We were woken very early this morning by the Dairy lorry clattering milk crates outside our second-floor window, presumably stocking up the restaurant for the hundreds of meals it would be serving today. Some of the sports facilities on the campus had been in use until very late last night, as we had heard some people returning to their rooms after midnight, so we didn’t get the best sleep. Breakfast back in the restaurant was good though, and Joe was able to collect his swimming kit from the pool changing rooms, although they had to be unlocked specially for us.

We had fifty miles to do today, but it was pretty much all downhill as we followed the River Rhône down the valley. After stocking up with supplies at the Coop Pronto just down from the hostel, we re-joined Route 1 and followed it as far as Mörel, about 6.3 miles from the hostel. Here we took time out from the ride to kill two birds with one stone – do some great cable car rides and see the largest glacier in the Alps.

The first cable car, or gondola lift as they call it, took us from Mörel to Riederalp, a picturesque alpine village that is notable for being totally car free. After a short walk through the village we reached the second gondola that would take us right up to the Moosfluh glacier viewpoint, 2337m above sea level. We some great views on the way up, and also noticed a Snowblower Station halfway up packed with expensive Snow Blowers, presumably to move the snow during winter season to provide the best skiing conditions.

The Great Aletsch Glacier made a fabulous sight at Moosfluh, and was unlike anything we had seen before. The glacier itself is 14 miles long, and flow marks right down its length confirmed that it is in a constant state of slow movement. We enjoyed nearly an hour there just soaking up the stillness and magnificence of the place. When we felt we had got our money’s worth from the trip we walked back to the gondola station to return to the bikes, but as we approached, the gondolas stopped moving. Closer inspection revealed that the Gondola Operator had switched it off and had sat down with his feet up to have his lunch break. He then went off to sleep! We really couldn’t believe that after paying so much for the journey up, they would keep us waiting while an operator took a lunch break, so we just talked about it on video while the time slipped away and our day’s busy schedule was put back.

We had half expected to be waiting an hour, but in fact he finished his break at 12:50 after just over half an hour. We were cold and hungry however, as we had packed light for the journey up and hadn’t brought much food. When we reached Riederalp again we complained about being kept waiting without warning, then passed some downhill karts in Funland that proved irresistible. Tao and Joe went up first, being pulled up with a lift system and then allowed to roll down the grassy slope. Then Michael and Joe went up, with Tao on camcorder. It was all good fun, although it made us even later returning to the bikes.

We stopped for lunch 15 miles from the hostel, near Lalden. Soon after that Route 1 was diverted because of a concert, but there diversion signs then disappeared so we wasted a bit of time getting back onto Route 1 again. It was all either flat or downhill however, so we covered a lot of miles.

As we approached Sion the landscape changed, with fertile slopes farmed in a unique style. We also saw the two castles of Sion on their respective rocks that seems to rise vertically out of the valley floor. It was approaching 6.30 when we finally arrived at Sion Youth Hostel.

The town of Sion was much quieter than other large towns we had visited. We were back in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, which made us all feel a little more comfortable for some reason. Today was Michael’s birthday so we were hoping our provided evening meal would be a bit special. In the event it turned out to be satisfactory, but Michael’s vegetarian birthday meal was just pasta shapes with spaghetti and very little sauce, so very dry and unimaginative.

Just after 8.30 we decided to do an evening walk through the town to Valère Castle, about a mile in total. The walk took us through the town, past an interesting waterfall, then through the old town and up the Rue des Châteaux, which was accessed via an alleyway and took us up between the two castles. Both castles were lit up, and with crickets or grasshoppers making a constant sound in the otherwise still evening it made for an incredible sight and magical atmosphere. We felt privileged to be able to simply be here on this wonderful evening as we looked back at the Sion town lights flickering below us.

One of the slightly annoying things we have discovered about Swiss breakfasts is that they don’t seem to provide dessertspoons for eating cereals, and Sion was no exception. Only tiny teaspoons were available – you could just about squeeze two Sugar Puffs on a spoon if you were lucky, so it took ages to eat a decent bowlful of cereal. Still, there were at least a nice range of cereals from which to choose.

After leaving the hostel at around 10.15 we took a quick look around the shops and set off following Route 1 along the Rover Rhône. Stupidly, however, we had forgotten to buy lunch, which meant we would be at the mercy of shopkeepers to stay open over lunchtime. The route was long, straight and flat, missing Martigny but taking us past huge fields of grapes that were ripening in the hot sunshine. We also came across some delightfully-friendly donkeys that deserved the attention they got from us.

