Pyrenees Orientales

[David M]

I was intending to fly to Perpignan next summer for a week studying butterflies in the Pyrenees. I was struggling to find airlines flying there direct from the UK and those that did were expensive (around £200 return).

By coincidence, I had an email from Easyjet on Friday offering 20% off flights if booked within the next 5 days. I noticed they flew from Bristol to Toulouse and I decided to buy a return at the end of June for just £88 (including taxes!!)

I remembered that when I was studying in Toulouse, a friend and I spent a weekend in Barcelona. We took a train through the Pyrenees, stopping at Latour-de-Carol on the border and then waiting for a Spanish train to take us to Barca. It was the best train journey I've ever experienced (the scenery was beautiful) and a route I doubted I'd ever take again.

However, my instinct is now drawing me to one of the towns along that railroute - Ax les Thermes, which is not too far away from Andorra. Has anybody been here before and if so, how rich is the butterfly fauna around this area? I've noticed that the nearby peaks are over 2500m, so getting up between 1500 and 2000 shouldn't be a problem.

[Padfield]

Are you using a hire car or public transport when you get there?

I've never visited that region - I always go further west to the central Pyrenees - but from Google Maps it looks a fascinating area to explore and I will be interested in your discoveries.

At the end of June the mid-altitudes will be richest (and the lowlands, of course). It is too early for many of the highland (2000m+) specialists, like Lefebvre's ringlet, False dewy ringlet or Gavarnie ringlet, though some others, like peak white, will be at their zenith.

Very exciting to think about in mid-winter!

Guy

[Reverdin]

Plenty in the region by my recollection... Chestnut/Spanish & Dusky Heaths, Bright eyed ringlet, de Prunner's, Large and Piedmont ringlet, Common Brassy ringlet, Apollo, Amanda's & Lang's STB Blues, Scarce and Purple shot Copper, False Ilex Hairstreak, Southern White Admiral, Niobe, False Heath Frits, all 3 Gatekeeper species, Striped Grayling, wood and Bath White, Scarce and Spanish Swallowtails... just off top of my head... went to Les Angles a few years ago at that time of year- approx 90 species.. not that far from Ax. You don't even have to know where to look, just find "suitable looking places"
Will edit this if I think of more

[David M]

Thanks for that guys. Mouthwatering stuff.

Reverdin - as you say, the landscape in these mountainous regions is so unspoiled that one merely needs to follow one's instincts. It isn't really necessary to know in advance which sites to visit; practically the whole area will be a treasure trove of unusual species.

Guy - Originally, I was planning to hire a car but I'm coming increasingly to the conclusion that this won't be necessary (which is great as it'll save me £300!) Ax les Thermes is on the rail line from Toulouse and according to the 'horaires' it seems connections are fairly regular (every couple of hours or so). If I do wish to travel further afield, I have the option of travelling further towards the Spanish border by catching a train to Latour, but to be honest I think there'll be so much in the immediate vicinity that this won't necessarily be worthwhile.

I noticed from Google Earth that there are cable cars ascending some of the peaks. I presume these are mainly in use for skiers during the winter? Does anyone know if they operate in summer too as this would be a great way to climb above 1500m?

[Roger Gibbons]

Ax-les-Thermes is a terrific town with superb butterflies all around that region. I was last there in 2005 and I found these areas very good: Col de Puymorens, the road toward Port de Pailheres (2000m), the road toward Igneaux, Col de Chioula, and the region near Tarascon especially Alliat (I once saw Camberwell Beauty and Lesser Purple Emperor together in the town centre), Genat, and Miglos.

Reverdin is absolutely right about the wealth of species. Look out also for Map, Large Chequered Skipper (and Chequered Skipper), and fabulous Purple-shot Coppers.

There is a hot sulphurous spring in Ax which bubbles up into a large pool in the town centre. It is very much a social gathering place.

In my opinion you will need a car, even to travel 10 miles in each direction from Ax.

[Roger Gibbons]

A couple of others to look out for in that area are Purple-edged Coppers (the nominate form hippothoe with beautiful purple - unlike the non-purple Alpine form eurydame), the High Brown Fritillary form cleodoxa and the intermediate form cleodippe and the False heath Fritillary form vernetensis.

[Lee Hurrell]

We're just at the planning stage for this summer's trip too

I look forward to your report David!

