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My guide and intrepid umbrella man.

An authentic French experience in the Auberge du Bois.

Wine tasting at the fire side with Minette Constant at Béthouzet.

A carefully picked picnic site with a view of the Pyren-ankles.

James and Diana source the most authentic ingredients.

Diana’s picnics were always a welcome sight.

A selection of local cheese and “fromage” des quince.

The sturdy Basque ponies resemble the Basques in so many ways.

On the look out for customs officers on the border between France and Spain.

Men sporting Basque berets in the col de Nive.

I have just returned from a week’ walking in the French Basque county, if there is such a thing as French Basque, with James and Diana Tamlyn.

Enthusiastic francophiles, James and Diana moved out to France in 1994 and have found that conducting their own brand of walking holidays is the perfect outlet for their love of France and in particular the food, wine and landscape. I found their knowledge of this particular trinity to be much deeper that the average francophile.

It is safe to say I have never been on a walking holiday quite like it. James casts himself in the role of eccentric Englishman abroad and more specifically on safari. There were no wild animals but wherever he pointed his brolly I would follow.

Their unique approach is to recreate the intimate atmosphere of an extended dinner party and have hence named their company the Walking Party. At no time did it feel formal or organised – although I am certain it was – and I came away feeling I had known James and Diana and the other six, Australian, guests since birth

http://www.thewalkingparty.co.uk

Auberge de Bois

The emphasis is firmly on La Belle Vie but James and Diana are anxious that travelling in France should not be a spectator sport where the tourist merely looks on. Therefore on  the first night we were bussed to the Auberge de Bois near Saveterre-de-Béarn – best described as a hunters’ cafe. When we entered the only other diner scowled to the point that his mono brow merged with the top of his thick framed glasses. Man and spectacles were one.

It was the kind of place where everyone is served at long tables and all the crockery and cutlery you will need is piled up neatly before you. The crockery was almost translucent and the cutlery somewhat lightweight.

The, first course, was a tasty vegetable broth served from a steel basin until I could eat no more. There was a chacuterie, roast chicken and frites and then slices of the local Ossau-Iraty cheese. Dessert was a selection of cornettos offered round in a basket. The wine was Corbiere and came in a plastic bottle with a plastic cap that you flick out with your thumb without the delay involved with using a corkscrew. It was more Chateau 3pm Yesterday than a Chateau Y’qem 1959.

Part of the experience was the TV on the wall. Inevitably the conversation would grind to a halt every time Barcelona scored another goal.

Wine Tasting with Minette Constant

The antithesis of this experience was a wine tasting with master of wine Minette Constant in the creaky elegance of Béthouzet, an isolated manoir built in the reign of Louis XV.

An accentless Scot and platinum blonde, Minette led us through seven wines from the south-west. My favourite was a toasty dry white from the Domaine Berthoumeiu -“Les Pierres de Grés” 2012. Wine tastings are ripe for faux-pas. My faux-pas was to declare that one wine reminded me most specifically of the bubble mixture I used to purchase on a seaside holiday for the purposes of blowing bubbles. “I think your nose is being influenced by the odours from the from the log fire,” was Minette’s diplomatic response.

The damage was done however and for seven amateur wine tasters not inclined to use the spitoons the scents of domestic cleaning products were added to our limited wine-vocabulary.

http://www.tastevindumonde.com

http://www.bethouzet.com

Picnics

James and Diana have taken a great deal of care to select picnic spots that are out of the ordinary. The first was in a field under a spreading oak while another was on sloping ground with a clear view over the foothills (Pyren-ankles) of the Pyrenees into Spain (sorry Navarre).

Diana’s carefully prepared picnics featured fresh asparagus, local sausage, lentil salads and cured Basque ham cut from the leg by James. A completely new one on me was truite de Banka (pronounced bonka) – farmed in a natural circumstances as possible the dense pink flesh is testament to the exercise the fish enjoy swimming against the artificially induced currents. It is the trout favoured by the likes of Alain Ducasse.

