At the beginning of Week 10 we set out from the buzzing city of Oviedo to hike 350km on the Camino Primitivo. The Primitivo is pretty tough, but it was made tougher by the heat and humidity. It took a while to learn to share the trail with others again and also to like the Primitivo as a trail, but it had redeemed itself by the time we arrived in the great pilgrim city of Santiago.
The week got off to a difficult start with the shadow of Brexit looming over our thoughts and sapping our motivation. After a wild swim broke the spell, we focussed again and the GR1 treated us to a glorious traverse of the Picos Regional Park before ascending to it’s finale at the pass of Puerto de Tarna.
Week 6 saw us descend from the Sierras of Aragon to the plains of Navarra. The bustle of roads and cities was a shock to the system, but the big, dramatic skies and unexpected birdlife of the plains was a highlight of our walk so far. By the end of the week we finally had some company as we crossed the pilgrim ‘highway’ of the Camino de Santiago’.
Week 5 has taken us along some lonely remote sections of trail and cut a cross-section through the varied landscapes of Aragon, from the Sierra de Guara to the Hoya de Huesca and the towering red cliffs of Riglos. The weather has thrown in some challenges too, as has food resupply, but we made it through and now contemplate our descent to the plains of Navarre.
In week 4 we complete our journey through Catalonia and cross into Aragon through the mighty Mont- Rebei gorge. We walk through lost landscapes of abandoned villages, lose the GR1 on a few occasions and end with a tough climb into the magnificent canyon country of the Sierra de Guara Natural Park- one of our favourite places ever!
For a couple of months this winter we travelled around Spain in our campervan, not to laze around on the Costas, but to explore the lesser known Sierras and rural hinterland of this huge and diverse country. By late November this meant staying ahead of any rainy weather, so we crossed the Pyrenees from France…
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness….”- ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats Ordessa- Pineto- Parzan- Puen de San Chaime Total mileage to date: 388/812km Week 5 was the week when things changed, we reached the half-way point of our trek, and September broke upon us, bringing mist, the drama of swirling clouds, cold and the first dusting of…
Only 5 days to go before we start our Cumbria Way adventure, a 74 mile trail that cuts a swathe through Cumbria from Ulverston to Carlisle. We will wild-camp along the route and carry all our gear on our backs. We will be using the new Cicerone guide by John Gillham (supplemented by OS Explorer…
The Hangers Way- A surprise find deep in the Hampshire countryside.
After what seems like an endless winter in the Fens, we were raring to go for our first hike of 2015, part training (for the GR11 in August) and part pure enjoyment. The 4 day weekend lent itself to a 3 day hike and the White to Dark (W2D) trail fit the bill nicely. The…
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