Follow our detailed walk notes, using a customised map and GPS

Choose from Valley Based Day Walks, Two Centre Holidays or Hut to Hut Treks

Walk at your own pace, in your own time

Walking holidays in both France and Spain

Discovering the Pyrenees on foot is a rewarding, sometimes challenging experience. Some people prefer to go on a walking holiday on their own or with their friends and family rather than walking in a guided group, partly because they enjoy the challenge of finding their own way. In most parts the Pyrenees are a safe place for a walking holiday despite the fact that the mountains are remote and people thin on the ground. You can amble along old stone footpaths between villages, traverse the long distance HRP or GR10 routes and most mountain summits are ‘treks’ rather than mountain climbs. You don’t need ropes or technical equipment to do any of our unguided walks.

We help you walk on your own by providing all of the detailed planning and logistical back up you need. We book accommodation, provide maps and walk notes, email you GPS waypoints and brief you on your walking holiday before you depart. On some walks we move luggage, on others we just provide local transfers to the start and then the end of the walks.

Independent Walk Notes
All of the walks we offer on a self led, independent basis have been recently walked by a professional guide or mountain leader. Each section is described in terms of where to walk, where to take a turning, what markings are on the footpath, key landmarks, the amount of altitude gained or lost, the length of the walk in kilometres and the approximate time each section will take to complete. You can walk confidently knowing that your notes are up to date and have been written and checked by local mountain leaders (rather than being copied from guide books or other second hand sources). Most of our Pyrenees walking holidays are in France, although we also offer trips to the Spanish Pyrenees.

Cultural and Historical Notes
Our notes are peppered with historical and cultural references. Who was the first person to climb the Mont Perdu? Who was Count Henry Russell and why is he so important to the history of climbing? What happened in the legendary battle at the Breche de Roland ? The Pyrenees also provide the environment for unique flora and fauna too, so we indicate in the text places that you are likely to be able to see particular wildlife or flowers. It’s well worth carrying a small pair of binoculars in a handy pocket too because the area is famous for its large birds of prey.

Maps
When you arrive in the Pyrenees our staff will provide a set of maps with your walking route pre-marked on it. We use a combination of French IGN maps at a scale of either 1/25,000 or 1/50,000 depending on which is most appropriate for your particular walking holiday. We generate these using Memory Map electronic mapping software so that we can mark your walk accurately and customise it for your particular trip. If you would prefer an unmarked map we can lend you these as an alternative or you can buy them in a local shop. Maps are easily available in the Pyrenees.

GPS and Waypoints
Each of our Independent Walk Notes include GPS waypoints. Major turning points, landmarks, places of interest, huts, refuges, hotels and final destinations are marked in the text with a gird reference. Our aim is to provide enough waypoints to make navigation simple in bad weather, but we don’t mark every step of the walk.

The waypoints are also available electronically in a variety of GPS formats (Mapsource, Memory Map, Text etc) so you can upload these to your own GPS units before you arrive in France. We email these to you two weeks before your departure date so you have time look at them before you leave the UK.

If you do not have a GPS but would like to take advantage of the waypoints and the extra help and interest they can create, we can rent you a simple GPS unit once you are in the Pyrenees. The waypoints for your walk will be pre-loaded into the unit and we can show you how to use it. It’s not too complicated.

The Walk Notes also include an appendix of all the waypoints in table format for easy reference..

Local Transport
We offer three distinct type of independent walk and the local transport is organised differently in each case.

Middle mountain walks use many of the ancient footpaths created over centuries by people travelling from village to village or taking their crops to market. While you may not 'bag peaks' on this kind of walking holiday you will certainly enjoy wonderful mountain scenery. These walking holidays are organised on the basis that you have a car (there are very few local buses in the Pyrenees). Our basic holiday price includes the cost of a hire car that you pick up on arrival and your airport. If you are driving to the Pyrenees and therefore have your own car we will deduct the car hire charges from your invoice. On occasions we can run these holidays for people who do not want to drive but the price is a little higher because of the extra transfer implications. However we are happy to provide this service when we can. These arrangements apply to the following walking holidays:

Middle Mountain Walks
High Mountain Hikes

On a hut to hut trek you spend a full six days walking without the need for additional transport. On these holidays we provide a transfer between the airport and your first hotel, drop you at the trail-head for the start of the walk, collect you at the end and transfer you back to your last hotel and then to the airport (or train station) the next day. This local transport is included in the total cost shown on your walking holiday invoice. If you drive to the Pyrenees we’ll simply drop you at the start of the walk and collect you at the end again to take you back to your car. These arrangements apply to:

The Tour of Mont Perdu
High Level Route Wk1
High Level Route Wk2
Mini Trek to Torla

Other walks in our programme include the movement of your bags between multiple village bases and on occasion a lift to the start of a day’s walk. These walks cannot be done without logistical help. If you feel like a day off from walking you are welcome to hop in the minibus with your bags and get a lift to the next hotel if you’d like to. We can also almost always offer longer or shorter versions of each day's itinerary:

The Valleys of Lavedan
Spa Towns of the Pyrenees
Discover the Pyrenees

Holiday Dates
Independent walks are generally available between the 1st of July and the end of September, but we can often also offer them in May or June. Please check with our office for your preferred dates.

International Travel
There are several ways to travel to the Pyrenees and you are welcome to choose how you get here. Ryanair operates flights to Pau (about an hour and fifteen minutes from our base in Luz St. Sauveur) and there are a variety of train services, local and TGV to Lourdes (forty minutes drive away). We operate regular transfers to and from Lourdes and Pau but may, on occasion, be able to transfer you from Biarritz or Toulouse. Transfer charges are listed in each of the holiday descriptions on this website (see the panel to your right).

Driving to the Pyrenees is a good option if you have the time. Allow fourteen hours from the North of France and five to six hours from the Spanish ferry ports of Bilbao and Santander..

Blogs
This year we are opening a series of ‘web-logs’ – commonly known as Blogs. There will be a Blog for each of the walks that we offer so that you can read about other people’s experiences, share yours and tell others about your time in the Pyrenees. If you write up your walking holiday and submit it to the Blog we will offer you a discount of £25 on your next holiday. It’s easy to do – simple click on the ‘Blog’ icon on the holiday itinerary pages on this website and follow the instructions.