|
Travel
Information
Season: Start any day January to May and September to December.
This tour is not available in June, July, August
– it gets very hot this time of year.
This walk is ideal for a winter, spring or autumn break. The skies in
this part of Spain are often clear when it is overcast elsewhere. The High
Pyrenees tends to draw away the worst of any bad weather, however in the
winter you can still, but rarely, find snow and cold conditions. In high
summer it can be uncomfortably hot for this tour, but summer is a good
time for our 'Summits to the Sea' walk in the neighbouring Catalan.
Arrival: Between
4p.m and 7p.m on Day 1.
First hotel: At St. Bernat, near Montseny.
Nearest Airport:
Barcelona (Del Prat).
End of Tour: After breakfast on day 8 in Barcelona.
Travel options from the UK:
Our
air package price from the UK includes Iberia or British Airways scheduled
flights from London to Barcelona. Cheaper
no frills flights to Barcelona are offered by Easyjet from Luton, Gatwick
or Stansted. There are also Ryan air flights from Stanstead to Girona;
this pretty city is another possible start point.
These low-cost flights can be combined with our land-only prices,
but you must book the flights directly with the airlines.
The timing, cost and availability of these low-cost flights may
change at short notice.
There
is a direct train service to
the terminal at Stansted Airport from Birmingham New Street via
Peterborough and Cambridge as well as a fast train service every 30
minutes from London Liverpool Street. Luton airport has a new station on
the Midland Mainline and Thameslink lines, served by trains from
Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester (Midland Mainline), as well as
by direct trains from London
(4 times an hour from Kings Cross Thameslink) and Brighton.
Barcelona
airport has its own train station and is linked by a half-hourly service
(journey time 35 minutes) with the main central station, which is called 'Sants'.
From Sants there is an hourly train service to the nearest station
to the starting point of the tour at San Celoni (journey time 1 hour).
Level of Difficulty
Fitness: The walk is best described as moderate; most people in a
reasonable state of fitness will find it well within their capabilities,
but remember that it can be very warm and sunny. You can have cold winds
blowing off the Pyrenees, so you should at least be prepared for
occasional cold weather.
Trails
can be overgrown in places from year to year. We would advise
that this trip is best enjoyed by the more adventurous type of
walker. You however, only have to carry a daypack.
Please
note that as in other parts of Spain, sudden building work can occur that
may affect the course of walking trails at fairly short notice.
Day stages: 4 to
6 hours walking per day and ascents-descents of 300 to 850m.
Waymarks: Parts of the route are waymarked well, for example in
Montserrat; in Montseny waymarking is more erratic and you will also need
to pay close attention to our route notes and the large-scale maps. We
would thus recommend that you have some ability in map interpretation.
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation
is in small hotels. Half
board (evening meal and breakfast) on 4 nights; bed and breakfast only on
the other 3 nights (i.e. on 2 nights in Barcelona and on 1 night in
Montserrat). Picnic lunches on walking days are not included in the tour
cost, but picnic materials can readily be bought in local shops or a
packed lunch ordered the night before from your accommodation.
Most
frequently used hotels are described below but alternatives are used on
occasion when room availability is limited.
q
Nights 1 & 2
Montseny: Renovated in
1998, the traditional, rustic buildings of this 3* hotel (pension) enjoy a
lovely rural setting in woodland typical of the Montseny National Park,
about 8km/5 miles from the town of Montseny.
All rooms have private en suite facilities. There are very stylish
wood panelled bar and lounge areas as well as extensive lawns for sipping
your Rioja. The regional cuisine is prepared here up to a high standard.
q
Night 3 Tagamenent: A
typical 'Casa de Pages', (i.e. a country guesthouse rather than a hotel)
this 'Masia' is a traditional farm building, restored and converted into
guest accommodation with 9 very well appointed rooms with en-suite
facilities. (There are some amazing views from some of the bath rooms) The
patron prepares some very fine Catalan home cooking with local grown
produce. The farm is situated amidst the wooded hills some 4km/2.5 miles
from the town of Figaro.
