Leaving Orisson it was a steady climb at first. Then a series of rolling hills and varying difficulty. I left at about 8 am and by 10:30 I was overtaken by some walkers who had started walking at St Jean, where I started the previous day!

Towards the top of this day’s walk there was a very strategically located food van. Coffee, bread, cheese and meat, bananas, water. I sampled his food and took a break.

As the path neared the Spanish border it varied between rocky ground, loose gravel and in a few places, concrete. Sometimes the surrounds were hillsides and other times it was forests.

At Lepoeder pass you have to decide between a steep path through the forest or a slightly longer route via a road. I chose the forest route but there were a lot of loose stones on the steep sections. After a few km it gives way to a gravel road through the forest.

Either way takes you to Roncesvalles.