We arrived at Saint-Marice at around 1.10pm after covering around 25 miles. This was the first place with shops on our route, and since our route took us right past Migros we stopped there to buy our food. We were annoyed but not totally surprised to find AGAIN that the supermarket had closed for lunch at 12.00 and wouldn’t reopen until 1.30. Michael was hungry, so we wandered across the road and amazingly found a bakery that was actually open. There was a good range of pasties and other baked goods there, but only one vegetarian item on display, a cheese and onion quiche. So Michael bought that and sat down in the shade outside Migros to eat it. The others, for some unknown reason, decided nothing in the bakery was good enough for them, so they waited for the supermarket to open, which of course wasted a bit more time. Still, we were out to enjoy our day, so it didn’t really matter. Tao used the time to record a video of Michael eating his lunch, commenting that he had “scoffed an entire quiche”.

It was very hot under an almost cloudless sky, so Michael stocked up with a pint of iced lemonade from Migros and we then continued along Route 1 through Massongex and Vouvry until the Rhône met Lake Geneva, then turned right to cross the Grand Canal. It was a delightful spot, and as we were queueing to cross the narrow footbridge we heard English voices from some of the passers-by and ended up having a conversation with a woman and her son from England.

Now we had arrived at the very popular, very busy, very touristy Lakeside region. Villeneuve was packed with people, as was Montreaux, but at Place du Marche we found an idyllic scene right beside the lake. There were water fountains bursting out of the ground where children could try dodging the jets. There were also Bungee trampolines, restaurants, a seating area that overhung the lake, fabulous views across the lake to the alps and a dreamlike lazy atmosphere where nobody seemed to be in a hurry to do anything. We could happily have stayed there for hours. Michael wondered why the Lada Diana Spencer memorial in London couldn’t have been made like the fountain here, so children could actually play in it instead of just having to look at it.

We pressed on along Route 1, which followed the shoreline past many more fountains and pools. We were desperately looking for shade, and eventually found some in the form of a single shady tree near Pully. Ice creams were being sold nearby, so we grateful settled down under the tree to cool off, rest and enjoy our icy refreshments.

Time was getting on however, and though it felt this long day would never end we continued onwards to Lausanne, where our tour had started what seemed like weeks ago. As before it was a happy, playful place to be, and we were glad to return. We quickly found the hostel this time where we arrived by 6.50. We had been put in exactly the same room as before, which didn’t seem like it could be a coincidence since there were many rooms in this enormous hostel.

We were very grateful to have meals provided on this last night in Switzerland, and tonight we were treated to Steak and Fish, all prepared to a good standard.

We would have to leave early tomorrow and didn’t want to make any wrong turnings, so after our meal we cycled to the station and collected our bike bags which had been kept for us there. Returning to the hostel we got an early night and slept well, although perhaps feeling slightly sad that tomorrow we would be going home.

We were up a bit earlier than usual this morning, at 7.30, had a quick breakfast in the dining hall and left at 8.25 for the two-mile journey to Lausanne station. We arrived at 8.45 which left us 37 minutes to dismantle our bikes and pack them into the bike bags, which we did on the platform. All went smoothly and we boarded the 09:22 TGV train for Paris with plenty of time to spare. And this time there were no problems with the tickets.

The train sped along at very high speeds, but it was still a long journey, getting us to Gare de Lyon by 13:24. As before it was hard working carting the bike bags and luggage to the RER D train, and then lugging them up to Gare du Nord overground station, but the advantage of doing that was that we at least had time to buy lunch using the last of our coins along with our card. We found a quiet corner of the busy station to eat it at around 2.45.

We thought we were in good time joining the Eurostar queue – until we realised we were in the wrong queue, for a later train than ours. We then had to rush and only just got on the 15:19 train before it left. This time we were able to sit together, so it was a more enjoyable journey than the one from London at the start of the tour.

Our train arrived at London Waterloo at 16:54 local time. We reassembled the bikes on the platform, got some good food from the station shops and once again only just caught the train, this time the 18:20 to Exeter. As previously it was the slow, stopping train, getting to Exeter at 21:51. Then we had to change for the 22:05 to Newton Abbot, finally arriving at 10:43.

It had been a very long day, and a very long tour, so it’s not surprising we were all tired out when we arrived home. But we had some very happy memories of our second ever tour to Switzerland, which surely must be one of the best countries in the world to go for a cycle tour.