The Schwarzsee at sunset

The Schwarzsee is a peat lake, and that is what gives it everything. The water is stained brown by the moor around it, which means it holds heat: by July it is often the warmest natural bathing water in Tyrol, and it also means the surface goes almost black under a low sun, so a reflection reads as a clean mirror rather than as sky.

The frame is from the south-western shore, looking north-east across the reeds and the jetties to the Kitzbüheler Horn. The lake is small enough that the mountain fills the back of the picture without a long lens. A path runs the whole way round in about half an hour, and the north-eastern end is the quiet one — the lidos and the boat rental are on the town side.

Sunset is the moment. The sun drops behind the ridge to the west, the Horn keeps light for another ten minutes and the water turns copper. Sunrise is the alternative if you want mist: moor lakes fog readily on cold mornings in September and October, and the reeds come out of it beautifully.

In winter the lake freezes hard and is cleared for skating in most years — never guaranteed, and the ice is only released when the town says so, which is worth checking. It is a twenty-five-minute walk or a five-minute drive from the Vorderstadt, and one stop on the train from Kitzbühel to Schwarzsee halt.