Stage 1 - Tarifa to Villanueva del Rosario

I published a whole series of stage plans before I started the E4 and these attracted some really helpful comments.  What I'm now tediously doing is rewriting all of those blogs informed by the actual trip.  Will try to be as candid as possible - there are parts of the E4 which are not so nice.

The logic behind "Stage 1" is that it takes you to the point where the GR7 splits into a northern and southern option.  As it happens the split takes place at Villanueva del Cauche but to make my itinerary work for me I went slightly beyond that point.

The month leading up to starting the walk, by the way, was terrible. I was committed to the walk but had massive reservations. Wasn't sleeping and had an almost overwhelming feeling that I was about to fall flat on my face and make a complete fool of myself. Getting to Spain and starting the walk was just a wonderful release, the doubts disappeared and for the first few weeks I was powered by euphoria.

Tarifa is the perfect place to start the walk, it feels like and is  the edge of Europe. It is also very windy (apparently the wind is virtually non-stop) and the views across narrow Straits of Gibraltar to the Africa are sharp and clear. Would have been nice to have stopped for the night in Tarifa but instead I trudged along the beach and shortened what would otherwise have been a 41.5 next day walk to Los Barrios. I stayed at the Hotel Artevida which was fine but expensive compared to most of my accommodation in Spain.

Cork Oak Grove

The first full day's walking through the Los Alcornocales Natural Park with its cork oak forests was nice rather than amazing.  Lots of wind turbines along the route as well as a large reservoir but the views back to Tarifa and across the narrow straights to Africa were wonderful.  Horrible and painful walk along a road to finish the day in Los Barrios.  Stayed at the Hotel Real in which was cheap, simple and good fun.

The 34 kilometre walk to Castillo de Castellar is a poor one - long walk past a huge rubbish dump, a walk down a quite road, and then a walk along a cycle path alongside a busy road before you finally get off road just before the finish. A shame because Castillo de Castellar, a wonderful hill top town, is a great place to finish the day. Stayed in an absolutely amazing hotel, part of the castle itself.

After two big days the third day was a short 15 kilometres walk to Jimena de la Frontera, through pleasant if not particularly exciting countryside. You spend quite a bit of time walking alongside a famous (apparently) wide gauge railway line. I really liked Jimena de la Frontera and you can see why a lot of ex-UK residents have decided to live there. I managed to stay in another really lovely hotel, the Casa Henrietta, brightly decorated with real Andalucian style.

After Jimena de la Frontera the countryside really starts to match the towns for interest. After an initial climb up to about 800 metres your into fairly open moorland with great views all the way back to Gibraltar. It's a tough 40 kilometre walk and you stay high all the way until the final descent into Ubrique, another recently interesting and ancient town rammed up against huge cliffs. Didn't stay in a hotel in Ubrique, was the guest of the local tourist board, but there are hotels in the town or nearby. The Hotel Ocurris is one which seems to attract recommendations.

On the next day I walked all the way to Ronda but this is fabulous countryside and anyone sensible would have stopped along the way. Stopping options with accommodation include Villaluenga del Rosario (bit close to Ubrique) or Montejaque (bit close to Ronda). Either way this is a wonderful stretch. Highlights included the march up the Roman road (everything still there) to Benacoaz; the walk through the valley to the pretty village of Villaluenga del Rosario (nestling under the Navazo Alto) or the walk through the limestone scenery of Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. If you do decide to walk all the way to Ronda, like I did, you'll find the walk after Montejaque painfully long.

The Stunning Sierra de Grazelema

I only stayed one night at Ronda, which is probably a capital offence for people who love Spain. It is a lovely town, an important tourist destination and has lots of places to stay.

The next day's walk was another poor one, difficult to find the route between Ronda and Arriate and a lot of road walking between Arriate and Cuevas del Becerro.  Cuevas del Becerro is slightly away from the route but there is no accommodation at Serrato which would otherwise have been a good place to stop.  Had a nice afternoon in Cuevas del Becerro, there was a fiesta, but not much of a draw otherwise.

