What's the countryside like on the GR1 Sendero Histórico?

Apart four days spent crossing the flat plain in the Navarre and two days approaching the Mediterranean coast the GR1 is a walk through the mountains.  In the west it's a journey through the Cantabrian mountains and in the east the foothills of the Pyrenees.

An important feature of mountain walking in Spain, unlike much of Western Europe, is that you don't have to get above the tree to enjoy the wonderful views.  Mountains at similar altitudes in France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria are more likely to be covered in trees, often commercial pine than in Spain.  In these countries you can sometimes walk for days without getting 'a long view'.  As in other countries Spain lost its trees (and topsoil) to agriculture and woodburning centuries ago but because rural depopulation happened so much later trees have not yet returned to cover the mountains.

What is the GR1 Sendero Histórico?

The GR1 Sendero Histórico is a 1250km long distance footpath that traverses the north of Spain.  Part of Spain's impressive network of GR routes (similar to the GR network in France) it combines great scenery with visits to some of its key historical sites.  Starting on the edge of the Picos de Europa it follows a route that corresponds roughly to the northern extent of the medieval Moorish empire and travels all the way to the Mediterranean.

The GR1 starts at the Puerto de Tarna, a pass on the regional border between the Asturias and Castilla y Leon.  It heads east along the southern flank of the Cantabrian Mountains, the plain of Navarre and the foothills of the Pyrenees and then finishes on the Mediterranean coast at Sant Martí d'Empúries near L'Escala.

Not getting lost

Thanks to Key Retirement for including a tip of mine in their recent piece on recreational walking. There were some great ideas from my fellow contributors, but I particularly liked Pete Hill's advice on not getting lost.  The solution is to use your phone.

Apparently 72 per cent of people in the UK own a smartphone all of which come equipped with a GPS.  However, based on a small sample (my walking buddies), hardly any of them (just me) know how to use it.  Even a tiny learning curve is too much for the people I associate with and they remain stuck in the world of paper maps.

My 'app' of choice is Viewranger.  It's easy to use and fun.  You can plan the route before you go - either by plotting it yourself and using someone else's route - and then follow it out in the field.  I'm rarely on a walk where there is absolutely no evidence on the ground about the route so only use the app to check a turning.  Typically I'll record the 'track' as I go along and then publish it to my own page in the Viewranger track/route library making it available for other people to use.  Believe me people do download each others routes and currently 8 kind souls have favorited me as an author.

As well as being easy to use, Viewranger has access, via its map store, to a huge range of premium and free maps.  The premium maps - for instance Ordnance Survey maps - can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of their paper equivalents and are available for a growing range of countries from around the world (including Spain where I spend a lot of time).  The free maps are Open Maps and although less informative will help if have an accurate route.

But which way is Venice?

Exploring the Mani - October 2015

While I spent September roaming around the Alps, Christine had been at home in Brighton nursing her broken metatarsals.  With the nights already closing in, and worse still to come, getting some late summer sun seemed like a good idea.  I've never been to the Greek mainland and the Greek economy needs all the help it can get so we decided to explore the Mani peninsula.  If you don't know Greece, Mani is the middle of the three fingers that stick southwards from the Peloponnese - it's one of the wildest part of Greece and until the seventies was only accessible by boat or donkey.

Ayia Sofia near Kardamyli

Back on the "Dreamway" 2015

In September 2015 I was back in the Alps doing final research for my 2nd guide - "Munich to Venice - the Dreamway'.  I was on my own, Christine was stuck in Brighton nursing a broken foot, but the trip was a great success and provided some new perspectives on the Munich Venice experience.  So what did I learn.

Firstly a year can make a big difference.  Last year was exceptional, the worst weather in living memory and snow lingered on the passes in late August.  I'm not sure if this year was normal, but the weather was perfect.  Instead of snow fields, streams swollen with melted water where this year's challenge.   Last year's trip was fantastic but the 'Dreamway' in the sunshine is even better.

Junsee 2014

Junsee 2015

Secondly Munich to Venice is a good trip for solo walkers.  Now I know what it's like walking on your own - I walked most of Tarifa to Budapest trip alone - but it's a different experience on a popular route like Munich to Venice staying in crowded huts where everyone speaks German. Sometimes you can feel uncomfortably conspicuous alone in a crowd.  On the Dreamway this wasn't a problem - the Germans speak English, there were other solo walkers and the common interest in walking meant that conversation and associations came easily.  Socially it was great fun.

St Daniel

Dear Christine, it's now Wednesday, I've finished my exploration of the Karnischer Höhenweg and I'm holed up in a hotel down in the valley.  I've come down a day early, the weather is terrible, I've got stiff legs, a headache, sore throat and I'm feeling sorry myself.  Hopefully by the time I've completed a slow journey back to Brighton I'll be fighting fit again. 

Machine gun post just above the Plöckenpass

Despite the weather the last three days hasn't been a complete waste of time.  In particular I've filled in gaps in my knowledge about the alignment of the front in First World War which will help enormously when it comes to preparing the Karnischer Höhenweg guide. 

Arnoldstein

Dear Christine, would like to say 'wish you were here' but if you had been you would been like a bear with a sore head. I'm in Arnoldstein, it's Monday morning, and I've had a night disturbed by young people in the street playing music until 4 in the morning, not the sort of thing you expect when walking in the mountains.

Low clouds across the valley