Best wishes,

Lee

[David M]

Ax-les-Thermes is a terrific town with superb butterflies all around that region. I was last there in 2005 and I found these areas very good: Col de Puymorens, the road toward Port de Pailheres (2000m), the road toward Igneaux, Col de Chioula, and the region near Tarascon especially Alliat (I once saw Camberwell Beauty and Lesser Purple Emperor together in the town centre), Genat, and Miglos.

Reverdin is absolutely right about the wealth of species. Look out also for Map, Large Chequered Skipper (and Chequered Skipper), and fabulous Purple-shot Coppers.

There is a hot sulphurous spring in Ax which bubbles up into a large pool in the town centre. It is very much a social gathering place.

In my opinion you will need a car, even to travel 10 miles in each direction from Ax.

Thanks for the feedback, Roger. It's much appreciated.

I missed out in the Cévennes last year because I didn't hire a car, but that was because I couldn't get from Florac to the 2,000m+ peaks that were some distance away. That said, there were so many species in and around the town where I stayed that I wasn't too disappointed.

In Ax however, you're right in the middle of these towering peaks, and I'm hoping that the cable cars are operational in the summer months, as this will save me ascending 1,000m on foot (not that I mind too much as I thoroughly enjoy walking in scenic surroundings and good weather). There are north and south facing slopes to investigate and I'm not sure whether £300+ is justified when I'm almost certain I'll be able to walk into ideal territory albeit with a bit of strenuous effort.

I'm going between 21 and 29 June as it's still classed as hors saison, and I won't be surrounded by schoolkids and myriads of other tourists (particularly English ones, whose presence I rather resent when I'm in France).

My only minor concern is that there are bears in the Ariège region, so maybe I'll need to buy some pepper spray!

[Padfield]

My only minor concern is that there are bears in the Ariège region, so maybe I'll need to buy some pepper spray!

There are bears in the Val d'Aran, where I go most years, but I've never had the pleasure of seeing one, probably because they're largely nocturnal creatures and quite understandably tend to shun humans anyway. Of statistically more significant danger are the wild boars, which might be protective of their young at that time of year. But my most irrationally frightening moment in the Pyrenees was when I was lying down filming a group of 40 griffon vultures on a distant hillside. Little by little, the group dispersed and after some time I got up to go. When I did, I found they hadn't dispersed at all. They had seen me prostrate in the grass, assumed I was dying, and now all 40 were circling and descending a terrifyingly short distance above my head.

Guy

[Reverdin]

Going down a Marmot hole is probably a bigger fear... I did that in the Pyrenees... one leg up to my knee, the rest of me ( and there's plenty of it )going forward... consider myself lucky I didn't wreck the knee.

Ah... pepper spray...

Bears and Pepper spray - Canadian origin

just thought this was priceless.

[Padfield]

Very good!

Guy

[David M]

LOL! Like it!

I wouldn't go anywhere where there are Grizzlies unless I was armed with a gun. Wild boars I can cope with. We had two pretty hefty pigs until about a year ago and although generally placid, if certain people behaved in a threatening way around them they used to charge. Bramley (the bigger of the two) once charged me at dusk when I had jumped into the pig pen to chase the call duck that had refused to roost in the chicken shed as was obligatory. I remained motionless whilst cornered and simply spoke to the 35 stone beast in a calm tone. Once he had picked up my scent he trotted back to his pen.

Pigs are not naturally aggressive creatures; they just hate to be spooked. Give them a wide berth and they'll leave you alone. Hungry bears on the other hand...

[NickB]

Going down a Marmot hole is probably a bigger fear... I did that in the Pyrenees... one leg up to my knee, the rest of me ( and there's plenty of it )going forward... consider myself lucky I didn't wreck the knee.
Ah... pepper spray...

Gmail - FW Bear in the wood - ptkbutterflies@gmail.jpg

just thought this was priceless.

Yes - nice one! I heard an interview with a park ranger in the Rockies, re: Bears.

"There are smart bears and dumb bears, just like there are smart people and dumb people.
The problems come when the smart bears meet the dumb people...."
N

[Reverdin]

[Sylvie_h]

Hi David,

I don't know where you have been looking for renting a car in France but £300 for a week is very expensive.
I always rent a car when I go on holidays and I book with Argus Car rental. Their prices are very competitive (on many destinations more competitive than autoholidays.com) and I can see that they are offering £160 for a week in July from Tolouse ariport including
•collision damage waiver (cdw)
•third party liability protection (tp)
•theft waiver (tw)
•tax
•airport fee
•road tax
•unlimited mileage
•breakdown assistance
Please have a look on their website www.arguscarhire.com. I have been booking through them for the last 8 years and never had any problems. They are a car trawler and use famous names such as Europcar, Sixt etc... so you can trust them. Also you don't have to pay all in advance, you pay a deposit and the rest when you get the car (amount to pay at the airport is actually stated on the invoice when you book, so there is no bad surprise when you pick up the car).
A car has great benefit, it will allow you to move lower down in altitute if the weather is continuously bad in the mountains or will allow you to explore further away from where you are based.
Sylvie

[NickMorgan]

Or better still try AutoEurope. http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/?aff=googl ... fAodKDK9iA I use them when on holiday in Europe and so far they have come up with the cheapest prices.

