A Taste of the French Pyrenees Gentle guided walks, natural history, local traditions, spa baths and Pays Toy cuisine... View from the Pic du Midi Dates 14 - 21 June, 23 - 30 August 2008 Led by Jude Lock and Peter Derbyshire with help from local guides. Accommodation is at the excellent ***Hotel Montaigu Luz St Sauveur, all rooms en-suite with superb mountain views, the hotel has a garden, terrace, large bar and restaurant. 7 nights half-board. The family run Hotel Montaigu has a fabulous quiet location beneath the castle and offers a very warm welcome. Cost of £595 includes hotel as above- 5 days of outings: 3 days guided walks, Pic du Midi visit (cable car and entry included), AOC Bareges / Gavarnie day with farmer followed by meal at Chez Louisette (meal and wine included). Single supplements of £110 apply. We have negotiated a discount weekly pass for entry to Luzea. All local transport included. Travel to and from the Pyrenees is not included but we can collect from Lourdes railway station (TGV trains from Paris) and our local airport of Pau (RyanAir flights from Stansted). Further travel suggestions can be found on our website. During these guided weeks we will take you to our favourite places, often off the beaten the track, where you can savour the dramatic scenery and discover the rich natural history of the Hautes Pyrenees. Two days will be devoted to the local history and traditions of our local area, the Pays Toy, with every opportunity to enjoy the local Pyrenean cuisine... There will be time to relax each evening in the wonderful Luzea Spa Baths. In a magnificent C19th neo-classical building Luzea offers saunas, jacuzzis, Roman baths, oriental hamman and relaxation pools. For the guided walking days much of the week will be spent within the Parc National des Pyrenees. We will visit the World Heritage site of the Cirque de Gavarnie, and Pont d'Espagne, both magical places of high peaks, crashing waterfalls and rushing streams- a grandiose landscapes carpeted with alpine flowers. Our itineraries will be arranged around the desires of the participants. All walking will be very gentle with plenty of time for observation and photography. Easy road access into the high mountains allows us to spend whole days at high altitudes without any climbing! We will explain the vibrant, abundant and incredibly diverse fauna and flora to be found locally. A real taste of the Pyrenees with a little local history and cuisine... a day will be spent discovering the lifestyle and traditions that accompany mountain sheep-farming and which have so shaped the local landscape. We will meet with a local farmer to understand the life of the bergers and why our famous AOC Bareges Gavarnie lamb (unique in Europe) is so good! We will then of course go on to taste this fabulous product at Chez Louisette in Bareges. There will be a visit to the famous Pic du Midi Observatory, at nearly ten thousand feet it offers an unforgettable panorama over the Pyrenees and a fifth of France! It has been a working observatory since the 1850's Your holiday base is the historic village of Luz St Sauveur in the Pays Toy, Luz is a lively little village set in an area of great natural beauty. You must visit the C12th fortified Eglise des Templiers, the C9th castle and the weekly market. 2008 marks our 21st anniversary in the Pyrenees, do come and celebrate with us! photo credits- Pic du Midi Mick Lown, farmer Crampe Patrick Boillaud Cirque de Gavarnie Iris in the mountains Lac de Gaube at Pont d'Espagne Farmer Crampe at his farm above Bareges Jacuzzi at Luzea spa Contact Peter or Jude Tel: 0033 562 926 895 Fax: 0033 562 928 343 e-mail: mailto:peter@borderlinehols.com%20