Alps all the range

Taking a break from the high life, I headed out to the great outdoors of the Haute-Savoie region.

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One of the highlights was a visit to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice) glacier above Chamonix.

It was here the monster pursued Dr Frankenstein "advancing towards him with superhuman speed" and "bounding over crevices in the ice".

Now global warming has made today's glacier a modern horror story. It has been receding at an alarming rate. Since the mid-19th century it has lost more than 1.5 miles in length - and 560ft in depth since the 1990s.

To get there I took the Montenvers mountain railway from Chamonix.

The glacier, the longest in France, lies 985ft below the mountain railway station.

From there a cable car took me downhill before a further descent on foot along metal gangways and steps to the entrance of an ice cave.

Once inside there is a plunge in temperature. Lights guided me around tunnels of thick ice creating an eerie blue light.

It was a fascinating experience to view such a force of nature up close, especially since shrinkage continues at pace and it remains under threat.

Glaciers on the slopes of Western Europe's highest mountain Mont Blanc (15,766ft) are visible from the town of Chamonix itself.