Borders

I have not yet touched on the walking aspect of the trip. There were many walks and the highlight of the week for me was a walk from near Sare in France, where we were based, to Berra, in Spain. Following the path of contrabandiers (smugglers) with moved through the head height broom and gorse with no stealth whatsoever to the col de Nive or Lepoz Lepo. Even today I am told it is worth crossing the border for cheap fags, drink and petrol.

The border was patrolled by sturdy Basque ponies known as potok. The frontier is, however, only celebrated in the legal mind and not in any sense by the Basques who welcomed us to Navarre rather than Spain.

It was a week of crossing borders and I had to mindful of the small differences between the Béarnais, the Soulais and the Basque. The only one I can actively recall was that as we entered the Basque the shutters on the windows were the deep red of bulls blood.

The Lycian Way is Turkey’s first Long Distance footpath and you should allow at least three weeks to a month to complete the whole 540-kilometre (335-miles) long trail. At several points it reaches an altitude of more than 1500-metres. The more common approach is to tackle short sections.

I travelled with Exclusive Escapes (www.exclusive-escapes.co.uk ) who organised the guide and flights between London Stansted (private terminal) and Dalaman and my stay at the Deniz Feneri lighthouse, Kas and Beyaz Yunus, Olu Deniz.

Easyjet fly from Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester, Gatwick and Stansted – from £18 one-way www.easyjet.com . Monarch fly to Anatyla and Dalaman from Gatwick, Luton, East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester – from around £55 one way www.monarch.co.uk

Further info: The Lycian Way by Kate Clow (ISBN 9780953921867; £15.99); www.cultureroutesinturkey.com )

The Lycian Way is Turkey’s first long distance footpath. It follows the coast between Ovacik near the popular resort of Olu Deniz and Anatalya. It is 540-kiolmetres along and would take around one month to complete. I undertook four short sections with Exclusive Escapes.

Who were the Lycians? The Lycian Way takes its name from an enigmatic and ancient people who lived along this section of the eastern Mediterranean coast now known as the Tekke peninsula between 1500 and 3000 years ago. They went to a great deal of trouble when burying their dead. The columns hewn from the rock is evidence of a “House” tomb overlooking the bay at Liman Agzi near Kas.

The first day from Olu Deniz involves a long climb. The shallow blue lagoons of Olu Deniz are however always in sight. The only downside was that I longed for a swim in the sea below. The route climbs around Baba Dag (1989-metres)

Many people living in the mountains serve food and drink to walkers and for them the Lycian Way is a boon. Generally the food is a simple pancake filled with wild herbs and a Feta-like cheese with the option of adding pomegranate juice. Mountain people tend to be more traditional so make a point of being very respectful.

Ayran – yoghurt whipped with water and chilled is very refreshing.

Concentrating the pomegranate and grape juice – no alcohol!

I wasn’t roughing it. This was my first hotel base, the Beyaz Yunus overlooking Olu Deniz. I had my own private pool and terrace.

The pool room terrace at Beyaz Yunus. Perfect for relaxing with a gin and tonic and watching the sun go down over the eastern Mediterranean.

Sunset

There are signposts but mostly the route is marked using the French convention of red and white bars and arrows. Care did have to be taken when route finding as the maps are not great and markings can be easily missed.

Water is the number one concern en route. It is very hot in the summer and it is easy to become dangerously dehydrated. There are wells. Never drink from one where the roof is missing and you will need to carry an cup or bottle that can be lowered on a rope. Many farmhouses will sell you bottled water.

This little guy was almost trampled under our feet. Keep your wits about you and check for snakes behind logs and rocks before sitting down. If you take your boots off give them a shake before you put them back on – there could be a scorpion lurking.

