Glacier Blanc...............

{Way markers for the walking paths}

We're having a heat wave here - so 'go higher' we thought and set off to have a picnic then spend an afternoon in the sun but up in the mountains. We chose to go past Ailefroide and up to le Pre de Madame Carle. We parked up beside the melt water from the glacier.

{Melt water from the Glacier}

We paddled about in the water until our feet went numb - but it was still too hot to walk or cycle comfortably. I took a short stroll to see the visitor's centre and the Refuge. There were a lot of people there trying to find some shade to sit in.

{Refuge du Pre de Mme Carle beside the car-park}

The glacier has retreated a great deal in the last hundred years. It used to cover the rocks below where it is now almost to the floor of the valley. Even in the past 10 years it has got smaller. Now it just peeps over the top.

{The nose of the Glacier Blanc peeping over the rocks}

Was it cooler? Not really - still 32 degrees. The bikes stayed firmly on the back of the van. Excellent place to sit though, and while away some peaceful hours.

{Just enough shade to sit in}

Eventually we went back down to Ailefroide and had an ice-cream!