Author Topic: Hiking in France 2019  (Read 6047 times)

gunwharfman

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Hiking in France 2019
« on: 17:30:46, 24/05/19 »
Its the Bank Holiday and I'm thinking where would I like to hike next? My wife wants me to hike as part of a group but I've had no luck with that so she accepts I'll be off hiking alone again.

My problem now is that I've done most of the obvious and most popular hikes in France, Tour du Mont Blanc, some 2 week stints on a few GR routes, Stevenson Way (GR70), GR4, GR6, GR36. etc and one really long hike on the GR10 in 2015. Now I feel stuck, which one next while I'm still fit and able enough to have a go?

I always fancied hiking the GR5 but for some unknown reason, I'm just not motivated about the idea now.

I've never done it before but would I enjoy a cycling trip, I just can't decide if I would? The most obvious route for me would be to cycle/camp from Caen to La Rochelle on the 'Le Vello Francette.'

At the moment I'm also thinking about the possibility of taking my car, parking it and then hiking a long circular route? If anyone can recommend one (and a safe parking slot) I'd be very interested. The choice of GR routes on www.gr-infos. com which I normally use to decide is a bit mind-boggling, there is just so much choice.

I've always wanted to canoe camp but have never learned to swim, but it's still an option, even though my wife says it isn't! Some of the rivers I've walked alongside in France always look so great. This could be a car option trip as well.

Oh well, something to get my teeth into over the Bank Holiday weekend.

ninthace

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #1 on: 20:25:42, 24/05/19 »
Have you considered the Auvergne?  For example the Chaine des Puys - a 111km circular walk.
Vide: https://www.gr-infos.com/en/gr441.htm
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Slowcoach

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #2 on: 20:45:29, 24/05/19 »
Paris to the Mont St. Michel?
It's all uphill from here.

jimbob

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #3 on: 20:54:35, 24/05/19 »
There us a great book by Edward Enfield called I think Downhill All The Way where he cycles from Le Havre to the Med following a canal path.

I have it in my mind to actually walk that one day. French municipal camp sites abound and, are as far as I have experienced,  great.
I am sure the book is still In print and probably also digitalise-ated.
Too little, too late, too bad......

bricam2096

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #4 on: 21:38:16, 24/05/19 »
There us a great book by Edward Enfield called I think Downhill All The Way where he cycles from Le Havre to the Med following a canal path.

I have it in my mind to actually walk that one day. French municipal camp sites abound and, are as far as I have experienced,  great.
I am sure the book is still In print and probably also digitalise-ated.

It's on Amazon as a Kindle book for £3.83 or £2.94 as a used book includes postage. The cycle is from La Manche to the Med. I assume it'll be on ebay as well.
LDWs done - 32 in total including 16 National Trails and 3 C2C

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gunwharfman

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #5 on: 16:01:12, 25/05/19 »
I've just looked at the Chaine du Puys, thanks Ninthace that looks promising. I've been to the area before many years ago, I'll give it a serious look!

I keep thinking about cycling but I'm just not sure of its benefits to me, like a car it seems to me, so easy to whizz past everything, I like the world of 'slow motion' walking, it's more intimate I think.

Slowcoach

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #6 on: 18:15:07, 25/05/19 »
The benefits of a bike are ... gravity does the work downhill so feet up and take a breather plus if you want to take detour just to be nosy it doesn’t take as long.
It's all uphill from here.

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #7 on: 23:01:46, 25/05/19 »
In 1990 I spent a couple of weeks around La Grave and Villar D’Arene in the Dauphine region of France. I walked on the GR54 and to some summits in the area. I did some wild camping near the river between the two villages, stayed in a couple of mountain refuges (Refuge De L’Alpe and Refuge Du Pave). I reached above 3000 metres and would have attempted La Barre Des Ecrins (4000+ metres) except an accident on a glacier attempting to cross the Col Du Clot Des Cavales made me think better of walking so high by myself. Some of the walks are linear, but there are circular walks as well. You can go very high or stay lower. There were very few Brits in the area, as they all go to Chamonix. I saw plenty of marmots and a few chamois. Perhaps this might be an interesting new area for you. Looking at Google Earth, it appears that the glacier I had my fall on has almost disappeared and that would make a crossing of the col much easier than when I tried.

gunwharfman

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #8 on: 19:59:24, 26/05/19 »
I tried a cycle day out, both on road and off road, I think it finally proved to myself that it's not really for me. Too much like me in a car, I go past everything too quickly.

