This is a rewrite of the blog I did a couple of months ago and benefits from the work I have now done on the French part of the E4 itinerary and the more detailed planning I have completed for each stage.
The route is more complex than the E4 in Spain which largely followed the route of the Spanish GR 7. In France the route joins up sections of 9 different GR routes. When it comes to developing the itinerary some things are easier and some more difficult compared to Spain. In England, French maps are much easier to get hold of, particularly if you live in London, and indeed I found I already had a number of them from previous trips. The Federation Francaise de la Randonnee Pedestre, the national walking association, have been particularly helpful. Not only did they provide me (free of charge) with a map of Europe with all the E routes marked, they also constructed a table for me listing all the maps I would need to get. Brilliant, formidable or what!
What I haven't been able to find (yet) are the itineraries you get on the Spanish regional walking associations websites which give you a stage breakdown with estimates of how long it will take you to complete each stage. What I have found, as a substitute, is a site called GR-info which not only lists all the GR routes but allows you to display them on Google Earth. Using Google Earth you can then work out where the accommodation is and produce distance and amount of climb - almost all you need to plan an itinerary.
According to the GR-info/Google Earth method the E4 in France is 1186 kms long. This is 86 kms longer than the figure on ERA website. Not sure which, if either, number is right and to be honest I think the GR-info/Google Earth method straightens a lot of bendy lines and could itself understate the real extent of the route.
My itinerary suggests I could complete the route in 46 days - which translates into 26 kms or 15.5 miles a day. This looks OK but could be a bit more of a stretch when you start to take account of the ups and down. Roughly speaking it’s 49km up and not surprisingly and about the same amount down.
The route is very varied from virtually every perspective. It’s varied in terms of the walking itself, going from quite gentle, once your out of the Pyrenees and heading towards and beyond Carcassone, to really very tough, as you get into the Vercors and the foothills of the Alps. It’s varied in terms of the history and the mark history has made on the architecture of the towns (I’m particularly looking forward to those Cathar castles in the south-east). It’s also varied in terms of the geography, geology and to an extent climate as to travel from Alpine to Mediterranean and back to Alpine again. This is top walking country and French have celebrated this with a necklace of national and regional parks which almost join the entire route together.
Accommodation by and large looks plentiful and I shouldn’t need a tent or even a bivi bag. A number of the stopovers however involve a "Gite d'Etape" . The definition of what you get in a “Gite d’Etape” is not entirely clear, not to me anyway, and while some definitely come with half board others don’t which will mean carrying food for more than one day.
There are options for breaking up the route and at the moment I’m thinking of stopping for a day a Carcassonne, Villefort, Malaucene and Grenoble, 4 days rest, 46 days walking, which might not be enough. Anyway if I leave it time being that France will take 50 days, start France on the 14th May I should be ready for the Swiss section by the 2nd of July. Onwards and upwards!
Showing posts with label GR 36; E4 in France; E4 Walk; E4 long distance walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GR 36; E4 in France; E4 Walk; E4 long distance walk. Show all posts
Stage 7 - Alp to Carcassonne
Stage 7 of my E4 walk is from Alp in Spain through to Carcassonne in France. Walking east and then north along the GR 36 the route takes you through the departments of Pyrennees-Orientales and Aude within the region of Languedoc Roussillon.
The walk looks special from a number of different perspectives.
The area has a really complex history with associations with both Catalonia across the border (Pyrenees-Orientales roughly corresponds to an area the Catalans describe as North Catalonia) as well as Occitania which extended right across southern France and into Italy. Both traditions have produced a distinct linguistic legacy which still echoes today.
Particularly interesting is the Cathar history and the Albergensian Crusade which saw the destruction of the Cathar version of Christianity in the early 13th Century. Some estimate that 500,000 people were killed as a result of this crusade which transformed the area from one of the richest at the time in Europe (with a particularly rich cultural tradition - home of the troubadours) to one of the poorest and most marginalised. The walk takes you through a number of places of particular significance to this Cathar history, including lots of hill top forts.