The following walk to El Chorro is much nicer although a bit tougher than I had anticipated.  Lovely open arable countryside with long views.  Ardales, half way along, is another interesting looking town (the walk takes you over a Roman bridge) with accommodation if you want to really short day.  The second half of the walk is a lot tougher, a nice ridge walk and then a climb up to the spectacular reservoir above El Chorro and a really steep climb down.  I stayed in a camp site with huts but there is other accommodation available.

El Chorro

The walk to Antequera via the small town of Valle de Abdalajis is a pleasant one but with a nasty bit of road walking in the middle.  Valle de Abdalajis has accommodation and if you wanted to break the walk up with a day off than there is enough to see in Antequera famous for its ancient bronze age tombs.  Lots of accommodation but I stayed in the Hotel Colon which was OK.

The last day of this stage was a really wet one for me which was a shame because it meant I missed the views of the El Torcal peak in the natural park to the south of the route which has the same name.  Not a bad walk but you do have to work you way underneath the motorway and there is a bit of associated road walking before you eventually get to Villanueva del Rosario.  Stayed in the Hotel Venta Las Delicias which was cheap, cheerful and good fun.

Most people would sensibly walk section of the GR7 at a slower pace and there are enough accommodation options to do things differently to the way I did it.  Perhaps the key issue is whether or not to stay at Ronda.  If you have been there before than it would make sense to stay at Montejaque, then Arriate, then Ardales, Valle de Adbalajis and then Antequera.  Another day to the itinerary but perhaps more sensible.

If your interested in what it felt like at the time please have a look at the daily diary entries.

Tarifa to Los Barrios
Los Barrios to Castillo de Castellar
Castillo de Castellar to Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera to Ubrique
Ubrique to Ronda
Ronda to Cuevas del Becerro
Cuevas del Becerro to El Chorro
El Chorro to Antequera
Antequera to Villanueva del Rosario

Saturday May 14th Refuge de Mariailles to Ballestavy

So today was a walk with everything. Great scenery, wildlife, scary challenging walking, hideous weather and then a great meal at the end of it.

After the terrible afternoon weather of the last two days I decided to head of early (not a lot to make you hang about in a Refuge) and try and get over Canigou before it started to rain. The Refuge was 1700 metres so we had about 1,000 metres to climb, some maps days Canigou is 2,700, some say it's 2,600.

Refuge de Marialles

The walk up the valley is an easy one although we did have to cross a very full river and I get my first dose of wet feet. As we climb the valley I get to see my first ever Flaming Salamander (I my second one later) and then lots of Isards running across the side of the valley. Slightly later Peter thinks we see a wild cat, I think it's a marmot.

Flaming Salamander

Crossing snow fields on the way up to Canigou

The weather is starting to look less settled and although we can now clearly see the top of Canigou there is still a lot of climbing. On the high side of the valley there is still a lot of snow some of which looks a bit too unstable to cross forcing us to make some time consuming detours. Eventually we are ready to make the final climb to the top and it really is a climb. For at least 300 feet your climbing your way up through a chimney, real climbing, and I'm having second and third thoughts about the whole thing. Exhausting, a big scary but actually really exhilarating we eventually make it to the top.

The ridge to the south of Canigou

Climbing the chimney up to Canigou

The clouds prevent us seeing the Mediterranean and the other views for which Canigou is famous for but it's dramatic despite that. It's starting to get cold however so after about 10 minutes we head down the easier path on the other side. The clouds suddenly drop, there is a crack of thunder and the rain and hail is pouring down. We walk through this for another 45 minutes until we get to the Refuge at Catalots, which is fortunately open and we go inside for some shelter. A couple of German women have the same idea and we crowd around the fire, drink hot chocolate and share some fruit cake.

On top of Canigou

Posing Pete

Half a hour later we were on our way again, still cloudy but not raining and only 8 kilometres to our destination at Ballestavy. After a couple of kilometres the GR 36 leaves the GR 10 and heads north effectively leaving the Pyrenees. The rain starts again and we drop into a forest which goes on uninterrupted the next 6 kilometres dropping about 1500 metres on the way. It's a great walk, even in the rain, a narrow ghost train like path through the trees, soft underfoot encouraging you to move really quickly down the hill side.

