Tag Archives: The Pyrenees

Walking the Chemin de la Mature

Chemin de la Mature

The Chemin de la Mature carved into the cliff face

Walked the famous Chemin de la Mature on the French side of the Pyrenees last weekend. This spectacular path is carved into a sheer cliff face. Originally constructed in 1772 to provide access to the forests above which was logged to build ships. These inaccessible forests had ancient huge trees that were perfect for the masts of naval vessels, in fact Chemin de la Mature translates to ‘road of the masts’.

This short documentary gives the history of the Chemin de la Mature.

Continue reading

Pico Arriel (2822m)

Fabien with Pico Arriel behind

Fabien with Pico Arriel behind

Every time I open the shutters in my flat I see the Pico Arriel at the head of the Valle de Tena on the French border. I’ve wanted to climb it for ages but with the summit covered in snow for most of the year hadn’t got round to it until this week. So glad I did as it was a fabulous hike with a good scramble up the summit ridge.

On the summit ridge - a fairly easy but sustained and really enjoyable scramble

On the summit ridge - a fairly easy but sustained and really enjoyable scramble

Continue reading

Signs of spring

Early primroses in the Pyrenees

Early primroses in the Pyrenees

Few signs of spring as I took a walk out from Biescas yesterday. First few primroses are coming out in sunny spots alongside the path and few hepatica have started to join them. The stinking hellebore have been out a few weeks – the flowers of these remain green as there’s nothing else in flower at this time of year to compete for insects attentions. Continue reading

The Dolmen of Santa Elena

The neolithic dolmen at Santa Elena

The neolithic dolmen at Santa Elena

The other day I took a walk from Biescas up to Santa Elena and was pleased to see that they’ve put up some boards with information about the dolmen. The upper Gallego has one of the greatest concentration of megaliths in the Pyrenees.  The dolmen at Santa Elena is a simple but large dolmen that was destroyed during the civil war and reconstructed using the original stones in 1975. Continue reading