Why a Booktrail?
1863, 2003: Imagine retracing the exact trail that a certain Mr Thomas Cook did 150 years ago…
Slow Train to Switzerland
What you need to know before your trail
The Junior United Alpine Club head off to Switzerland via Paris with a certain Mr Thomas Cook who is just a bit partial to travel…and Miss Jemima Morrell is the unofficial chronicler of the tour.
They travel down through Paris, to Geneva and on to Chamonix. The British were in fact the first to discover this part of the world apparently in 1741!
They embark upon quite a journey given the constraints of dress and difficulties in a large group never really having travelled before, not to mention the need to find amenities, and to carry the essentials they needed for such a long journey.
In 2013, more than 150 years later, Diccon Bewes retraces the entire journey of the Cook-Morrell party.
Travel Guide
Thomas Cook and the package holiday
This is the account of the first package holiday in history which Mr Cook had always believed in and failed to achieve. However this is the same man who would have his name on shops in nearly every British high street. This man had a vision and he kept going..
The Trail
Paris, Geneva….
Chamonix Martigny Sion Leuk Leukerbad …the Gemmi mountain and Kandersteg Frutigen Spiez Interlaken (the Paris of the Alps) Lucerne and Neuchâtel (all while wearing Victorian clothes which were hardly designed for trekking)
The Thermal waters of Leukerbad
“Lying neck deep in hot water on a bed of bubbles and looking up at the mighty cliffs, I realise why people travelled across Europe for centuries to do exactly this. It’s not necessarily the water, which can be found in many natural spas, but the location 1411m above sea level and surrounded by natural splendour.”
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Slow Train to Switzerland
Author/Guide: Diccon Bewes Destination: Switzerland Departure Time: 1863, 2013
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