At about 6.30 we arrive at Ballestavy a really pretty village on the hill side in the middle of the forest. Cold and wet we find the Gite D'Etape near the church and it looks miserable. Peter goes of to get the key and I guard the bags. 10 minutes later he's back and has found accommodation above the restaurant and there is a woman with a car to ferry us there. The day is finished of with a absolutely brilliant Table D'hote sploit only slightly by the damp dog smell of my shoes.

Ballestavy

Thursday May 12th Planes to Mantet

First full day in France, really tough day's walking but satisfying made all the more so by some wonderful accommodation in Mantet.

Left Planes at nine and walking with Peter Williams. Weather was excellent, sunny and fresh but the forecast for the rest of the day was poor. First little freshener was a gentle 400 metre climb up through the trees and then down into the valley on the other side of a ridge. The river in the valley was in full flow and we had to walk a long up the valley before we could cross it and then come back down again on the other side.

You then start climbing up to the biggest pass of the day, the Col Mitja, and at 2367 metres the highest point I've got to on the E4 so far. Took nearly two hours to climb to the top and just as we going over the top it started to rain, not heavily but enough to make you wet. There is a refuge at the bottom of the valley on the other side which, in a couple of weeks time is open, and would have been a good place to stop but not yet an option.

Serrat de la Xemeneis

Instead we have to climb another pass and make for Mantet. The signs at the refuge at 3. 30 tell us we still have 4 hours walking to go and it's still raining on and off and snowing at the top. Climbing up we saw a couple of isards a sort of wild mountain goat, running up the wide of the mountain. At about 5.30 we make it to Col de Pal at 2294 metres and the cloud is now so dense that finding the trail is a real problem. Walking across open ground, across snow and then through trees we suddenly find ourselves in a full blown storm, thunder and lightening with snow mixed in with the driving rain. We lose the trail and just for a few minutes it's really unpleasant. Both of us have waterproofs on but not a lot in terms of insulation and we were quickly starting to get cold. We manage the figure out where the trail should be from the GPS, not where we thought it was and head in that direction. After about 10 minutes see the white and red waymarks and almost at the same time the storm dies down and we can see Mantet.

Col du Pal

A long way down

Takes 90 minutes to work our way down the valley and by the time we arrived the Gite d'Etape we had walked 28 kilometres and climbed over 1800 metres. Big day, particularly a big first day for Peter.

Belgian couple running the Gite, great food and great accommodation. Just what was needed after such a walk.

Friday 6th of May Navarcles to Santa Maria de Merles

One of the things I don't like about this stretch of walking is that I don't really know where I going. It's about a year ago since I researched the route and it was very difficult, without buying a Spanish Topoguide, to work out in detail where the GR4 goes. Unlike the GR7 I couldn't find a GPS trail on the web so came up my own trail from various sources and don't have any confidence in it.

If the walk was going to go wrong it was most likely to go wrong today. It was going to be long, but I wasn't sure how long although at least 40 kilometres, and the destination Santa Maria de Merles, is a very tiny place. It was on the route but it was my route and of course I didn't know if my route was right. I was going there because it was the only place I could find with accommodation.

I was out of the hotel by 7 and went across the road for a coffee and a chocolate croissant. Is it just Spain or have all chocolate croissants changed. Instead of the anaemic bit of chocolate running through the middle, which I was used to, it's now a solid lump and each end of a proper shaped croissant has also been dipped in chocolate so you get it on the outside as well. Really good, a meal in itself.

Was able to find the GR 4 just north of Navarcles, really well signed. After about thirty minutes I concluded that the route I had on my GPS had nothing to do with the real GR 4 and decided to follow the signs. Essentially the first hour walk took you through a mixed landscape as you went along the industrial valley but eventually, after going past Cabrianes, you get into the country side proper.

For the rest of the day the scenery was essentially the same but really nice. Walking through hilly countryside, wooded, but interspersed with fields of barley and occasionally wheat. Everything was incredibly green, nice weather, sunny, fairly clear but not too hot. Not a day of really big views but the sort of walk you can often get in England at this time of year.

