You could blame Switzerland for my E4 adventure. The first time I did place to place unassisted walking was about 10 years ago, with Christine, when we went from Grindelwald to Gstaad and my enthusiasm for this style of walking has grown ever since. Of course we were completely spoilt by the scenery, particularly the awesome views of the Eiger and the Jungfrau, but it was the excitement of a new walk everyday and the sense of achievement from looking back over ground covered that really got me hooked.
Switzerland really is a different country. Intensely associated with the Alps (almost interchangeable) it has lots things going for it. Famous for its long history of independence and neutrality it somehow combines an intensely decentralised form of government (all the way down to referendum) with really strong national institutions (a conscript army based on national service). Famous of course for its financial services (infamous to some (particularly Harold Wilson)) it actually has a broadly based economy with the highest per capita level of manufacturing in Europe (interesting counter factual - it also has the lowest proportion of graduates in its workforce). Switzerland is a successful country and all this makes for easy hassle free visiting.
By the time I got to Grenoble I was three days ahead of schedule. Because friends had booked flights and were expecting to meet me at a particular place, I had to lose some days. Some friends near Grenoble had offered to put me up so taking a few days out made a lot of sense. I finished walking on the Wednesday and was back in Grenoble lunch time on the Saturday. It rained almost continually for the three days so my timing for once was impeccable.
View across the Isere Valley
Getting to the Swiss border, where the E4 turns firmly east, involves a journey of some 245 kms, 10,500 metres of climb and 9110 of descent. It took me 9 days with some long days where the accommodation was a bit limited.
Although you're walking through mountains for almost of the French part of the E4 it's not all the same. Crossing the Rhone in particular meant I was leaving one type of geology and geomorphology, the ancient and fairly gentle Massif Central, and moving into another type which was younger and fresher. I was now moving into the Vercors, essentially the western foothills of the Alps. The Vercors, like a lot of the Massif Central, is limestone but here the uplifts have been relatively recent and as a consequence the erosion and the resulting cliffs are more dramatic, a little bit like their cousins in the Dolomites but of course with a different colour.
From Leoncel onwards the walk takes you through the Vercors Natural Park where the mountains form what has been described as a limestone "citadel", a huge upland massif with deep gorges sliced out by the rivers.
Stage 8 provides a high level description of my walk along the E4 from Lodeve on the southern edge of the Massif Central to Chateauneuf du-Rhone on the eastern side of the River Rhone. I started this Stage on the 27th of May and was in Chateauneuf du-Rhone on the 6th of June.
I was very much looking forward to his stretch of the E4. The route takes you through the Cevennes and the Ardeche, distinctive parts of France both with a reputation for good walking. The Cevennes and the Cevennes National Park are on the eastern side of the Massif Central and run from the Montague Noire (Black Mountains), which I crossed a week earlier, through to the Monts du Vivarais. If you drive through France it's the place where signs on the side of the motorway point out the watershed between the rivers which flow west to the Atlantic (the Loire and Allier) and those which flow into the Rhone and south to the Mediterranean. With its limestone geology the area is also famous for its massive gorges, in particular the Gorge du Tarn.
In its own right, standalone, the walk from Carcassone to Lodeve has a lot going for it. Both ends are easy to get to and sensible people would spend a bit of time at Carcassone which should be on most people’s must see list. The walking itself is easy, pleasant rather than spectacular, and there is plenty of accommodation along the route in interesting French towns and villages. The only downside is the long trip from Carcassonne to Mazemet, which really needs to be broken up with a taxi trip, and one or two bits of fairly dull walking through commercial pine plantations. It’s good if not quite spectacular walking.
If you’re walking 5,000 kilometres you probably fail the sensible person test and I had decided that I didn’t want to stay in Carcassone. Had done a huge walk the day before arriving, got there late, didn’t get my bearings and ended up in an expensive hotel. I went through the walls, into the old town, and to me it felt 100 per cent tourist. Don’t get me wrong I love going to see interesting places with lots of history but I struggle to flip from the mode of walk walk walk to site see site see site see. So apart from a perfunctory tick in the box I didn’t really see Carcassonne.
After the disappointment of Catalonia things picked once I got into France. If the E4 through Catalonia was one of the worse bits of the route than the E4 from the Pyrenees to Carcassonne was one of the best.
