Pilgrim's Progress – Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK

There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met

Attrib to William Butler Yeats

I couldn’t set off much before 10am as the chap I was due to return the gite keys to had a doctor’s appointment early in the morning so the owner of the gite, who lived in Belgium, informed me by SMS!

So I wandered over to the holiday complex (La Domaine des Garrigues) for a spot of breakfast.

With the shimmering swimming pool reflecting the surrounding hills and the coconut husk pool parasols giving the place an exotic soupçon of a remote island paradise somewhere in French Polynesia, I was sorely  tempted to throw in the towel and spend a week or so lounging by the pool drinking cold beers and watching the world go by!

After a croissant, baguette and a bowl of cereal had assuaged my hunger for a week of pool lounging indolence and I’d returned to the gite to return the keys to the caretaker, I headed off towards Les Vans.

No sooner had I shut the gite door than I bumped into another walker with a backpack heading to Les Vans. Oh frabjous day, calloo callay!

His name was Christophe. Originally from Alsace Lorraine he was based in Brest and had quit his job as a video games developer to spend six months walking the ‘Hexatrek’.

What, I hear you ask, is the ‘Hexatrek’? Well, the ‘Hexatrek’ makes my attempt to walk across ‘the Hexagon’ look like a teddy bear’s picnic!

Created in 2022, the Hexatrek is a series of long distance footpaths that stretch across France from the Vosges to the Pyrenees. The trail goes across the highest mountain regions of the country, often referred to as “l’Hexagone” due to France’s hexagonal shape.

So apparently I was, unbeknownst to me, on a stretch of the Hexatrek. Christophe had downloaded an app which allowed him to access the best spots to wild camp each day on the Hexatrek route. Apparently 600-800 hikers attempt this epic trek each year! Which makes my effort look curiously irrelevant!

Anyways it was good to shoot the breeze with another long distance hiker for a few hours. I take my hat off to Christophe who was intent on wild camping every night and only ate on the hoof when he came across shops or supermarkets where he could reprovision. What was more, he was walking 35-50km a day. I felt ashamed to admit that I’d cut my daily walking down to 20-25km due to the prevailing heatwave which shows no signs of abating – it was 36C at 3.30pm this afternoon in Les Vans!

There were some spectacular views of the Ardèche Gorges during the walk to Les Vans. I felt sorry to leave Christophe after a great couple of hours chatting to a kindred spirit. Apparently he had bumped into loads of other intrepid Hexatrekkers over the last few months.

Having arrived in Les Vans at 1pm, I didn’t get access to my accommodatiom until 5pm! My host had been out hiking for the day. With the afternoon temperature hitting 36C I wasn’t complaining unduly. I had a three bedroom house to myself, shared only with an aging cat called Luna!