q
Nights 4 & 5
Montserrat: Situated within the old monastery complex, the interior of
the hotel has been refurbished from its original function as a pilgrims
residence to provide comfortable 3* accommodation at the centre of this
historic site. All rooms have private facilities. The stone clad
restaurant once again serves excellent food and wine.
q
Nights 6 & 7
Barcelona: In a simple and clean no-frills 3* hotel in the centre of
the city, located on the most popular place in Barcelona: Las Ramblas.
|
General information
Note:
Breakfast:
in countries such as Spain usually consists of coffee and toast/croissant,
if you want more for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some
food the night before. It is important for you to tell us if you have any
dietary requirements when you book your holiday
so that we can inform everyone that you are staying with.
Language:
Note
that you will not necessarily come across people speaking English.
Remember you have left home to find things different bring a phrase book,
try to learn a bit of Spanish!
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes your luggage will have been taken to
you room awaiting your arrival. However don’t be surprised if your
luggage is waiting for you to take it up to your room please politely ask
someone if you need assistance.
Outline
Itinerary
q
Day 1: Arrive
Montseny. If flying to Barcelona Del Prat airport take train from airport
train station to Barcelona Sants station (service every 30 minutes,
journey time 25 minutes) and train (journey time 50 minutes) to San Celoni.
Train fares not included in tour price.
Then road transfer (included in tour price) 17km from San Celoni
station to your hotel in the hills near Montseny.
q
Day 2: Various
options exist today, a stroll to the attractive hamlet of St, Marcal
perhaps, or our recommended option the ascent of Matagalls 1697m, or Les
Agudes 1700m. Walks can normally be shortened if there is snow on the
ground. There are normally great views from the summits, over to the
suburbs of Barcelona.
q
Day 3: Walk
across the La Calma mountain range from Montseny to Tagamanent (350m).
Easy rolling hillwalking across heathlands with extensive views at
intervals. The trail eventually drops and then rises up to the old church
ruins at Tagamanent, from where it winds down through oak and pine forest,
past the crags of the Cingles de Follo to our accommodation.
q
Day 4: Continue
walk from Tagamanent to the gorge and hermitage at San Miguel del Fai
(500m), via the impressive cliffs of Cingles de Berti and the old
Hermitage de Berti. There follows some interesting terraced limestone
scenery, before you wind into the “gorgeous scenery” around del Fai.
In the afternoon rendezvous with a taxi - road transfer (included in tour
price) to Montserrat.
q
Day 5: Circular
walk(s) in the Montserrat National Park. There are numerous marked trails,
many of them accessible by means of the two funicular railways leading up
from the monastery to Santa Cova and Sant Joan. One of the best walks is
from the monastery to San Jeroni 1200m, returning via Pla des Ocells
(5.5km, taking in Mont San Jeroni. 3 hours; add another hour if walking up
to Sant Joan). The walks on the various trails can be combined to fill a
day or more. The mountain top is dominated by sheer pinnacles of rock, all
sea and river deposits.
q
Day 6: Morning
visit to the monastery and shrine of the Black Virgin; (or there may be
time for another walk in the park). Morning
or afternoon departure by train to Barcelona and transfer to hotel. Train
and taxi fares not included in tour price.
q
Day 7: Free in
Barcelona. The chance you have been waiting for to see those
“wonderful” buildings by Gaudi, including the Sagrada Familia. Or just
soak up the atmosphere of this exciting city.
q
Day 8: Depart
from Barcelona. Train every 30 minutes from Barcelona Sants station to the
airport; journey time 25 minutes.
Included in the tour price
Flights
from UK (if booked full package), 7 nights accommodation with breakfast, 4
evening meals, transfers of baggage on days 3 and 4, transfers of clients
on day 1 (San Celoni to Montseny) and day 4 (San Miguel del Frai to
Montserrat), maps, route notes, local rail timetables, other local
information.
Not included
3
evening meals (1 night in Montserrat and 2 in Barcelona),
all lunches, transfers on Days 1, 6 and 8. The transfers by train from
Barcelona to San Celoni (day 1) and from Montserrat to Barcelona (day 6)
will cost about £20 per person. Taxi/train fares from and to Barcelona
airport are also not included in the tour price.
|
