On the centenary of it hosting the first winter games, the French town has lost none of the allure felt by pioneering skiers, curlers and skaters
On a chilly winter’s day, exactly 100 years ago, four smartly dressed men boarded a train in Edinburgh. Willie Jackson and his son Laurence were both farmers, dapper Thomas Murray bred sheep and cattle, and portly Robin Welsh was a member of Edinburgh city council. At 54, he was a little older than his pals. They had deliberated for months about whether to make their journey, but in the end went for it, and what an adventure it turned out to be.
They chugged to London, then on to Paris, before taking the 13-hour train to Chamonix. As the train wound its way through the snowy Alps, they alleviated the boredom by playing countless games of bridge. In the guard’s van were their curling stones.
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