Some amazing and beautiful walking 

The choice is yours

The first thing that strikes you about walking in Bagneres is the massive choice you have. If you are a very keen walker, or if you wish to take children on a safe and exhilarating walk, or if you like a gentle walk, but love the scenery, then Bagneres is the place.

Wild, intermediate or gentle

There are very demanding hills just a few km away, particularly so in the ranges which accommodate the local ski resorts of La Mongie. St Lary and Bareges -see below. Some of the scenery on the surrounding mountains is spectacular, with lakes and lush fields appearing out of the blue. Wildlife on walks is to be appreciated, and deer, griffon vultures and marmosets abound. If you are very lucky you may just see some tracks from a bear!

Walks of a beautiful but more sedate nature abound. The main difficulty is in making a choice which one you want to do on which day. There are mountain walks all around, where you are unlikely to see another person all day. And, if you don’t want to go far you can start a walk direct from your accommodation. Being uniquely placed at the foothills it has the benefit of a thriving spa town and access to stunning hills and beautiful countryside. It could not be easier to get the best of both worlds.

What’s in it for the family?

You may just want to start your walk with your family from your accommodation, and take in a local park. Here the children can play en route, and spot the fast darting trout in the stream that runs through the park. After a little play, it is up the hills where the walking is less difficult but is nevertheless beautiful for all, not just the children. Families will feel they have really taken in some serious walking, though they may not have moved more than a few km from their comfortable accommodation.

Walking in the town

If you like to walk round towns, then you should take in Lourdes, which is a place not to be missed if you want to feel the sense of history. Here you will witness the people who have travelled from all over the world to take in the miracles of the area.

Other useful contacts

Your host, Valerie, is a keen walker herself and can guide you to the many walks in the area. She has good contacts in the local walking group. Members are extremely friendly and a good deal of them speak English. She can put you in touch personally, and you may take a walk with a local group.

Guides to the area

If you want to get the best out of the area but don’t want to go with a local group then Valerie has a range of guide books that you may borrow or photocopy. She can also direct you to the best places to purchase guides and would be happy to translate if you have any difficulties.

Golfer?

If walking round a golf course is your thing, then Valerie would be happy to put you in touch with keen golfers in the town and you may wish to play in the local course –a magnificent expanse of greenery with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop.

About the walking and the area

Two minutes from where you'll be staying in Place Jeanne d'Albret, is the start of several walks which may take an hour or which you can extend to several hours by adding another route to it or by using one of the several planned walking books or by just following your nose. The walks from this starting point are all stunning and have the great advantages of being close to where you're staying and so you won't need a car, and you can manage easily to adjust the walk to your own requirements of the day and -are quite possible even for quite young children.Start Walking 2 minutes from where you are staying!

Some photographs of where you may walk from your accommodation

Below is a selection of photographs of walks in the vicinity of where you will be staying, from the local walks which an averagely fit person could manage, to the mountain walks in the ski areas. What should be stressed is that no matter what your level of fitness and interest, there will be more than a few walks  in the area you will like.

The really exciting thing about this series of walks is that they start just 2 minutes from where you will be staying.The walks from this point are all really beautiful, and of course as they are so close to where you're staying, so you can manage without a car. You can easily adjust the walk to your own requirements of the day as they are good even for quite young children. If you can introduce them to the mountains early in life and they will always love them.

You can add on these other walks mentioned on the sign post here to suit your energy and fitness level.

A typical footpath of Les Hautes Pyrénées. En route you see typical Pyrénéan views of isolated farmhouses, mixed woodland and plenty of paths and footpaths to take you on to your next mountain or to return to base. Along the track you see It is clear, well positioned and has good views from it but it is not (they are not) manicured and tame. In the back ground is Le grand Monné and le petit Monné which make a super addition to your walking day, if you are up for it, or you can return to base in Bagnères.

This is just one of the several footpaths skirting the Bédat.  On this route you will see the isolated farmhouses and barns that are so typical of Les Hautes Pyrénées.  The snow capped mountains remain so for most of the year and are a delight to behold on a walk in the hot summer months; do note however, that there are several paths to suit all seasons ie. Forest paths for the hot summer months to keep you cool and more exposed paths for spring and autumn when that bit of sunshine, in addition to the magnificent views, is more than  welcome.

Note the many paths through the mixed forests that you can take up to Le Grand et Le Petit Monné. This is an ideal walk for a hot day since you can choose to just use the forest paths.

These are some of the magnificent views you will have over the valley as you walk up to La Vierge. In the distance, you will be able to see paths to Tucou and Les Monnés. The paths through these hamlets afford you the best way of seeing the local way of life on a mountain farm and if you are still up for it, you can make your way to the snow capped Le Tucou that you see in the background.

An exhilarating walk

Tourmalet to the Pic du Midi.

Three and a half hours ascent two and a half hours descent A truly spectacular walk with a gradient increase of 757 metres up to an altitude of 2872 metres. The very last part of this walk is the most demanding and need not necessarily be done because you will have already seen some of the most spectacular views en route and it would be quite proper to finish your walk at at point 5 where the remains of the 1st Pic du Midi rest.

The start

You will start this walk at Tourmalet having driven through La Mongie the main ski station of the Pyrenees. Tourmalet, incidentally, is one of the key stages of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees and has an impressive giant model of a cyclist.

The route

The route is easy to follow and, because it zigzags, you have an ever changing view over the Pyrenees. For much of this walk, you have the most wonderful views over to La Breche de Rolandande  and the Spanish Pyrenees.

Arriving at the Lac d'Oncet  is a shear delight because you ascend, see the lake and then drop down to it and it's such a super place to stop off for your pic-nic lunch or a break and to enjoy the magic of the lake's greenness and ever changing face as the clouds scud by.

You will then walk on to the Col de Sencours and on to the old hotel of the Pic du Midi which was considerably used by travellers before the new Pic du Midi was established.

The final ascent to Le Pic is via a stone staircase which culminates in a terrace; from this vantage point, you will have the most magnificent panoramas over the Arriege, ( the next county) the Basque country, the Vignemale and le Cirque de Gavernie.

Take in

The Pic du Midi is truly worth while visiting and you can hire head phones, which I recommend that you do, because then you can hear in English, all about the amazing conception and subsequent construction of this fantastic observatory.

Have a look

The following pictures were taken on a beautiful autumn day. See the Lac D'Oncet in the diagram above. You can see it is at the head of the valley, and about the half way point on a magnificant walk.

It had been cool for a couple of days, but the weather had warmed up to the temperature where walking was pleasant, and lunch at the top was not only possible but very desirable.

My apologies for my picture being in each one, but I wanted to convey that the pictures were genuine, and that I am also a keen walker -a fact that led me to move to this wonderful walking area.

This photograph was taken  at Lac D 'Oncet, close to the Pic Du Midi on a pleasant autumn day. A steady walk up the hill deserved a stop for lunch!

This was taken above the Pic du Midi, following the walk up the hill in some superb walking conditions -cool in the morning but brightening up during the day. See the valley below. Clearly, there was some exhilerating climb on the way up, but nothing that the average walker couldn't do comfortably.

This shows the remnants of an early flurry of snow which was melting in the warmth of the afternoon sun. A marvellous feature of conditions in this area is that for 3 seasons of the year it is possible to find some excellent walking. In the fourth season, winter, when the snow is around then walking by rackets (specialist snow shoes, which are readily hired or purchased fairly cheaply) is fantastic. All in all, it is a genuine 4 season walking venue, where the main point in common is the fantastic scenery.

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