Casual encounters with ancient history. My guide Turgut is relaxing on the steps of a temple in the ancient Lycian city of Aperlae. It is slowing sinking into the sea and we walked out on the mosaic floor into the sea for a swim. Aperlae was famous for the production of purple die which was extracted from mollusc shells. it was a highly sought after commodity. Aperlae was raided regularly and suffered many earthquakes. Much of the ancient city walls are however still standing. It can only be reached by boat or on foot.

On every bend of a path that snaked down to Aperlae I encountered a large stone sarcophagus. The 2000 maybe 3000 year old tombs are set on a plinth and were made up of a box hewn from a single piece of stone topped by weighty looking roof carved to resemble an upturned hull. Long since robbed the tomb was empty. Turgut explained that the Lycians believed in a second life and the cavity would have been filled with money and other useful items. A bottle containing the mourners’ tears was also placed inside to give refreshment in the next life.

Yoruk’s Fisherman’s Inn near Aperlae. A business that has grown out of yachting and the needs of walkers on the Lycian Way.

Yoruk

Lunch at Yoruk’s. Sea bass caught from the pier, fresh tomato salad and lots of chips. All of which was cooked over an open fire.

Hotel base number two. The Deniz Feneri Lighthouse near Kas. A stay here includes a Turkish bath.

Much of the walking is on the coast. The soft limestone is readily eroded by the sea and sure-footedness is required when negotiating rock eroded by the sea into sharp fins.

The Lycian Way is drawing an international set. The Sunday Times rate it as one of the best walks in the world.

The aqueduct at Kalkan which fed the Lycian capital of Patara – no ropes, no guide, no information boards – the antiquity is just as you find it.

High Street, Patara. Turkey has so much antiquity is doesn’t quite know what to do with it all.

What did the Lycians ever do for us? The amphitheatre at Patara. Again there were no barriers to close inspection and I was free to the climb the steps to the top of the amphitheatre. Turgut assured me that the civilised Lycians performed only plays but soon after the Romans arrived in AD43 it was converted for gladiatorial combat. The Lycian legacy was democracy and in Patara, in the second century BC the Lycians established the Lycian league. Each city in Lycia sent one or two elected representatives to sit in the assembly hall in Patara, a building that still stands and claims to be world’s first democratic parliament. It was also an important port and Saint Paul stopped off regularly on his Mediterranean peregrinations.

A day off from walking. A kayak visit to the island of Kekova from the town of Ucagiz. Byzantine ruins and a sunken city that was once a Roman port and shipyard.

A Turkish Gulet floats in the bay at Liman Agzi. Great place to stop for a swim and lunch.

Got to do it.

A chambres d’hotes full of bric-a-brac? Les Petites Vosges manages to stay the right side of cliché

Les Petites Vosges in red is a landmark in the snow.

Chantal Estela Lacene – the artistic flair and owner of the Les Petites Vosges.

Lots of personal touches – bathroom Botero.

The spacious Botero room.

Les Petites Vosges

17 boulevard Carnot

65200 Bagneres-de-Bigorre

 Tel(Fr): 5 62 91 55 30

www.lespetitesvosges.com

 Bagneres-de-Bigorre was once a fashionable spa resort that thrived in second half of 19th century and the early 20th century. Then bathing in the town’s health restoring thermal waters was in vogue and visiting curistes would stay in formal hotels and spend the afternoons promenading sedately on the leafy Allées des Coustous.

Times have changed but the appeal of the thermal springs remains and nowadays visitors include walkers and skiers who come to Bagneres to soothe away their aches in the town’s new cathedral-like Aquensis thermal spa.

Catching the new wave of interest that Aquensis has brought to the town is the boutique chambres d’hotes, Les Petites Vosges.

Deep red walls, bold green shutters and adorned with climbing roses Les Petites Vosges is a local landmark. Such a brave colour statement is the work of owner Chantal Estela Lacene and it is her artistic flair that also gives the interior its personality.

 The residents’ lounge, the salon de thé and breakfasting room and the four bedrooms have all been tastefully decorated with an eclectic collection of olden days bric-a-brac salvaged from schools and dressmakers.

