At 2,912 metres the Corno Grande is the highest peak in the Apennines and there is a superb view of the mountain from Villa Mandorla. It is part of the Gran Sasso range of mountains. The photo on the right was taken from across the valley near Arsita and is of the Villa against the Corno Grande mountain.

Surprisingly, you don't need to be a mountaineer to climb to the top of the mountain! There is a path up to the top that a moderately fit walker can take, and because you start at quite a high altitude, it is quite possible to do the ascent in a day.

The walk is usually only possible in mid-summer when the weather is clear. It starts from the ski resort at Campo Imperatore. Start early in the morning and park up near the Observatory at the Campo Imperatore ski station, pictured left.

You can either drive to the cable car at Fonte Cerreto and take that up to the ski resort, or you can drive up. You can drive down to the autostrada, go through the tunnel under the mountain and turn off towards Fonte Cerreto. Alternatively you can go via the 'pedemontana', the road along the foot of the Gran Sasso mountains, and cross over into the Campo via Vado di Sole.

When you have parked, walk up past the left of the Observatory, then take the path that forks right. This will take you up to the Sella (saddle) di Monte Aquila, as pictured right. You get a good view of the other side of the Corno Grande here.

Follow signs to the 'Via Normale'. The path takes a left fork and at first it is very pleasant and easy terrain, meadows with many different types of wild flowers.

Eventually you will get to a scree section, (see the photo below), which may still have patches of snow, even in July. It looks quite steep from a distance, but is less threatening as you get closer. There is a steep section at the end which takes you up to a ridge.

This is the view you get from the ridge. From here the path is quite rocky and narrow. If you are worried by heights then you may have a problem, as you'll be walking close to a very steep drop and you could be up in the clouds! Further along you get a very close up view of the Corno Piccolo and the Sella dei Due Corni (the ridge between the two peaks).

The final part of the walk is more of a rocky scramble, and the path can get quite busy. Unfortunately we had to turn back just a few metres from the peak, as cloud made visibility so poor that it would have been dangerous to continue. If you make it to the top, then please send a photo of the view. (Even if I had reached the top, I would have been too petrified to look at the view!!)