Off the Beaten Track Walking Holidays

FRANCE

Beaujolais - Medieval village tour

7 nights - 6 days walking between guest houses

5 nights - 4 days walking between guest houses

This independent walking holiday involves fairly gentle walking through vines and a collection of unspoilt historic villages built from a warm golden limestone set in panoramic rolling countrside. Historic chateaux, churches and country houses pepper the landscape. Gastronomic region and B&B's full of charm and character.

High Beaujolais Hills

7 nights - 6 days walking between guest houses

A circular walking trail through the quiet und undiscovered Beaujolais hills which sit above the famous vineyards. Secret valleys little changed for centuries with vibrant green pasture in a patchwork of fields, lead to sturdy summits and ridges some cloaked in forest, others offering panoramic trails. Great Beaujolais hospitality in guest houses full of charm and character.

Beaujolais Discovery

7 nights - Multi-centre based, guided walking holiday

This moderate guided walking holiday explores not only the famous vineyards but also the little known regions of great beauty that lie beyond. Rolling hills and historic villages are in perfect harmony in this quiet French region where you'll have the paths all to yourselves.

Lyon's Beautiful Secluded Hills

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5 or 7 nights - 4 or 6 days walking between guest houses

The Mont Lyonnais are a series of beautiful rolling hills rising to the west of Lyon, France’s second city. Less well-known than the neighbouring Beaujolais hills, this hidden country is a picturesque rural scene with a patchwork of lush grazing land, cherry orchards and forested tops. Choose between a self-guided 6-day traverse or a 4-day circular walking trail to discover these inviting, off the beaten track hills.

Beautiful Brionnais: Secret Hills of Burgundy

7 nights - 6 days walking between guest houses

A circular walking trail through the secret region of Brionnais in the Burgundy, France. A patchwork of fields in secluded valleys and ridges with vast panoramic views towards the Loire Valley or the hills of the Beaujolais. It also has fine architecture to rival some of the more popular parts of Burgundy. Delightful villages such as Semur-en-Brionnais decorated with lovely floral displays harbour remarkable churches, abbeys and chateaux.

Brionnais Explorer

7 nights - 6 days centre-based walking staying in two guest houses

A centre-based self-guided walking holiday in the Brionnais staying in two beautiful guest houses. Discover the secret French region of Brionnais in the Burgundy at your own leisure. A patchwork of fields in a preserved landscape of secluded valleys and panoramic ridges, as well as delightful villages such as Semur-en-Brionnais harbouring remarkable churches, abbeys and chateaux.

Quieter Side of Dordogne: Villages of Correze

5 or 7 nights - 4 or 6 days independent walking between guest houses

On the edge of the Massif Central in France lies a beautiful undulating countryside of green pasture, forest and vines where pretty villages adorn the ridges and hilltops. The Correze is not as well known as the more frequented parts of Dordogne, but the villages have a varied character and charm, set in a countryside which changes with the geology. Your self guided walking holiday passes through the historic villages of Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge and Curement all of which are classed as some of the prettiest villages in France.

Tranquil Auvergne Trail

7 nights - 6 days walking between guest houses

Starting and finishing at Puy en Velay, the world heritage town, this independent walking holiday explores an upland plateau landscape in the southern Auvergne punctuated with intimate valleys and volcanic domes (sucs.) You'll stay in small historic properties often located in small forgotten hamlets built of sturdy stone and thatched houses.

Cevennes to Provence: Saint Guilhem's Trail

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9 nights - 8 days walking between hotels & guest houses

This is a pilgrimage trail which passes through an amazing variety of landscapes in the southern Massif Central as you head south through the Cevennes. Discover the Tarn and Jonte Gorges, the Navacelles Cirque and the historic villages of Saint Enimie and Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert. With wild, rugged mountains and picturesque historic villages this independent walking holiday is ideal for those walkers looking to get off the beaten track.

Secret Provence: Tour of the Baronnies

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7 nights - 6 days independent walking between guest houses

Les Baronnies is a secret and unspoilt corner of France where the Alps meet the Provence with beautiful historic villages clinging to rocky mountain sides decorated in purple lavender flowers. Quiet walking trails through delightful and changing countryside bathe in a wonderful light.

Les Baronnies: Secret Provence

7 nights - two-centre based, guided walking holiday

This guided walking holiday explores a quiet unspoilt region where the Provence meet the Alps, which at the end of June is at a time when the lavender is in flower. Wonderful perched villages, beautiful landscapes bathed in an amazing light, great climate.

Travels through Baronnies Regional Park

7 nights - first part of a long distance walking holiday across southern France

This self-guided walking holiday is the first leg of a unique trek which crosses Alpine Provence from Nyons near the Rhone Valley to Grasse in the foothills above Cannes. This spectacular trip takes you through some wonderful mountain scenery where the Alps meet Provence. The first part of this trail discovers the beautiful Baronnies Regional Park.

Pyrenees Balcony Trail: Azun Valley

6 nights - 6 days independent walking between hotel on 3 days, and 3 day walks

This self-guided walking holiday explores a beautiful part of the central Pyrenees mountains in France. Your walking tour takes you up onto the sides of the delightful and luminous Azun Valley where you’ll marvel at the wonderful panoramas and the well preserved mountain villages. Four of the days have both moderate and more challenging walking options to suit different abilities and as the week progresses you’ll enter the stunning high mountains of the Pyrenees National Park.

Grand Tour of Ubaye: 3 Regions Tour

8 nights - 8 days walking between gites and refuges

The Grand Tour of the Ubaye is a circular walking trail through a hidden corner of the French Alps. This off the beaten track alpine trek takes you through some magnificent landscapes with beautiful alpine summits, serene mountain lakes and traditional alpine hamlets.

Panoramic Vercors

6 or 8 nights - 5 or 7 days walking between guest houses

The Vercors is a magical place where gleaming rock faces meet wild and desolate plateaux. The main summits are to be found on a ridge running along its eastern edge, the centre piece being Mont Aiguille, an awesome rock tower cast off from the main cliffs. Your traverse will follow this edge from above and below in the most scenic part of the Vercors with amazing panoramic views of the alpine chain.

Tour of Mont Aiguille

5 nights - 4 days walking - mix of day walks and walking between guest houses

This self guided walking holiday in the Vercors takes a short tour around the mythical mountain called Mont Aiguille, which provides some of the most cherished views in the Alps. This rock tower is central to a beautiful area in the French Alps made up of deep gorges and canyons, gigantic cliffs several hundred metres high and rocky plateaux. You'll also have the chance to summit the highest peak in the Vercors - Grand Veymont at 2341m.

Great Britain

Wonders of Wessex Walk: Salisbury to Shaftesbury

7 nights - 6 days walking between guest houses (also available in 5 & 6 night version)

This is a wonderful and unique tour from the historic cathedral city of Salisbury through quintessential English countryside of meadows and chalk downs to reach the Saxon hill top town of Shaftesbury. You'll pass through quaint villages and ancient sites steeped in history and legend, from tales of Alfred the Great and King Canute to the world famous Neolithic encampment at Stonehenge.