Older hikers warned of overheated Mediterranean as tourism shifts north

For decades, the prospect of walking along winding, thyme-scented paths on sun-drenched Mediterranean islands has attracted Brits and other people from Europe's cold north.

But rising temperatures due to global warming are making large parts of southern Europe virtually inaccessible to hikers during the hottest summer months, experts say.

The dangers of extreme temperatures have been vividly illustrated this month with the deaths of several hikers, most of them in Greece.

Age turned out to be an important factor: most were in their sixties or seventies.

Many adventure tour operators no longer offer walking holidays in Spain, Portugal and Greece ...