Some would say this approach has become passé but Chantal carries it off well and she is helped in part by a building which is, in trying to fully occupy an awkward corner site, one made up of many quirky dimensions.

My room, named after the Columbian artist Botero, was on the first and second floors. On the first floor was a large and unusually shaped bedroom that had at least two aspects. Up another flight of stairs and tucked into the roof space was a cosy snug in which to nap or read. Despite being close to the centre of the town and filling its corner site there is a surprising amount of outdoor space with a terrace either side of the front door and a south facing one on the roof.

Double room with breakfast from €85

Madame Laserre’s speciality – Les Merveilleux (front and centre)

The Hotel Lion d’Or is an old family owned hotel that makes a virtue of a spare mountain aesthetic.

Lion d’Or’s neo-classical facade

Hotel Lion d’Or

12 rue Richelieu

65110 Cauterets

Tel(Fr): 5 62 92 52 87

www.hotel-cauterets.fr

Cauterets high in the Pyrenees south of Lourdes, is a spa and ski resort that witnessed the birth of French tourism. From the very earliest days, Cauterets was sought out for the apparently health giving properties of its thermal waters. More recently it has developed into an intimate ski station with a reputation for reliable snow.

The Hotel Lion d’Or is a family hotel in Cauterets that was established 100 years ago and while it has evolved with the resort it has also chosen to keep many things the same.

For instance the Lion d’Or is one of those increasingly rare hotels that serves a fixed dinner menu to all its guests at 7:30pm. Such an arrangement is an opportunity for guests to exchange pleasantries over an aperitif and for Thomas, the most recent of generation of the Lasserre family to run the hotel, to get to know his guests.

Meanwhile Thomas’ mother prepares traditional Pyrenean food that is simple yet intriguing. On my visit I enjoyed a meal that included locally produced foies gras, black pudding and goats cheese. At breakfast Madame Lasserre’s speciality is merveilleux – sweet little pastry pillows.

Despite the hotel being in a constant state of barely discernible renovation the Lasserre family have chosen to retain many original features. Large converted oil lamps hang over the dining room and a large brass coffee maker that resembles a part from a Jules Verne time machine still sits behind the bar.

Mostly the continuity is in the careful preservation of the mountain aesthetic. The Lion d’Or is comfortable but the rooms, which are reached via a tightly wound wooden staircase are unfussy and simply furnished. The light fittings are in brass and the telephone a wonderful working antique.

Deliberately old-fashioned, lace covers the table-tops and the lampshades. The floors are bare and just a little creaky. The modern and spacious bathrooms do not however conform to the Spartan tone and are everything you would expect.

Space is tight in Cauterets and the rooms to the front are directly above a very narrow street. It is so narrow that it is difficult to properly take in the hotel’s elegant three-storey neo-classical façade. Most windows opening onto the street are full height and each has a cast iron guard.

Such a central position means that it is 50-metres from Cauteret’s Bains de Rocher thermal spa and a short walk from the main ski lift – important when you are wearing ski-boots.

Half board from €107 per person per night.

The Western Front: cycling Europe’s war wound

The Western Front: cycling Europe’s war wound.

Tel: (Fr) 3 29 50 48 81

www.museumotel.com

Bubble doubles from: €103 ( breakfast included)

My bubble tied with a ribbon to celebrate Easter

Reception

View from reception

Breakfasting room

Completely out of character with their host town of Raon l’Etape in Lorraine the individual “bubbles” that make-up the Museumotel defy easy definition. Designed by architect Pascal Hausermann – in the psychedelic haze that was the late sixties – the individual pods resemble piggy banks or snout-less alien creatures. Indeed if it were possible to grow houses this is how they might look.

With no square edges anywhere and cast in concrete the bedrooms have feel of a cave. The colourful décor and whacky lighting however evoke the happy thoughts of the Summer of Love.

Each of the large almost elliptical windows look out over the stream that isolates these fantastic creations from the rather more mundane world that surrounds them.