On Saturday 31 August, twenty-one group members departed from a grey and gloomy UK to spend a week at the village of Kranjska Gora in the spectacular Julian Alps of Slovenia. The flight with Adria, the Slovenian national airline, was short and uneventful and by early afternoon we were enjoying our first glimpse of the towering mountains which surround the Sava Dolinka and Pišnica Valleys. Holiday Felowship leader Jim Sephton greeted us at Ljubljana airport and gave us the usual en route briefing before we met his colleague, Jane Walker Cull, at the hotel. Although it was Jim’s first visit to Kranska Gora, Jane had previous knowledge of the area and we soon came to appreciate the teamwork between the two leaders and were able to feel complete confidence in their leadership.

The Hotel Lek was clean and comfortable, providing extensive buffets at breakfast and dinner, usually with a Slovenian speciality each evening and local wines. Another plus point was the delightful swimming pool with adjoining massage pool and spa pool providing exhilarating bubbles and jets of water to ease our aching muscles!

The range of walks offered covered high ridges, riverside and gorges, forest and alpine meadows, still with a good assortment of wild flowers which provided interest and pleasure through the days. Wildlife encounters included a couple of slow-worms and a large toad but unfortunately we failed to see any chamois or ibex – or indeed a brown bear, although that might have been a bit too exciting. In common with most European countries there was an absence of the sort of birdlife we’re used to, but we caught glimpses of eagles or buzzards as well as ravens on the high ridges.

We were remarkably lucky with the weather. For the first half of the week we had cloudy mornings followed by sunny afternoons and increasing sun as the week continued. Heavy rain fell conveniently at night, apart from a couple of brief showers which typically cleared as soon as we had struggled into our waterproofs. The morning mists of the first days added much to the atmosphere of the ancient trees and ice strewn boulders on the rocky slopes. But how wonderful to climb above the cloud to see the mountain tops revealed and as the day progressed more of the dramatic ranges gradually appearing.

The midweek free day offered various options such as a bus trip to Bled and its beautiful lake. Several people took this option and enjoyed boat trips to the island and church. Other energetic people hired bikes and revisited Lake Jasna or walked from the hotel. Others of us were content to enjoy the village and fascinating museum, Liznek’s House, with its enthusiastic and informative guide.

Amongst highlights of the week was the walk up the Mostnica Gorge where we saw the extraordinary effects of water on limestone, creating a river labyrinth of both deep and shallow tunnels of water and perfect circular pools.

The harder walks involved some steep ascents to enjoy the panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and some even longer descents. The climax was climbing steeply to the summit of Visevnik at 2050 metres on a beautiful clear day. From there we had a magnificent view of the Triglav mountain range. Although challenging, it was a day not to be missed.

Evening activities for those who could stay awake to enjoy them covered various ‘diversions’ provided by Jim and Jane including an unusual quiz based on legal cases, Jim’s creepy account of the Maria Marten murder case and an interesting reminder of the history of Holiday Fellowship, now approaching its 100^th anniversary. There were two public music events held in the square of Kranjska Gora and an excellent open air presentation of photographs with English commentary, featuring the Julian Alps.

The Holiday Fellowship holiday to Solden in Austria has been aborted as it turned out that the price hike between this year and next was more than most people were happy with. Consequently there is nothing being organised by the Group for late summer next year. Does anyone want to put forward any suggestions? Take it on?

We are extremely grateful to Brian and his helpers for the successful Coach Walks he has arranged for this year. They have been varied and wide ranging across the southern counties. He thought you might like to see some of the statistics -