North of Cabrianes

The other feature of the walk were the really beautiful farmsteads and the little churches generally associated with them. Although the countryside was still being farmed (unlike much of the countryside I went through in upland Valencia) a lot of the farmsteads and churches were abandoned and falling into disrepair.

Abandoned Farmstead

Abandoned Church

At about 5, I had a big ridge to climb, but once I got over that I was within 3/4 kilometres, as the crow flies from Santa Maria de Merles. Got over the top and kept following the signs, I was heading west not north which was the direction I anticipated. This went on for nearly an hour and I was heading down into a huge gorge and now much further away from Santa Maria de Merles than I had been at 5. I had convinced myself that Santa Maria wasn't on the GR 4 when I started heading east again and by 7 I had got to the village. In total had walked 51 kilometres with 1500 metres of climb. The last bit of the walk, through the gorge was excellent, nice time of day, actually saw a cuckoo rather than just hearing it, just a shame I had started to think I was going to be sleeping rough again.

Woodland Approaching Santa Maria de Merles

River Merles

I'm the only person staying in a huge converted farmhouse. No one else here at all. Very remote, the owner gave me a lift here, picked me up to take me to dinner, bought me back, and is picking me up for breakfast in the morning. Much better than sleeping in the woods.

Wednesday 20th April Montanejos to Villahermosa del Rio

Quite a tough walk today, about 30 kilometres and about 1500 metres of climb, Christine has sore feet. One of the things I have to remember is that I'm now ultra acclimatised, have got skin on my feet that a rhinoceros would proud of, but people joining me will not be as toughened up.

Climbing up out of Montanejos

Left Montanejos at about 8.30 fully loaded, too much water and enough food for days. The first thing we had to do was climb out of the valley, up, along and then up again, 500 metres in the first 90 minutes or so. We were surrounded by some dramatic scenery but it was difficult to see through the trees and the low clouds. Having got to the top it was straight back down to the dry river bed just below the village of La Artejuala. We were there by 11 o'clock, and partly to lighten the load, and partly because we were already hungry, we had a huge early lunch. Two lots of salami and tomato sandwiches.

La Artejuela

Forest over abandoned terraces

After that it was along walk up out of the valley still through trees until we hit the road which took us into the small town of San Vicente de Piedrahita. Time to join the locals in the bar and watch some quiz show on the television. After a couple of coffees we decided to leave, we were in danger of getting addicted. Very risqué adverts on Spanish television which English people, in a pub at lunchtime, would find embarrassing but no one blinks here.

Cheered up by the sign that said 2 hours 30 minutes to Villermosa del Rio, the quality of the walking declined dramatically. Although the path was trying to avoid the road the local farmers clearly thought that was where you should be. I was happy to accept the farmers wishes but Christine, whose feet were getting painful, resisted. She was not at all sympathetic when I tripped over an electric fence and fell in a gorse bush.

After the Ermita de San Bartomolome everything improved and although it was getting colder the last hour of the walk was really nice. Lots of Juniper bushes, flowers and a lovely old mule track which contoured around the mountain before the final descent into Villahermosa del Rio. Even saw some wildlife in the shape of circling eagle type things.

Villahermosa del Rio

Staying at the Hostal Ruta Aragon and will watch some of the replay between Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Copa del Rey which everyone is going nuts about here.

Thursday 14th April Chera to Benageber

According to my GPS I did 54 kilometres and over 2000 metres of climb. As much as I would like to believe this I'm not sure if it can be true. I had the route down as 38 kilometres although I don't think that includes the bit at the beginning when you supposed to walk down the road from Chera to join the walk. It certainly didn't include my cock-ups.

I started very early. There was nothing to stay for in Chera and I was a bit worried about accommodation in Banageber and wanted to give myself time to find alternatives to sleeping rough. So I was on the road before seven with enough provisions to eat many times on the route.

My first cock-up was to attempt a short cut that would avoid repeating the road walk at the end of yesterday's trip and allow me to miss a huge concentration of bee hives. After about 30 minutes it became clear that my short cut was a long cut and I had to retrace my steps. The benefit of my early start was largely lost.

The bees of course were still asleep when I went past, it was a really nice morning and there were great views of the sandstone massif that towers over Chera. Then cock-up number two.