The route takes you east through the high Pyrenees, then descends north into the foothills of the Pyrenees before finally crossing a more agricultural landscape as you approach Carcassonne. Some claim that the foothills of the Pyrenees provide some of the best landscapes in Europe and indeed the "light" has made the area famous for artists.
Although the area has lots of micro climates it is also noted for it's good weather. EDF operated it's experimental solar power plant at this end of the Pyrenees because the area has the highest number of cloud free days in France.
Special mention to the Yellow Train which takes you all the way from Villefranche-de-Conflent up to Mont Louis. A great way of getting to the start of this stage of the walk. It climbs to 1.593 metres at Bolquere-Eyre, the highest railway station in France.
Much of the accommodation will be in gites d'etapes which look like Austrian "huttes" and I guess the equivalent of a youth hostel in the UK (although there seems to be a lot more them). I stayed in some when I walked the Haute Route across the Alps and on the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites and they are good fun but with very variable (interesting) sleeping arrangements.
For the first four days of the walk the route follows the same route as the famous GR 10 "coast to coast" and is the toughest part of the walk.
Day 1 starts at Alp in Spain, crosses the border at Puigcerda/Bourg Madame and after a steady 26 km climb gets you to Eyne, a ski resort with plenty of accommodation. Another 2 kms to Planes, which looks like a pretty little town with a gite d'etape for refuge.
The next two days take you over the highest points of the E4 walk in France - possibly the whole of the E4 walk.
The target for Day 2 is the Refuge Caranca and to get to it you have to go over the Col Mija which is around 2300 metres. The whole walk is about 18 kms and involves a 1300 metre climb.
Day 3 involves climbing over the Col du Pal followed by a big drop down a long way to Py and then up again to the Refuge Marialles. Quite a tough 10 hour walk involving 19 kms and 1628 metres of climb. The option would be to stop at Py.
If I can get to Refuge Marialles on day 3, then day 4 is in effect the last day in the high Pyrenees. Another tough walk, 20 kms but with another 1600 metres of climb followed a steep down to Vallmanya. The GR 36 stays with the GR10 until just past Cortalets where it splits and starts to head north. The views could be spectacular including views across the coastal plain to the Mediterranean. If I don't make it to Valmanya I could always stop at Cortalets.
On Day 5 you descend from the high Pyrenees down into the foothills dropping 1,000 metres in a 27 km walk to Sournia. On the way you pass the line carrying the Yellow Train just to the west of Vinca. Sournia is a village with a gite d'etape.
Day 6 is a 25 km walk through a series of small villages (le Vivier, Saint Martin), past hill top forts, along the bottom and over a limestone (looks like it) ridge and through to Caudies-de-Fenouilledes. Can't find accommodation at the moment but the commune web site certainly suggests that there is some.
The next day's walk is 28 kms to Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse. Again the scenery looks amazing with more sharp limestone ridges, a chapel literally built into a gorge, and some great views across the valley. Duillac-sous-Peyrepertuse has an old ruined Cather hill top fort and, if I can't find anywhere else, a gite d'etape.
Day 8 is a long walk, 41 kms, all the way to Lagrasse. There is an option to stop at Termes half way along the route, which has another hill-top Cathar fort, but at the moment I plan to make it to Lagrasse. Lagrasse is regarded by some as the most beautiful village in France, has a famous abbey some well preserved medieval bridges. Looks like there is a choice of accommodation.
The last day of this stage involves the 36 km walk to Carcassonne where I plan to stop for a an extra night. The route takes you out of the Pyrenees foothills and into a broader agricultural valley in the middle of which sits Carcassonne. Carcassonne has been fortified since Roman times, held out for a time against Simon de Montfort in the Albigensian Crusade (didn't end well though), and then became a border citadel between France and the Kingdom of Aragon. It's now a UNESCO world heritage and there is lots to see and plenty of places to stay.
So, 9 days, 244 kms, lots of castles, amazing and varied scenary, Carcassonne at the end, a perfect walking week (and some).
The walk looks special from a number of different perspectives.