This particular corner of France is a really great place to walk and the route of the E4 captures both the area's varied and beautiful landscape and its interesting cultural legacy.
The E4 through Catalonia was worse part of the whole trip. Accommodation was hard to find and I had to walk very long days. Worse still I was constantly missing the trail. Maps in Spain don't show the routes and unless you have a guide or a good GPS trail then it's easy to take a wrong turn. Of course I was never seriously lost but constant minor mistakes made long walks even longer - really frustrating and at times depressing.
Must admit that I couldn't understand why the E4 left the GR7. Having followed the GR7 all the way from Andalucia, it turns east at border with Catalonia and heads down to the coast along the GR8. It then heads along the coast via the GR92 to Tarragona, heads north via the GR172 to Montserrat and then onto Alp and the border with France on the GR4. Meanwhile the GR7 carries onto the Pyrenees ending up a few kilometres from the GR4.
The E4 through Catalonia does visit some amazing places, in particular Montserrat and Tarragona, but the walking itself was mixed. You are not walking around or through a particular mountain range and it's certainly not the most direct way to get to the Pyrenees. Catalonia is a busy place and although there is some lovely countryside you also have to cross some major transport corridors and built-up areas.
Montserrat Mountains
My negative view of the E4 through Catalonia is influenced by the extent to which I had been enjoying the GR7, particularly the last few days through Castellon. It was a change however and a change might be as good as a rest. I was entering a different sort of countryside and I was also entering Catalonia, a particularly distinct part of Spain with its own language and cultural traditions. The lack of love between Catalonia and the rest of Spain is manifested in many ways including the intense rivalry between the Barcelona and Real Madrid football clubs, something I had been observing throughout the trip (six El Clásicogames when I was there).
I had put my schedule together using the information on the La Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC) , the Catalonia Climbing and Hiking Association, which identifies all the major walking routes and gives you stage distances, walking times and altitude gained and lost. Great help for planning the route but as it turned out only limited help when you are actually doing it - why can't they go the next small step and actually publish a GPS route!
I started walking through Catalonia on the 24th of April and got to Alp 16 days later on May 9th. I stopped for a day in Tarragona and had another rest day at Alp before crossing the border.
The first part of my Catalonia trip was from El Boixar down to Mol l'Abad where I stayed at a very nice holiday centre. Was driven there by the lack of accommodation on the main GR8 route which runs through the mountains just to the north.
Was aiming to re-connect with the GR8 at La Senia but ended up walking all the way along the road to Ulldecona - miserable, was missing the mountains already. Found a good hotel and got there early so some compensations.
View across the Ebro Delta
Next day was much better, really nice walk and interesting as well. The walk takes you up the Sierra de Montsia to la Foradada (684 metres) which has amazing views of the Ebro Delta, the coast line to the north, and all the way back to Penyagolasa to the west. Really interesting information boards describing the impact of rural depopulation in the 1960s. After the climb and the views you walk down through ancient Mediterranean woodland, onto the delta and then into Amposta, a fairly large town with lots of accommodation.
Bridge over the Ebro at Amposta
After Amposta the trail is completely flat but still quite nice. The first part takes you across the intensely farmed delta and then, after Ampolla, along a lovely coastal path to L'Ametlla de Mer. Stayed at the Hotel del Port, very reasonable.
Coastal path after Ampolla
The coastal walk to Cambils was a bit more mixed. Some nice stretches, but also some horrible diversions around gated harbours (Sant Jordi) and a large diversion around a nuclear power station (and over/under railway lines and motorways). There were long stretches of concrete coastline with blocks of holiday accommodation running right up to the shore. Nice stretch along the beach after L'Hospitalet de l'Infant but a lot of hard surface walking over the whole day. Cambils itself was a tiny fishing village in the sixties but is now a huge resort.
Beach north of L'Hospitalet
Next day into Tarragona was just awful although I missed the route and possibly made it worse. Essentially you have to get around a huge port and chemical works to the south of the city (if you are English, think Middlesborough) and following GR signs in a built up area is not easy.
The 'players' entrance" at the Roman circus in Tarragona
Despite the chemical works to the south Tarragona itself is a wonderful city. I rested up there for a day and there was lots to see - it has a huge Roman heritage and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Would love to go back there again but would definitely choose a different mode of transport!
