Alpbach, the Alps: skiing in Austria's prettiest village

t's not hard to see why Alpbach was voted the prettiest village in Austria in a television poll. Its timbered houses are all built in the traditional chalet style of overhanging eaves and carved balconies. In winter they are draped with snow and in summer smothered with geraniums.

The community of 2,500 souls clusters around a baroque gem of a church and sits on a sunny plateau 3,000ft above sea level with the Alps at its back and panoramic views in every direction. It's the sort of place for which the description "chocolate boxy" would be too austere.

What it's not is flash. This is not a resort for showing off, either on or off the slopes. There are more than 30 miles of pistes, including a few black runs, but the skiing is generally pleasurable rather than exciting, while the nightlife is cosy and jolly rather than wild. This is a place for families with pre-teens, for couples who want to keep some reserves of energy for the evening, and for beginners. Like me.

My instructor is a 65-year-old retired British Army major called Terry Holmes, who spends eight months of the year in Austria and the remainder back home in Lincolnshire.