Who needs the Alps when you can ski in the French Pyrenees?

It could be argued that skiing in the French Pyrenees is a more personable and laidback experience than skiing in the Alps where resorts seem to be more expensive and are congested by a chic throng of poseurs. You don’t need the latest coloured ski suit in order to walk with your head held high and a Pyrenean ski experience will not break the bank.

Another reason to favour Pyrenees skiing over the Alps is that the pistes are located at lower Pyrenean altitudes. Being more accessible from the plain lands essentially means that if you don’t want to stay in an arguably characterless ski resort, you can travel and make use of a resort’s facilities as you desire.

In short, staying at a stunning Vintage Travel luxury villa in South West France and heading to a purpose-built ski village in the Pyrenees for a day is achievable.

One of the greatest components of skiing in the Pyrenees is the fact you are surrounded by awe-inspiring mountains.

For example, the Pic du Midi de Bigore with its summit-crested observatory offers the experienced skier a fantastic ride through pristine off-piste virgin snow. If you book in advance it is possible to stay the night at the observatory as it allows a limited amount of overnight skiers – accommodation that is resonant of a mountain hut but with a telescope.

The locals at the Pic du Midi de Bigore are friendly and accommodating and the food is unpretentious and hearty, as is the wine. The south-west typical duck dishes are especially recommended, such as ‘Garbure’, a vegetable broth filled with sausage and duck leg and washed down with copious amounts of local French wine.

They might be less fashionable than the Alpine resorts but the Pyrenees ski resorts have lots to offer skiers and snowboarders of every ability. Being comparatively less expensive, friendly, accommodating and situated in the most breathtaking of surroundings it is hard to figure out why only 1% of all skiers here are British.

Though it has to be said that being visited less frequently as far as Britons are concerned, skiing in the Pyrenees is an undiscovered gem.