The GR10 Trail. Brian Johnson

are the wallcreeper, crossbill, crested tit, red-backed shrike, bullfinch and Alpine accentor.

      A Patou sheep dog guarding a flock of sheep

      The density of cattle, sheep and goats on the French side of the Pyrenees is high. You will often see Patou (Pyrenean mountain dogs) guarding unaccompanied flocks of sheep. These large white sheep dogs have been used for hundreds of years by shepherds. Patou are generally well trained and won’t normally be aggressive as long as you stay calm and steer clear of the flocks.

      This concentration of livestock means that other mammals are rarer than they used to be. You will have sightings of chamois (isard/izard), which was hunted to near extinction but is now recovering well. Other mammals you will see include marmot, several species of deer, fox, red squirrel and the reintroduced mouflon. (There are also badgers and wild boar but these are less likely to be seen.) The most notable of these are the marmots, which are large ground squirrels that live in burrows. You will certainly know when they are present when you hear their alarm signals, a loud whistle, that sends them scurrying back into their burrows.

      Brown bears have been reintroduced to the Ariège, but it is extremely unlikely that you will see one and if you do it will almost certainly be running away from you! There is only one recorded incident of a bear attacking a human since they were reintroduced when one ‘attacked’ a hunter, who immediately shot it! Presumably, this was just another case of history being written by the winner!

      You are likely to see many reptiles and amphibians including several species of snake, lizard, toad, frog and the dramatic fire salamander.

      Clockwise from top left: great white Arum lily; Great yellow gentian; Sedum arachnoideum; Pasque; Musk mallow

The weather and when to go

      Pic de la Mede seen from the descent from Col d’Auéran (Stage 29)

      The hills of the Basque Country and Navarre have a reputation for mist and spells of gentle rain, but temperatures approaching 40°C are not unknown. In the High Pyrenees and the Ariège you are to the north of the watershed and with the prevailing wind coming from the northwest, it is not uncommon to get damp, cloudy weather. If you are lucky there will be long spells of warm sunny weather.

      These are high mountains and can be subject to terrific thunderstorms. Thunderstorms in high mountains are usually thought of as being an afternoon phenomenon, but in the Pyrenees the storms are often slow to build up and can arrive in the evening or even in the middle of the night. As the Mediterranean is approached the weather will tend to be sunnier and drier, but you must still be prepared for rain. Summer snowfall is unusual, but snow has fallen as low as 1500m on the GR10 in August.

      Snow conditions vary tremendously from year to year. Unless you have confirmed it is a low snow year, the inexperienced would be advised to wait for late June or July before setting off from Hendaye. The berger (herdsman) at the Cabane de la Subera advises that you should not attempt the GR10 in the Ariège until mid July in an average snow year.

      The best months to walk the GR10 are July, August and September, but if you are only intending to walk sections of the GR10 in the Basque Country, you may prefer May, June or October when the weather will be cooler. You should be aware that the main holiday season is July and August and that some facilities, especially in ski resorts, are only open during those two months.

      See Appendix C for a list of weather related websites to visit for forecasts, weather warnings and advice.

Getting there and back

      Access to the GR10 will be by car, coach, train or plane. Useful websites are given in Appendix C.

      Car

      You could drive down through France or take the car ferry from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Bilbao or Santander in northern Spain. It will be much safer to leave your car in the mountains and then take the train to Hendaye to start your walk rather than leave your car unattended for long periods in popular seaside resorts.

      Coach

      It is possible to reach the Pyrenees by overnight coach from London (Victoria Coach Station). National Express run links to London and then FlixBus run coaches throughout Europe. The most convenient destination for those walking the GR10 is Irún (in Spain). FlixBus also operate services to Bayonne, Orthez, Pau, Tarbes, Saint-Gaudens, Toulouse and Perpignan.

      Rail and bus

      Paris can be reached by Eurostar. From there SNCF run high speed trains to a variety of destinations including Hendaye, Toulouse and Perpignan. The main west–east line joins Hendaye, Bayonne, Pau, Lourdes, Tarbes, Toulouse and Perpignan.

      From Bayonne there are local trains to Bidarray and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, from where there are buses to Sare and St-Étienne-de-Baïgorry.

      From Pau you can take a train to Oloron-Ste-Marie then bus to Etsaut or Arette-la Pierre-St-Martin. From Pau there are buses to Larun and connections to Gabas and Gourette.

      From Lourdes there are buses to Argelès-Gazost with connections to Arrens-Marsous, Cauterets, Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Barèges and Gavarnie.

      From Tarbes there are trains to St-Lary-Soulan connecting with buses to Vielle-Aure, or trains to Bagnères-de-Luchon (via Montréjeau).

      There are bus services to Sentein, Les Bordes-sur-Lez, Seix, St-Lizier and Aulas-les-bains from St-Girons with connections to Toulouse.

      From Toulouse there are trains to Latour-de-Carol passing through Tarascon-sur-Ariège, from where there are buses to Auzat, and through Mérens-les-Vals.

      There is also a rail link from Perpignan to Villefranche and on by narrow gauge railway, Train Jaune, via la Cabanasse to Latour-de-Carol, or a direct bus link from Perpignan to Latour-de-Carol crossing the GR10 at the Col de la Perche. There is a bus service from Perpignan to Arles-sur-Tech and le Perthus.

      At the end of your walk there is a good rail service between Banyuls-sur-Mer and Perpignan.

      Plane

      At the time of writing, Ryanair fly from Stansted and some regional airports to Biarritz, Lourdes, Carcassonne and Perpignan, and British Airways fly direct to Toulouse. Air France has flights from London to Pau and a big choice of destinations if you fly via Paris. Easyjet fly from London to Biarritz and Bristol or London to Toulouse.

Equipment

      GR10 hikers on the approach to Col d’Auéran (Stage 29)

      This is a serious expedition so you should have previous experience of backpacking or long-distance walking before attempting this fantastic route. A few general points are made on equipment here.

       Keep your load as light as possible. If you don’t need it, don’t carry it!

       You will need a sheet sleeping bag or lightweight sleeping bag for use in refuges or some gîtes d’étape. If you are using accommodation you may still want to carry a sleeping bag and camping mat to enable you to bivouac.

       Your waterproofs should be able to cope with thunderstorms in the High Pyrenees or steady rain in the Basque Country.

       Shorts are the preferred legwear of most hikers in the high summer.

       You should have sufficient clothing to cope with sub-zero temperatures.

       A sun hat is strongly recommended and use plenty of sun-screen.

       Good quality lightweight boots or sturdy walking shoes are the best footwear. Heavy boots aren’t necessary and trainers aren’t really robust enough for the terrain. Make