Walking Holiday in the Southwest Pyrenees

Starting at Prats de Mollo, high in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the walk finishes at Collioure on the Mediterranean. This is a mountain walk, so it is an active holiday with some steep, rocky paths and one or two strenuous days.

You walk through the pine forests to come out into ancient beech woods and then along old turf tracks with huge vistas down towards the Camargue on your left and over the hazy heat of Spain on your right.

Flowers abound on the hillsides where dark eyed cows roam. And you are reminded of this region's warlike past by the watchtowers set high on the hills to scan for enemies. This was, after all, a vital link between Spain and France, where armies from Hannibal to Napoleon have marched.

The Pyrenees now drop down to the sea at Banyuls and, along the way, you stay at ancient fortified towns or pleasant spas beside the glass-clear river tech as it leaps down from the mountain.

You will be staying in pleasant 2 or 3 star hotels and each evening the manager will be on hand to provide you with a description of the following day's walk.