Our Pyrenees Big Trailie Tour is something we have wanted to do for a while now but something we wanted to do Sport Adventure style. In other words it had to be navigated by road book and it had to have a high ratio of off-road to road. That's not to say it is ridiculously hard, far from it. One of the factors that made designing the route so time consuming was finding enough tracks that were both all-weather and big-trailie friendly. For us the whole ethos of the big trailie is to be able to explore remote areas in a relaxed and comfortable manner. And for that reason we have purposely kept the distance and level of difficulty down and the level of food/ accommodation up.

 

The trip starts in the heart of the Bearn region of France at the casino / hotel were you gambled away the previous night. From  there you head quickly into the Pays Basque and climbing ever higher towards the Spanish border and your hotel for night. In total 45% off-road, the first day borrows about 30 kilometres of track from our enduro route and is potentially the most challenging. For those who want to take it easy there is, as always, a way around the problem

Crossing over into Spain on the second day, via a 1500 metre,  we exchange the lush green of the French Pay Basque for the drier, more rugged scenery of the Navarre. The ratio of off-road goes up to about 55% but the distance remains the same,  just under 200 kilometres. Your efforts will be rewarded with a night and evening meal in a luxury 4 star hotel.

Day 3 is the big one. A total of 240 kilometres  of which is off-road! Most of it is rolling but we couldnt resist a couple of short technical options just to keep on your toes, or at least up on the pegs. Once again the accommodation is as impressive as the scenery, with a night in a 4 star converted monastery back up in the mountains

The last day is the shortest and the most relaxing, a sort of holiday at the end of the holiday. You start with the most amazing 50 kilometre of perfect mountain tarmac that takes you over the Pyrenees to the town of St Jean Pied de Port. From there you head back up the mountains to a series of pistes that bring you back down to St Palais and a short run by road to your starting point

PHOTOS TAKEN DURING RECONNAISSANCE JULY 09

The Pyrenees mountains form an ever present backdrop

Cows remained totally unimpressed by Evans's antics

The Bardenas Desert - millions of years of erosion has created an extraordinary landscape.

On a big trailie the mountains are as much fun as the tracks. You just have to take care to avoid the roaming livestock and their 'legacy'.