Bee hives near Chera

Pico Rope

To be fair it wasn't altogether my fault, I just followed the GR signs, if I had checked my GPS I would have discovered however that this was an example of more than one set of GR signs. It is confusing but there are definitely variants, usually to take you to a special feature and they are usually specifically signed. This unsigned variant was for people who wanted to practice their jungle warfare technique and went deeper and deeper into the undergrowth. I was able to follow the signs for about 30 minutes but then lost them so had to just bashed my way down to a road which led me to my GPS trail (hope your following this). Along the road the GR signs turned up again and by the time I got to the junction with the GPS trail there were GR signs coming from three directions.

So after such an early start it felt like I was well of the pace but from then the track was easy to walk on and I cracked along. Most of it was through trees and a bit dull but there was a section, low down and along a long gorge. There was water at the bottom and hundreds of frogs which, despite being very small were able to generate a huge noise with the cliffs of gorge acting like a sound box.

Wooded countryside on the way to Benageber

At about 12.45 I saw a sign saying Benageber 4 hours 45 minutes. Shortly after that I saw a group of people planting a field of potatoes by hand. They were just finishing to escape the heat but after my third lunch I pressed on.

Without the cock-ups I think of could have made Chelva, tomorrow's destination today, I could have put in a 12 hour shift and got there by 7. My range has definitely got longer since I started. As it was it was 4.30 when I went past the Chelva sign so it would have been 8 before I got there. It would also be a shame to rush as the scenery picked up again towards the end of the walk.

I was right to be nervous about Benageber accommodation. It's a very small town, only got two bars, and I couldn't find the place I had got listed. There was no one about. I wandered up the road towards a building that looked likely. It wasn't but there was a man there to ask. He pointed back towards the town but I had no idea whether he was pointing back to or beyond the town. Slightly encouraged I returned but still not really knowing where to look. Then behind me, on a scooter, the man I asked directions had arrived and then escorted me to two different places that do accommodation. The best was Bar Benageber which had apartments but of course nothing was happening for an hour until the bar opened. Twice the man came to make sure I was OK and in the end helped me with the discussions with the landlord. What a star.

As it is I'm really well set, great apartment and a good price particularly compared to the dump I was in last night.

Sunday 3rd April Pinosa to Elba

Today's walk was 26 kilometres in overcast, warm and humid conditions, often on roads through countryside which was not very memorable I'm afraid. Not exactly inspirational.

The presence of British immigrants in Spain, evident for the first time yesterday on the approach to Pinosa, becomes increasingly apparent towards Elba. Two characteristics seem to distinguish them from the Spanish: firstly a love of gardens, which are often huge; and, secondly a willingness to pour money into old rotting buildings. There are huge numbers of wonderful old farmsteads all ready for the Grand Design treatment and as you get closer to the bits of Spain where the British congregate than these buildings start to get rescued.

Abandoned "finca"

Apart from the weather being a bit more overcast it was a very similar walk to yesterday's, a gentle climb up out of Pinosa, a short descent and a walk across a wide cultivated valley, another gentle climb and then a long descent into Elba.

At the beginning of the walk across the valley you go through the pretty village of Casas del Senyor. Particularly interesting were the chimneys which emerged at street level from the houses in the terrace below and, later on, the beautiful aqueduct, which I guess dates back to the time of Moors.

Walking on the roof

Moorish Aquaduct in Casas del Senyor 

This dry landscape gets particularly ugly as you approach towns and was especially ugly during the final walk to Elba. The abandoned terraced fields, extensive fly tipping and the municipal tip made everything look completely unloved. Amongst all this, and with an impressive gate, sat Elba's cemetery, already big but with scope for significant expansion.

Huge gate to the crematorium near Elba

Elba by the way is the largest town I have been to so far, a population of over 45,000, and the Spanish centre for the manufacture of shoes.

With a Spanish resident as a walking companion and I'm getting my eye in for signs of the recession. I now understand the difference between the "for sale" sign for property which is being sold in the standard way and a property which has been repossessed by the banks and is subject to a forced sale. You can get very good financing terms with a forced sale. If I needed any further evidence of the immediacy of the recession I got it when I arrived at the hotel which had been booked only a few days ago but had now closed.

