The Tour of the Queyras

Alan has trekked in over twenty-five countries within Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australasia, and for seventeen years led organised walking holidays in several European countries. A member of the British Outdoor Writers' Guild, he has written more than a dozen walking guidebooks, several on long distance mountain routes in France. His longest solo walks include a Grand Traverse of the European Alps between Nice and Vienna (1510 miles), the Pilgrim's Trail from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela (960 miles) and a Coast-to-Coast across the French Pyrenees (540 miles). A Munroist and erstwhile National Secretary and Long Distance Path Information Officer of the Long Distance Walkers Association, Alan now lives at the foot of the Moffat Hills in Scotland, in the heart of the Southern Uplands. Alan's first encounter with the Southern Upland Way was in 1995, when he backpacked the full length of the trail. A decade later he repeated the complete trail a second time, this time mainly using bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation, in order to research this guidebook. He has travelled extensively on foot in most areas of the Southern Uplands, having climbed all of the Donalds and most of the other hills above 500m in height, and traversed them from south to north in 2003 as part of his walk between Land's End and John o'Groats.

Introduction The French Alps The Queyras Walking in the French Alps Grandes Randonnees Walking Tour of the Queyras (GR 58 and GR 541) Climate - When to go Travelling to the Queyras Local Transport Overnight Accommodation Mountain Refuges Gites d'Etape Hotels Camping Eating Out Food Water Equipment Maps Waymarking and Navigating Le Parc Naturel Regional du Queyras Wildlife Snakes Flora Training Health Mountain Safety Photography Language Money/ Banks Insurance To Telephone Britain Public Holidays Suggestions for Walking Holidays of Varying Length and Difficulty Notes on Using the Guidebook Summary Table Guide Day 1. Durance Valley to Furfande Day 2. Furfande to Ceillac Day 3. Ceillac to Saint-Veran Day 4. Saint-Veran to Refuge Agnel Day 5. Excursion: Le Pain de Sucre, Lac Foreant and Lac Egourgeou Day 6. Refuge Agnel to Refuge Baillif-Viso via the Soustra Valley (Italy) Day 7. Refuge Baillif-Viso to La Monta via the Pellice Valley (Italy) Day 8. La Monta to Le Roux or Abries Day 9. Le Roux of Abries to Les Fonds de Cervieres Day 10. Les Fonds de Cervieres to Souliers Day 11. Souliers to Brunissard via the Lac de Souliers Day 12. Brunissard to Furfande Day 13. Furfande to the Durance Valley Appendix 1. List of Refuges and Gites d'Etape in the Queras and Neighbouring Regions Appendix 2. Local Bus and Train Services Appendix 3. List of Cols and Summits on the Tour of the Queyras Appendix 4. Bibliography Appendix 5. Useful Addresses