In My Vicarage Garden 



look, and seems as if a giant had amused himself 

 by making gigantic flourishes on the rocks. But 

 the result of the flourishes is that the walker finds 

 the descent very easy ; he has a good road under 

 him, a brawling and beautiful stream — the Ticino 

 — by his side all the way, with grand rocks and 

 good plants. It is not, however, a walk to be 

 undertaken too early in the season ; it was the 

 first week in July when I took it, and in many 

 places the road was cut through deep snow ; the 

 pretty little Lac Lucendro was unapproachable, 

 and the lake itself frozen over and covered with 

 snow, and the Ticino in many places completely 

 bridged over with snow for considerable distances. 

 The corkscrews of the road are carried on almost 

 into Airolo, but near Airolo they are of greater 

 length, and the short cuts can be taken with safety 

 and ease. At Airolo there is more than one good 

 hotel, but any one who wishes to go to Piora 

 would do well to go to the Hotel Lombardi, as 

 the landlord, M. Lombardi, is the landlord of the 

 hotel at Piora, as he is also of the hotel at the top 

 of the St Gothard Pass. The ascent to Piora is 

 not for wheels of any sort. Very soon after leaving 

 Airolo we commence to mount by a good mule 

 path, and for the first half of the way the path 

 is not at all steep ; but after passing the little 

 villages of Madrano and Brugnasco we reach 

 Altanca, where the ascent begins to be steep, and 

 in some places a little scrambly, but very delight- 

 ful as it goes by a succession of zigzags parallel 

 190 