I've been looking at various options, one of which seems to be just up my street. I can fly to Bordeaux for about £30 in the first two weeks of June and about the same cost back. Just my luck if I go back to book the prices will have gone up. I haven't had a chance to check other airports yet, Claremont Ferrand, Toulouse and so on.

A couple of blokes I know would be willing to share my car to get to an agreed destination but they cycle and my Picasso is not equipped to carry such things. Although my car is a 7 seater I could not get the bikes inside and they do not have the gadgetry to fit them onto the back of my car, or on the roof rack. If I can find hikers to share, the car could become a real option for all of us to get to a destination, park and then all of us can go in whatever direction we want to. We would just have to make an agreement to get back to the car in 14 days.

I've looked closely at the Puy du Dome circular hike, it certainly fits the sort of hiking that I like to do. By the time I make the decision to go or not, it will all depend I know on travel costs, time to get there and the ease of getting to the hike starting point. As I've got older the hours of travelling to and from a destination has no real pleasure for me any more.

Making plans is not really my thing, I prefer to just make the decision and go, less complicated that way.




ninthace

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #9 on: 22:35:55, 26/05/19 »
Ryanair: Stansted to Clermont Ferrand 7 Jun €21 one way at present.  Would cost you more to get the Stansted though.
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gunwharfman

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #10 on: 10:37:41, 27/05/19 »
Thanks, Ninthace, you are always ahead of me. I prefer to fly out from Gatwick but Stanstead would be a good enough second choice, for me, Heathrow is the worst, getting there from Portsmouth is a chore!

pdstsp

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #11 on: 10:09:56, 29/05/19 »
Hi GWM - I have done a short section of the GR5, from Evian to Chamonix, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I have also wlaked fairly extensively in and around Samoens in the Haut Savoie, though always from a fixed base and with a car to get out of the valley in the morning.  Loved both - Samoens is a lovely town with a couple of bars in the square and wonderful views.


One I have a hankering to try is walking round part of the Brittany coast - I suspect it would be tough like the SWCP, but great seafood and beer/cider and wine in the evenings.  May be relatively easy to access from your neck of the woods too.


Paul

ninthace

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #12 on: 13:13:20, 29/05/19 »
One I have a hankering to try is walking round part of the Brittany coast - I suspect it would be tough like the SWCP, but great seafood and beer/cider and wine in the evenings.  May be relatively easy to access from your neck of the woods too.


Paul


From the GR website it looks like if you had a yen to, you could do a coastal walk from Dunkirk as far as the Gironde.  Cross the ferry at Royan and it is pretty much beach from there to Biarritz.  https://www.gr-infos.com/gr-en.htm
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pdstsp

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #13 on: 14:01:51, 29/05/19 »

From the GR website it looks like if you had a yen to, you could do a coastal walk from Dunkirk as far as the Gironde.  Cross the ferry at Royan and it is pretty much beach from there to Biarritz.  https://www.gr-infos.com/gr-en.htm


Yes indeed, though I would prefer the Northern and Western Brittany coast - having visited the Gironde I am not overly keen to return.  But that Brittany coast line is wonderful, as is the food and drink.

ninthace

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Re: Hiking in France 2019
« Reply #14 on: 15:14:16, 29/05/19 »

Yes indeed, though I would prefer the Northern and Western Brittany coast - having visited the Gironde I am not overly keen to return.  But that Brittany coast line is wonderful, as is the food and drink.
I have a theory that you can work out how far round the coast you are by eating moules marinères.  Up the Normandy end they are heavy on butter and cream but the proportions change as you head west, the dairy percentage decreases and they get heavier on the wine and herbs.  Nothing finer with a crisp cool muscadet. Of course as you push on round the corner and start going south you are in seafood heaven.
And the crêpes, don't forget the crêpes, you can have them for main and dessert with, of course, with the mandatory bol de cidre (ou deux).
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