Signs of collapsed housing market everywhere

Stage 14 - Maximiliansweg

The more I think about it the more attractive the idea of the mixing the sub-alpine variant of the E4 with the alpine variant becomes.  By walking from Bregenz to Salzburg (Stage 14) and then crossing over to the Alpine variant  a few days after Salzburg, I think I'm going to save at least 8 days on the Alpine route even after taking all the alpine "short-cuts".  The whole walk starts to look feasible again (at least before I actually start).  Also it makes the route more varied and in particular presents the chance to walk through a piece of Germany, Bavaria and along another famous walk, Maximiliansweg.

Apart from passing through, I have hardly ever been to Germany and Bavaria looks like a really interesting place to start.  Turns out that a lot of the things outsiders think are the essence of Germany are in fact Bavarian.  This includes some iconic business brands (BMW, Audi and Siemens); classic pastoral  countryside, cows with bells and villages with dome churches, traditional dress and lederhosen and, of course, the huge litre glasses of high quality "Bavarian" beer.  Even the famous white sausage - the Weisswurst is a Bavarian rather than German invention.

However while we see Bavaria as quintessentially German, they, and apparently the rest of Germany see them as different.  This must be partly to do with its distinct history -  Bavaria had its own kingdom until 1918 and partly to do with a different religious tradition.   This part of Germany shares a Catholic tradition with German speakers in Austria and Switzerland and "Gross Gott!" is the greeting you get when out walking.

Bavaria's rich history is reflected in the architecture of the towns.  Highlights include Fussen, with its amazing Gothic Castle and the Lindehof Palace.

More infamous is the Kehlsteinhaus, commissioned by Martin Borman for Hitler's 50th birthday which is located in the Berchtesgaden.

The Kehlsteinhaus features in last episode of Band of Brothers, the story of Easy Company's fight across Europe in the second world war.  Also featured is the amazing Bavarian countryside and in particular the wonderful mix of lakes and mountains.  I'm sure I have got it wrong but I think there are seven significant lakes (or See) along the Maximilianweg all with opportunities for swimming.

The Maximilianweg runs along the same route as the Nord Alpine Weg 04 and forms the first part of the E4 sub-alpine variant.  It's an important long distance walk in its own right and originates from a 5 week trip the Bavarian King Maximilian II took from Lindau (near Bregenz) to the Berchtesgaden in the summer of 1858.  The Berchtesgaden is just south of Salzburg and presents a really stunning end to the walk.

I have developed my itinerary from the Oesterriechischer Alpenverein Guide "Osterreichischer Weitwanderweg 04" by Fritz and Erika Kafer.  It's in German, which I don't speak, but does have all the maps and charts you need to put an itinerary together.  They recommend 18 days for Salzburg to Bregenz (everyone goes east to west accept me!) but I'm proposing to do it in 16 days.  Accommodation is plentiful both in mountain huttes and towns - this is a very active recreational area - and it will be easy to vary the schedule if necessary.

Apart from a couple of long days it's a similar grade to the Jura Crestway in Switzerland.  It is middle difficult in the Austrian Grading system with difficult and very difficult above it and easy below it.  Very difficult corresponds to scary in my grading structure.  Overall the walk is 407 kms long with a climb of about 17,000 metres.  Just over two weeks and then a day off in Salzburg - good plan.

Things to look forward to.

Linderhof Palace

Fussen Castle

View from Alatsee on Day 4

Bad Wiessee

Berchtesgaden

Healthy Food

Stage 6 - Catalonia (2) Montserrat to Puigcerda

If I have get this far, crossing the border from Spain to France is going to feel like a big deal.  No-where near half way, but walking across Spain will mean that I'll have something  substantial "under my belt" and will have demonstrated to myself that completing the work is feasible.  I should be really fit or totally knackered! 

Before I get to the border I need to complete the last section of the Spanish E4, the 158 kms from Montserrat to Puigcerda along the route of the GR4.  The first four days look straightforward but after that there are a couple of stiff days as you climb into the Pyrenees.  Day 6 looks particularly tough.

