Day 10 – Gavarnie to Lac Barroude – two rolled ankles, a skinned knee, a great lunch, and a misty afternoon 30k hiked, c.2900m ascent, bivouacked next to Lac Barroude In total 306.5k walked, 1.8kg cheese consumed I didn’t have much of a plan today. I had hoped to sleep in as was planning on …
Haute Route Pyrenean stage 3 – Gavarnie to Salardu (150k in 5.5 days) Read More »
Day 6 Lescun to Candanchu – an epic day of inversions 36k hiked, 2560m ascent, Stayed at a ski resort in Candanchu In total 204k walked, 1.3kg cheese consumed I woke up at 5 and it was raining, and I finally roused myself at 6.10, packed up my went tent, after putting on my wet …
Haute Route Pyrenean stage 2 – Lescun to Gavarnie (four days, 125km) Read More »
So, avid blog readers may remember I hiked part of the haute route Pyrenean last year (a.k.a the Pyrenean High Route or the HRP). I loved the sections I did, and part of me also wanted to do the full traverse of the width of France (having done the lengthwise traverse a few years back), …
There are many upsides to being married to an arty stylish Frenchman – he is a great cook, he takes me to wonderful restaurants, he is ruthless and graceful in his wardrobe support advice (his words ‘ I tell you what not to wear not what to wear’), and he is a perfect husband on …
I visited Armenia and Georgia in 2011, and I loved it – the modernist architecture, the nature, the food and the monasteries. I didn’t spend as much time in Armenia as I would have liked, so am back with hubby* in tow to do a longer easter tour, and we will pop by Tbilisi while …
Steph and I had a lovely pre covid tradition of trying to increase his country count by having a monthly date weekend in a new European country. Our favourite visits were those where we could experience the dual culinary delights of a Michelin starred dinner of local cuisine AND an exceptional hot dog van. (Highlights …
Enjoying hiking is all about weather, planning and flexibility. On Monday when I checked the forecast for my Thursday hiking trip to the Picos de Europa in Northern Spain, I was surprised to find a forecast for minus 5 temperatures and snow. Um, no thanks. I cancelled my flights (got a voucher), cancelled my fully …
After the epic mountains of Bosnia, I was very keen to check out the durmitor national park across the border in Montenegro (having hiked the lovely southern Prokletije mountains in Montenegro last year when doing the peak of the balkans trail). I flew to Podgorica and rented a car to drive to the mountain town …
I loved the Peaks of the Balkans trail which I did last October, so having done some research I have decided to section hike the Via Dinarica – an extraordinary 2000 km trail that starts in Slovenia and passes through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and on to Albania. I have a week and am planning to …
Fuerteventura is the last of the Canary Islands on my list to do the cross island GR131 trail. I did my homework, and most hikers who blog about the route detested significant chunks of this walk – as it goes on tarmac through resorts. Doing a bit more homework yielded some excellent alternative routes around …