[David M]

Thanks both of you for your advice. I will certainly use your information if I decide to hire a vehicle.

Sylvie - When I quoted £300+ I factored in all the fuel as well. A nine day hire with an approximate 800km mileage would probably set me back that much.

I'll spend more time poring over maps, etc, but from what I've seen thus far it really looks as though I'll be able to get about on foot, and if I wish to travel further afield I can either go up in altitude towards Spain or down to either Foix or Pamiers using the rail line.

It's more than 5 months away and already I can't wait.

[Roger Gibbons]

Sylvie makes a very good point – the weather in that region can be very localised and often very wet on the French side of the Pyrénées. We once spent four days in Ax-les-Thermes and it rained every day and we saw nothing. I subsequently received some very good advice from the local Ariège butterfly expert: if the weather is bad in your valley, go on to the next one where the weather can be very different, and that the weather is nearly always better on the Spanish side than the French side.

It is also worth bearing in mind that you will see different species according to location and altitude, from Ax at 750m up to Puymorens at 1900m and Pailheres at 2000m, and would need to spend time to explore at various places along the route. If you are walking, you would have limited – if any - time to do this. Not to mention an Olympian level of fitness.

We stayed (last in 2005) at the Hotel le Grillon in Ax, a very pleasant family hotel run by a couple with very good knowledge of the surrounding terrain and wildlife. While we were there, a local shepherdess gave a talk on the bears of the region.

[Padfield]

It is also worth bearing in mind that you will see different species according to location and altitude, from Ax at 750m up to Puymorens at 1900m and Pailheres at 2000m, and would need to spend time to explore at various places along the route. If you are walking, you would have limited – if any - time to do this. Not to mention an Olympian level of fitness.

Obviously, fitness does make a difference, but there is no doubt in my mind that if you are fit you will see far more on foot. When I
visit the Val d'Aran I camp at 900m and walk daily to sites between 1800m and 2400m. I usually leave the tent at about 8.00am and return to the campsite at about 7.00pm. During the day I walk through habitat at all altitudes and find countless obscure colonies of sometimes quite rare species.

I write this in total ignorance of how fit (or old ) you are, David. But if you're happy walking 20-30km a day in the mountains (I sometimes do a lot more than that) it's worth knowing that it is a serious option and that you are likely to find more butterflies in total this way. If you're not up to that kind of hiking then I entirely agree with Roger that you will find the Pyrenees rather difficult without transport.

Guy

[David M]

I write this in total ignorance of how fit (or old ) you are, David. But if you're happy walking 20-30km a day in the mountains (I sometimes do a lot more than that) it's worth knowing that it is a serious option and that you are likely to find more butterflies in total this way. If you're not up to that kind of hiking then I entirely agree with Roger that you will find the Pyrenees rather difficult without transport.

Guy

Last summer, when I was staying in Florac, I left my hotel just after 8am one day and ascended the Causse Méjean, returning to my hotel around 1730hrs. I reckon I easily did 15km that day and much of it was fairly strenuous. I suffered no ill effects and time seemed to suddenly become unimportant as I was totally absorbed with what I was seeing both on the way up and the way down. If someone had ordered me to do this as a punishment I'd have felt absolument crevé before, during and after, but when it comes as part of what you love doing, it takes on a far less daunting dimension

I'd have no hesitation in upping my distance walked to 20-25km, although I suspect I won't want to be doing that every day. There were a couple of days when I didn't stray too far from my base and I still saw plenty to keep me interested. I also found the odd day doing just 5-10km beneficial to my feet!

I guess the weather is a different proposition, though I find it hard to contemplate conditions at the end of June in the Pyrenees being appalling for an entire week! I already know that car hire is available in Pamiers, so if push came to shove and the weather was poor, I'd have to consider taking the train from Ax to Pamiers to hire a vehicle so that I could escape the cloud and rain.

What I don't want to do is go to the expense of hiring a vehicle for a week and then finding I don't need to use it.