Day 1 involves an 8 hour walk to Pont de Vilomara from Montserrat.  It's a 28 kms walk with 500 metres of climb.  The walk takes you down a valley to San Vicente de Castellet, a town with all facilities (including a castle) and then onto Pont de Vilomara.  As the name suggests, the town has a significant bridge and accommodation.

Santa Maria de Cornet

Day 2 involves a 32 kms, 8 hour walk to Santa Maria de Cornet via Cabrianes.  Santa Maria de Cornet is a small Romanesque church but it looks like there is accommodation either at the nearby town of Salient or directly on the route ar Carretera de Balsareny a Avenyo (although this looks a bit expensive).

Day 3 involves a 7 hour 30 km walk to Sagas.  Sagas is a village with some pretty churches but so far I have not been able to find any accommodation.

The next day is a shorter walk to Barreda, 15 kms and 4 hours and there definitely is accommodation including an interesting looking "rural hotel".  I don't really want to have to combine days 3 and 4 because the last two days of the walk are challenging.

Day 5 involves a 1000m climb and a subsequent 400m drop to Sanctuari de Falgars at La Pobla de Lillet.  This is a small town with a really interesting looking mountain railway.  In my experience walkers are often train spotters (can't think why) and this train is the smallest in public use in Spain.  There is plenty of accommodation at La Pobla de Lillet.

Day 6 is the really tough walk and unavoidable I think because of the shortage of accommodation.  The first stage involves 1,200 metre climb up to the Coll de Pal before a further 200 metre climb to Coll de la Mola, after which you drop down 1,200 metres to Alp.  I think the walk will take about 9.5 hours.  Alp is a ski resort with plenty of accommodation.

The last day's walking in Spain involves a short two hour walk to Puigcarda and from there it's across the border to France

Stage 4 – Valencia (1) - Walking through Alicante and Valencia

The autonomous community of Valencia (autonomous community in Spain is the next level down from the nation state) runs up the central eastern seaboard with 518 kms of coastline.  The autonomous community, in turn, is made up of three provinces, Alicante, Valencia and Castellon (there is also a very important city, Valencia, which is different to both the province and the community). 

GR7 through Valencia

Valencia is essentially mountainous with a thin coastal plain.  The mountains, although not as high as those in Andalusia, are part of same range.  The route of the GR7/E4 runs south to north in the mountains, above the coastal plain and paralleling the coast line for about 600 kms.  

My Stage 4 takes 16 days and passes through the provinces of Alicante and Valencia.  I have used an itinerary from a web site http://www.racodelom.es/ which helpfully plots the route and gives the distances and times involved in getting from place to place.  The route travels through what looks like sparsely populated attractive countryside.  There are none of the larger historic towns which characterised the walk through Andalusia and Murcia.  

The end of the walk through Murcia and the start of the walk in Valencia (in the province of Alicante) will be at Pinoso.  Pinoso is a small town (7,000 pop) about 40 minutes from the Alicante airport.  It has a growing ex-pat population as the coast in Alicante is so highly developed.  Should be places to stay.

Day 1 involves a 28 km walk to Elda which should take just over 6 hours via Encebras, Casa del Senor, and Madara, all small villages. The route looks like a fairly easy trail through an agricultural landscape.  Elda is a significant town with a population of 55,000.  It does not however have a very good web profile – but it is the second most important place in Spain for shoes.    Lots of places to stay.

Day 2 is a 22 km walk to Castalla.  North, north-east of Elda the scenery and points of interest seem to improve, more castles and bigger mountains.  Castalla itself is a small town (pop 7,000), an 11^th C walled castle and some accommodation.  

Day 3 is a 29 km walk to Alcoi.  It looks like a nice walk taking your through the Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja.  Alcoi is a large industrial town and the route doesn’t actually go into it.  There should be plenty of places to stay.

Day 4 is another 29 km walk to the town of Bocairent again taking you through a park (Parque Natural de la Sierra Mariola).  Bocairent is small but with bed and breakfast accommodation.

Parque Natural de la Sierra Mariola

Day 5 involves a 26 km walk to Vallada (just off the GR7 – Vallada.es).  Accommodation is now starting to get more difficult and I’m not sure if the accommodation referenced on the town’s web site is for overnight stays.

