young and vivid and the wild flowers are bursting into life in an abundance of glorious colour in the meadows, pastures, hedgerows and verges. Butterflies and other insects thrive where wild flowers flourish and there are abundant butterflies starting as early as end of April until October. “

“For the Tour de Mont Blanc generally, the climbing window is between June and September. September is great - the trails are generally a little quieter whilst the weather is usually still warm and clear. November isn’t ideal as you have less daylight hours and unpredictable weather. The main climbing season for the ascent of Mont Blanc is from June to September. Expect warm temperatures (15 to 25ºC) in the valleys, cool (5 to 15ºC) on the passes (though it will feel colder if wet and windy) and very cold (-20ºC) on the summit, with strong winds too. For snowshoeing, there is usually a blanket of snow between December and March”.