Blogging from the Pyrenees
Phil & Anna have been living in the Pyrenees for over 17 years and love the culture, wildlife and mountains here. We run Hike Pyrenees, which organises guided and self guided hiking holidays in the Pyrenees and other areas of Spain. Our blog tells about our adventures hiking, snowshoeing and skiing in the Pyrenees and we hope to explain some of the fascinating flora, fauna and history of the area. We hope you enjoy reading!
Snowshoeing in the sunshine
We had a brilliant snowshoeing holiday early this month, and our group of six intrepid guests had absolutely perfect conditions! It was one of those magical weeks where it had snowed all of the week preceding the trip, and then the day the guests arrived, the sun broke through and we had fantastic weather all week along with great snow underfoot.
Spain’s saffron harvest
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and sells for more than $4000 a kilo. Production is hugely labour intensive with the delicate task of removal of the stamens only possible by hand. Good report on the BBC on how Spain is hoping this years saffron...
New Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry service
Brittany Ferries have announced a new Pourtsmouth to Bilbao service starting March 2011. There will be twice weekly sailings and the service will operate alongside it's existing Santander service from Portsmouth and Plymouth. The ferry is a great way to get to Spain...
Tour de France visits Pyrenees in 2011
The Tour de France stages for 2011 have been announced and once again the Tour is passing through Laruns - just over the French border from us. It's a fabulous experience to see the riders and on the 15th July we'll run an excursion to see the Tour for all Hike...
Pic du Midi d’Ossau (2884m)
Pic du Midi d'Ossau is one of the iconic peaks of the French Pyrenees. It´s a fantastic looking mountain with rocky walls guarding each of it's twin peaks. The 'via normal' is a pretty exciting scramble to the summit and another route I've been longing to do for ages....
Pico Arriel (2822m)
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...
Pyrenees Charity Hike
Last week Dougal and his fundraising crew came over for a challenging 4 days hiking in aid of Claire House Childrens Hospice. We had brilliant weather and tackled 4 fantastic routes. Our first days hiking took us to Pico Anayet - a spectacular, pointy peak of 2545m....
Refugio Week – summiting Marbore
Fantastic Refugio Week last week with the highlight being summiting a snow covered Marbore (3248m) and looking the Cirque de Gavarnie far below. Clear blue skies and lots of snow made for fantastic hiking. Our first two day trek in the Valle de Tena took us to the...
Lakes & Valleys and Discover Ordesa Walking Holidays
The walking season is in full swing here in the Pyrenees and we've had a couple of great walking holidays already this June with a Lakes & Valleys and a Discover Ordesa walking holidays. We've had some fantastic hikes visiting high alpine pastures, abandoned...
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The Ordesa NP
Guide to hiking the spectacular canyons of the Ordesa National Park
Pyrenees butterflies
Gallery of the spectacular butterflies and moths we have in the Pyrenees
Village to Village
Hotel to hotel hiking in the high Pyrenees
Geology of the Pyrenees
Discover how the Pyrenean range was formed
Hike the GR11
A practical guide to hiking the GR11
Wildflowers
Discover the spectacular flora of the Pyrenees
Bearded vulture
This huge bone eating vulture is one of the Pyrenees emblamatic species