We started from the picturesque village of Etsaut, centre for the study of the Pyrenean Brown Bears, and ascended through a wooded gorge and then along a narrow, exposed rocky path with spectacular views. As we gained altitude, the weather quickly changed from sunny to cold, windy, mist and rain. This first day proved to be one of our longest walks, climbing over 1600m across some very steep terrain and poorly marked paths. Upon reaching the top we had a short descent to the Refuge D’Ayous, our spartan communal shelter for the night.

Following a breakfast of rock-hard bread, which was to become our staple diet for the duration of the walk, we donned our still-wet waterproofs and set off downhill, passing waterfalls and woodlands before making another steep climb to the Refuge de Pombie, situated at 2032m. The highlights of the day included meeting eccentric local shepherds - dressed like cowboys - and being surrounded by hundreds of sheep with bells round their necks! Further on in our walk we saw a herd of the usually shy Chamois grazing on the hillside below.

The following morning, breaks in the cloud revealed craggy peaks decorated by a rainbow. We descended to the Spanish border from where we drove to Cauterets for a comfortable night relaxing and sampling the local wine.

The improvement in the weather was confirmed as we climbed gently from Cauterets, passing woodlands and spectacular waterfalls to reach Refuge Du Clot. Enjoying the sunshine, we detoured to view the Vignemale Glacier from Lac de Gaube - truly spectacular.

Day six commenced hot and sunny as we began the climb which would take us to the highest point of our walk. Halfway up the climb we arrived at the beautiful Lac de L’Ambourrat where several members of the group felt the urge to cool off in the freezing cold water! We then tackled the final steep climb to 2429m before a knee-shattering descent to Refuge de Wallon.

The next day involved a gentle decent from Wallon to Pont D’ Espagne and then on to the small Basque village of Larceveau in the foothills of the Pyrenees Atlantiques, our base for the final day, which was spent exploring the local culture.