Notwithstanding the disappointment of Gavarnie last weekend which, let’s face it, was less to do with the area, more a failure on our part to prepare properly, we put together another picnic lunch and headed back into the mountains. The French treat walking as a serious sport, so it occurred to us that a regular ‘randonnée’ might be the ideal way to start to get fit for the ski season. We have two pairs of almost new Salomon Crossmax skis that, ironically, have seen precious little action since we bought the house here, and we definitely want to make the most of this winter. No need to join a gym, or buy an expensive exercise bike, if you can stretch your muscles with a gentle hike once a week!

[1] We bought ourselves a cheap little guide book from the local newsagent and looked at the available walks close to home. It came as a bit of a surprise, though it shouldn’t have, that walks here are graded like ski runs: blue (easy), red (moderate) and black (difficult). Being sensible, we picked the blue ‘Petit circuit dans la Vallée de Lis’, just above Bagnères de Luchon. The book describes a blue designated walk as “without risk on well marked paths and byways”. This particular walk indicated a climb of 260m and a duration of approximately 2 hrs 15 mins.

We parked at a pleasant-looking picnic spot by the river and followed a path to the start of the ascent to the ‘Prairie de l’Artigue’. It was about 1pm.

The Ordnance Survey map showed the path zig-zagging 3 or 4 times over a number of closely spaced contour lines … From where we stood, we could not see the top of the hill through the trees, but the valley was closed on the other two sides by, what the book described as, 3000m high “steep rocky bastions”. A gentle hike? I think not.

Acknowledging our lack of fitness, we told ourselves that we could always turn back if we wanted to, and soldiered on up the narrow path, picking our way over rocks and tree roots, taking care not to venture too close to the edge of the escarpment. Passing other walkers was a precarious business in itself, but we hadn’t reckoned on having to step aside for a herd of sheep!

[2] After about an hour’s continual climb, John and I were puffed. We came upon a couple of logs on a wider section of the path, and collapsed. We still had no idea how far we might have to walk to the prairie. It seemed a good moment to open the picnic bag in the shade of the forest.

As it happened, we weren’t that far off. Suddenly we emerged from the trees into a clover-filled meadow at the base of a steep grassy coombe. Behind us rich pasture land stretched up beyond the tree line and the spectacular ‘Cirque des Crabioules’ towered in front of us. We spent a moment or two marvelling at the view before a glance at the map revealed that we had only completed about a third of the walk.

[3] Most of the rest of the walk was downhill, but it was still quite hard work. We detoured slightly to view the ‘Cascade d’Enfer’ (Hell’s Waterfall) and eventually returned to earth via the beech and pine woods on the other side of the valley. By the time we got back to the car it was 4pm. We had aches in leg muscles we didn’t know we had and felt as if we had spent 4 hours in the gym … but without the sweaty changing rooms, TV screens and incessant disco music!