The area has a really complex history with associations with both Catalonia across the border (Pyrenees-Orientales roughly corresponds to an area the Catalans describe as North Catalonia) as well as Occitania which extended right across southern France and into Italy. Both traditions have produced a distinct linguistic legacy which still echoes today.
Particularly interesting is the Cathar history and the Albergensian Crusade which saw the destruction of the Cathar version of Christianity in the early 13th Century. Some estimate that 500,000 people were killed as a result of this crusade which transformed the area from one of the richest at the time in Europe (with a particularly rich cultural tradition - home of the troubadours) to one of the poorest and most marginalised. The walk takes you through a number of places of particular significance to this Cathar history, including lots of hill top forts.
The route takes you east through the high Pyrenees, then descends north into the foothills of the Pyrenees before finally crossing a more agricultural landscape as you approach Carcassonne. Some claim that the foothills of the Pyrenees provide some of the best landscapes in Europe and indeed the "light" has made the area famous for artists.
Although the area has lots of micro climates it is also noted for it's good weather. EDF operated it's experimental solar power plant at this end of the Pyrenees because the area has the highest number of cloud free days in France.
Special mention to the Yellow Train which takes you all the way from Villefranche-de-Conflent up to Mont Louis. A great way of getting to the start of this stage of the walk. It climbs to 1.593 metres at Bolquere-Eyre, the highest railway station in France.
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| The little Yellow Train |
For the first four days of the walk the route follows the same route as the famous GR 10 "coast to coast" and is the toughest part of the walk.
Day 1 starts at Alp in Spain, crosses the border at Puigcerda/Bourg Madame and after a steady 26 km climb gets you to Eyne, a ski resort with plenty of accommodation. Another 2 kms to Planes, which looks like a pretty little town with a gite d'etape for refuge.
The next two days take you over the highest points of the E4 walk in France - possibly the whole of the E4 walk.
The target for Day 2 is the Refuge Caranca and to get to it you have to go over the Col Mija which is around 2300 metres. The whole walk is about 18 kms and involves a 1300 metre climb.
Day 3 involves climbing over the Col du Pal followed by a big drop down a long way to Py and then up again to the Refuge Marialles. Quite a tough 10 hour walk involving 19 kms and 1628 metres of climb. The option would be to stop at Py.
If I can get to Refuge Marialles on day 3, then day 4 is in effect the last day in the high Pyrenees. Another tough walk, 20 kms but with another 1600 metres of climb followed a steep down to Vallmanya. The GR 36 stays with the GR10 until just past Cortalets where it splits and starts to head north. The views could be spectacular including views across the coastal plain to the Mediterranean. If I don't make it to Valmanya I could always stop at Cortalets.
On Day 5 you descend from the high Pyrenees down into the foothills dropping 1,000 metres in a 27 km walk to Sournia. On the way you pass the line carrying the Yellow Train just to the west of Vinca. Sournia is a village with a gite d'etape.
 |
| Sournia |
Day 6 is a 25 km walk through a series of small villages (le Vivier, Saint Martin), past hill top forts, along the bottom and over a limestone (looks like it) ridge and through to Caudies-de-Fenouilledes. Can't find accommodation at the moment but the commune web site certainly suggests that there is some.
The next day's walk is 28 kms to Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse. Again the scenery looks amazing with more sharp limestone ridges, a chapel literally built into a gorge, and some great views across the valley. Duillac-sous-Peyrepertuse has an old ruined Cather hill top fort and, if I can't find anywhere else, a gite d'etape.
 |
| Castle at Duilhac-sous-Peypertuse |
Day 8 is a long walk, 41 kms, all the way to Lagrasse. There is an option to stop at Termes half way along the route, which has another hill-top Cathar fort, but at the moment I plan to make it to Lagrasse. Lagrasse is regarded by some as the most beautiful village in France, has a famous abbey some well preserved medieval bridges. Looks like there is a choice of accommodation.
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| Lagrasse |
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| Carcassonne |
So, 9 days, 244 kms, lots of castles, amazing and varied scenary, Carcassonne at the end, a perfect walking week (and some).
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