A captivating Corner of

A captivating Corner of Paradise Haute-Savoie Janine Marsh visits a farm where Reblochon cheese is made and finds a little bit of heaven in the hills... "This is a little corner of Paradise" says the old lady throwing her arms wide and indicating at the window of her farmhouse in the mountains of Haute-Savoie, not far from the lovely city of Annecy. We are sitting in her kitchen on a July afternoon, the cloud is low and the mist is thick, a rarity for this month she says. I had started to hike to this little farm from the village of Manigod with my friend Gaëlle, but she, a local, decided we should drive when a shower of rain threatened to drench us. Normally, summer offers a lovely, sunny stroll through fields of meadow flowers and cows, their metal bells chiming and creating an orchestra of sound, a magical wind chime effect.

The gentle walk takes about 45 minutes, past pretty chalets with stunning views over the surrounding mountains, their summer greenery forming a palette of colour that makes you stop and stare at the intense beauty of this place where the air is sweet and pure and the world feels tranquil. At the top is the Ferme de Lorette, a farm that's famous for its fromage. The family Bibollet live here and make the famous cheeses Reblochon and Tomme. They have a café and shop with an outdoor terrace from which the sight of the utterly ravishing scenery takes your breath away. The day I visited, the dull weather had kept visitors away, Gaëlle and I were the only ones there.