From here until Cortes de Pallas it’s really difficult to find places to stay and consequently finalise the stop-overs.  The route takes you over a large mountainous plateau known as the Caroig Massif (lots of cave paintings) and while I think there is accommodation (sometimes on campsites with huts) pinning it down is not straightforward.

Day 6 looks like a 29 km walk to Benali which I think is actually a farmstead with some holiday lets and possibly overnight accommodation.  If that works Day 7 is then a 25 km walk to somewhere near Collado de Caroche.  There is definitely accommodation in the area, including a campsite which should have huts, but again it’s difficult to tell whether this includes overnight accommodation.

Cortes de Pallas

Day 8 is then a 30 km walk to Cortes de Pallas which definitely does has accommodation.  The walking is more of the same limestone countryside with dramatic gorges and dry valleys.  The whole area is important for power generation with reservoirs, hydro and nuclear power generation facilities.

Day 9 involves a 30 km walk to Pocicico Valentin via Venta Gaeta.  This looks like an amazing walk with a longer option at the end if you want to stay in a refugio.  The hostel “Casa del Rio Mijares” looks excellent and so I don’t think I’ll extend the walk.

Accommodation looks difficult for day 10.  There might be some at El Rebollar, which would then involve an 18 km walk.  If not it might be necessary to catch a bus to Requena, where accommodation is plentiful, and return to El Rebollar next day.  Alternatively there might be some accommodation further along the trail (although haven’t found it yet).

Accommodation at the end of a 30 km Day 11 is also uncertain.  There are a number of small villages in the right place (Villar de los Olmos and Villar de Tejas) but none are advertising accommodation.  Directly on the route is Refugio las Lomos but I suspect this is a literally unmanned refuge.

Assuming I stay somewhere near the Refugio las Lomos than the next day is a 30 kms walk to Benageber where there definitely is accommodation.

Day 13 involves a 17 km walk to Chelva which, with a population of 2,000 people, is a metropolis by recent standards.  There is accommodation and Chelva looks like an attractive town.

Day 14 is a 28 km walk to Andilla via the village of Alcotas.  Small village but with some accommodation

Day 15, the final day in the province of Valencia involves a 23 km walk to Bejis.  Although there is no reference to accommodation on the village website I’m optimistic! 

How many days will it take to walk the E4?

Probably turning into some sort of mapping/internet nerd but I have found researching the walk really interesting. The key thing is that there is no one source of information that takes you from one end of the walk to the other. At the European level the walk is described on the European Ramblers Association website, and even on Wikipedia, but not at the level of detail you need to determine the daily length of each walk. Wikipedia (when it does do detail)is sometimes wrong. Plotting the route, from end to end, has therefore involved piecing it together from a whole series of sources (translating the sites into English using the Google translate tool)and then estimating what the daily walks will involve.

I have plotted the route in Google Earth. Google Earth is incredibly powerful and I'm still learning how to use it. I now have a file, which plots my version of the walk, which I can "play" in Google Earth. This means I can fly virtually, place to place, from one end of the walk to the other. Nerd or what!

What I haven't worked out is how to publish my file, i.e. share it on the internet. I'm sure this is possible so hopefully I can do it soon.

Some of sources of information actually provide walking times and I have used these to plan the days. Where this is not available I've used Google Earth. Previous planning experience suggests that I can overstate my daily walking capacity (12 hour walking days in the Dolomites bear witness) so the current plan will definitely need some more work.

What the plan is telling me is that I need to walk for 172 days (I have walked 16 before!). If I walk six days, and have every 7th day of, this makes for a total elapsed time rounded up to 200 days.

If I have got this right it could work. What it means is that I could start at Tarifa at the beginning of March and spend the spring crossing the Sierra Nevadas and eastern Spain. By mid-May I will be in France and the Cevennes, going up the Rhone Valley to Grenoble in June/July. The Swiss part of the walk looks really nice and easy and I should be able to get to the tough Austrian part mid-way through August. The Der nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01 looks brilliant but is the highest and most exposed part of the walk, involves 40 days walking, so I need to start this as early in August as possible.