Ideally you would stay at Santes Crues the next day but I couldn't find any accommodation when planning the walk (when I went there next day it looked like there was some) and instead diverted to Valles. Not bad countryside but not stunning either. Initially through scrubby forest and then back to back vineyards. El Cattlar on the way is a pretty little town.
Santes Crues, or Santa Maria de Santa Creus to give it full title, is an important monastery dating back to the 12th Century. It was shut when I was there but looks like it would have been well worth a visit.
The ideal place to stay next day would have been St Joan de Mediona, a nice looking town with a historic centre. Instead I had to go to Capellades about 5 kilometres to the north. It was a long walk with about 700 metres of climb over the Col de Rimbalda and then a drop down again into the next valley. Nice countryside. I went to a distant suburb of Capellades but was rescued and given a lift directly into town.
Montserrat Monastery
Assisted by a short train journey I rejoined the route at Peira and walked onto the next historic highlight, Montserrat. The walk to Montserrat was had some tough bits crossing a series of steep sided gorges which had been cut into the soft loess at the bottom of the Montserrat mountain range. You do have to walk through a large suburb before you finally get to climb up to the Montserrat Monastery which is a 600 metre climb with great views.
The Montserrat Mountains are a spectacular feature, weirdly shaped and high above the surrounding countryside. The colour and texture of the rock are like ancient concrete and the shapes are reminiscent of Gaudi. The Monastery itself, with its famous Black Madonna, is an important focus pilgrims and a key symbol of Catalan nationalism. I stayed there for a day and walked to the top of Sant Jeroni (1200 metres) - the train, funicular and buses bring up the daytown crowds but it's empty in the evening.
The next destination was Navarcles (near Cabrianes) a 42 kilometre walk which was nice at either end but unpleasant in the middle when another busy valley spiralling out from Barcelona had to be crossed. You go on a huge detour to get inside the Parc Natural de Sant Lorenc and then walk along a really nice gorge before finally arriving at Navarcles. Really struggled to find accommodation but ended up in the Hostal Montane which was great, very cheap and very authentic.
Driven on again by the lack of accommodation, next day was another huge walk (51 kilometres) all the way to Santa Maria de Merles. The first hour or so is not pleasant involving a walk up to Cabrianes through a fairly busy industrial valley. After that things improve and the route takes you through a very nice pastoral landscape - lots of old farmsteads and isolated churches. Eventually you get to the tiny settlement of Sant Pou de Pinos from which point you head west and then east, again in a huge and frustrating detour before arriving at the equally tiny settlement of Santa Maria de Merles. Stayed at the wonderful Casa Escrigas - and enjoyed home made everything.
The walk next day was supposed to be a short one but was again frustrated by really poor waymarks with one memorable sign sending me completely in the wrong direction. One of the problems I faced today was intersections with other GR routes - unless you spot these, work out which is the right one, you can easily find yourself following white and red markings in the wrong direction. If it wasn't for the frustrations of getting lost, today would have been an excellent walk, the scenery is good and Borreda, a lovely old mountain village, is a great place to finish the day. Stayed in the Cal Bardolet which was OK but a bit expensive.
Spring growth near Les Pilones
Great walk to La Pobla de Lillet, mostly in trees but in early May the trees were at there best. The highlight was the climb up from Castell de l'Areny to Les Pilones (1700 metres) followed by a walk along an upland valley. The GR4 is supposed to be an ancient transhumance trail but the climb up to Les Pilones felt a bit steep for a herd of cattle. Stayed at La Pobla de Lillet, a slightly run down mountain resort town home to a Gaudi garden (Artigas Gardens) and station for the Spanish Yellow Train (there is a French one on the other side of the Pyrenees). I stayed and ate at the Hostal Pericas which was cheap and cheerful.
The walk to Alp was the last full day in Spain and another good one. Wasn't as tough as I had anticipated and I needn't have left at the crack of dawn. There was a big 1200 metre climb up to the Coll de Pal but it was gentle and along a lovely valley with great views. Not quite so nice on the other side, horrible ski runs and scarred mountains but seeing the snowy peaks on the other side of the valley, in France, was encouraging. Stopped for a day in the ski resort of Alp staying at off-season prices at the Hotel Roca - very nice.
Just a short walk across the valley bottom to Puigcerda and France.
If you want to read what the walk felt like at the time than please go to the walk diaries. The links are below:
