My Favourite Holiday: Author Anthony O'Neill on falling in love with Edinburgh and his secret Swiss escape

Lauterbrunnen valley in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland (iStock)

ANTHONY O’NEILL is an Australian-born author who has made Scotland his base.

Originally from Melbourne, Anthony now calls Edinburgh home.

He has several acclaimed novels to his name with his latest, Dr Jekyll And Mr Seek (Black and White £8.99), out on September 1.

It’s an inventive sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde.

Author Anthony O'Neill, (Black and White publishing) — Author Anthony O’Neill, (Black and White publishing)

AS a novelist, one of my earliest research trips was to Edinburgh.

I’ll never forget stepping off the bus in Princes Street and looking up, gobsmacked, at the Old Town skyline under a ponderous winter sun.

“Wow!” I muttered.

First impressions obviously count as I later moved to the city.

Transcendental visions are what make holidays worthwhile – those awestruck moments when you stop in your tracks and whisper an epithet of astonishment.

And since that morning in Edinburgh I’ve been lucky to enjoy many more of these moments.

I’ve had them in the crowded night streets approaching Cairo, in Montmartre during an April sunshower, on the Grand Canal of nocturnal Venice.

But I’ve found no sight more breathtaking than Lauterbrunnen viewed from Wengen in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley became a popular destination for Britons in the mid-19th Century, and was later the inspiration for Rivendell in Tolkein’s The Hobbit.

Featuring sheer limestone cliffs, lush, cow-filled meadows and no fewer than 71 waterfalls, it’s watched over by a pantheon of famous mountains, including the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau.

You can take a cable car to the Schilthorn (notable for its role in the Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) or to the giddying observation deck at the Jungfraujoch.

You can enjoy skiing, skydiving, and flights through the valley in helicopters. Or, like me, you can just wander the UNESCO world heritage trail under those snow-mantled peaks.

Sleepy Lauterbrunnen itself is not as crowded as nearby Interlaken, but those days are clearly numbered.

Within a few years there are bound to be observation platforms, fast-food chains and huge tourist hotels.

So get there fast. Preferably on a sunny day.

Better still, stay away and leave the place to people muttering ,“Wow!” like me.