Off-Piste, But Look...No Skis

If you think the beach is the only option for a summer holiday, think again. Natalie Holmes took her children to the Austrian Tyrol

'To have a good family holiday do you need a) sun, b) sea, c) sand or d) none of the above?" I was playing my seven-year-old son, James, at his own game, having spent our last few days in the Austrian Alps answering an unending flow of multiple-choice quizzes.

We were in the dining room of the Schlosshotel, in the Oberinntal valley, a place as yet unexplored by the holidaying English. I had envisaged this trip as an energising yomp through the mountains as, Sound of Music-style, we tramped through alpine meadows while eagles soared and distant peaks glistened. There had been a tantalising taste of this - glorious flowers, exhilarating views, singing children (ouch).

But sadly, the weather had turned against us just as we were finding our walking legs, and we were becoming more the Von Nap than Von Trapp family, not helped by the vast quantities of delicious food that everyone here seems to eat. James, Ruby (10 going on 27) and I (fortysomething, going nowhere else just yet) were in Fiss, the middle one of a string of three resorts on what they call the Sun Terrace - "The weather is most unusual, Mrs Holmes" - in the Western Tyrol.

People have been taking their holidays here since 1512, when Kaiser Maximilian I was recommended the waters of Ladis, the quietest and prettiest of the three villages. A shuttle bus links Ladis to Fiss and, beyond, Serfaus, the liveliest of the three.

In the winter the place is a busy ski resort. In the summer it is what the Austrians call a "wellness centre". Any hotel boasting "wellness" in its title should have a pool, gym and spa facilities. From observation, the local idea of "wellness" tends to involve drinking beer, smoking and eating enormous cakes several times a day.

The mystery is why everyone looks so well on this. It probably has something to do with the mountains. The green slopes are criss-crossed with well-signed trails and the tourist office organises guided walks for those who don't want to plan their own. The cable cars built for the skiers make the peaks accessible to the littlest legs. It is a glorious ride, silent except for the tinkling of cowbells below, and once you are 2,500m up, in the middle of your own picture-postcard panorama, you might as well go and explore.

The big craze for "Nordic walking", which is essentially cross-country skiing without snow. Or skis. Parties set off each morning from the big hotels and tourist office, to introduce novices to the idea of walking with ski poles. If you are young and fit you can do any number of more extreme sports, such as mountain biking, rock climbing, white-water rafting, and paragliding.

The star attraction that requires only a strong stomach is the Fisser Flitzer. This is a one-person toboggan on a raised metal rail that will whizz you down half the mountain in about 10 minutes for €5 (£3.38) an adult, €3.50 a child. As well as hairpin bends and terrifying sudden drops, the route takes you through a "Red Indian" village complete with teepees and war cries, a burning barn and a spooky tunnel full of cobwebs.

But the Flitzer closes when there's bad weather, so in the cool drizzle we opted for a more traditional summer holiday pastime - a round of mini golf in Serfaus, having first enjoyed a more sedate ride on what claims to be the world's first underground tram.

It was on the golf course that we heard the strange sound of English voices. David and Lynette Heynes had driven here from their home in Farnborough, Hampshire, which involved two overnight stops and cost £200 in petrol. Why? "There are no English people. Joke!" said Lynette. They got the taste for this sort of holiday while living in Switzerland. "We're going to do a lot of walking and a lot of eating." They had the additional reason of not wanting their two children to lose their German.

Speaking a little German meant that, unlike my two, they were happy to go to the Mini and Maxi children's clubs. These clubs will take your children for the day or half-day from the age of three in Fiss and six in Serfaus. It seems like a high-energy programme with a lot of outdoor sports, such as inline skating, nature trails and learning to rock climb. But mine, having no German, refused to attend.

I wasn't going to push it. Despite the weather and not completing the big hikes I had planned, and despite the children preventing me taking advantage of the exotic spa treatments on offer, a sense of "wellness" seemed to have crept up on all of us. James's answer to the question at the top, by the way, was d). And a), b) and c) are a few of his favourite things...

British Airways (0870-8509 850; ba.com) flies from Gatwick to Innsbruck from £79. The writer stayed at the four-star Schlosshotel Fiss (00 43 5476 6397; schlosshotel-fiss.at), where prices start at €96 (£65) per person per night, including breakfast, buffet lunch and five-course dinner. For more information about the Austrian Tyrol, contact Tirol Info (00 43 51 2 7272 0; tyrol.com)