High in the Pyrenees, a full day's hike from any trappings of civilisation, is no place for a human to be - unless you are searching for the time of your life.This is the roof of a mountain range that stretches from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coasts, and provides some of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscape to be found in Europe. It is also the place for hikers to get soaked, roasted or scared out of their wits - not by the endangered brown bear, but by rights-of-way s...

This true and very funny story involving six colleagues, some retired, proves the saying that we never really grow up - we just learn how to behave in public.On a sudden whim six men, mostly writers, decided to embark on a 1 000 kilometre cycle ride down the River Danube believing it would be downhill all the way. This was the first of many assumptions that proved to be not terribly correct.None had cycled since childhood nor even owned a bike.That first hilarious journey o...

France, the ever popular dream target. To live, to visit, long holidays, weekend breaks, France and especially the south eastern area with it's fantastic and varying countryside; everything from mountains to plains, huge rivers and the glorious Mediterranean sea. The pull is there. This book goes from one Scotsman's long time dream, encouraged by his teenage daughter, though the search to fulfillment encompassed in vivid descriptions of the wheres and the hows of wandering about this entic...

‘It had been so amazingly hot that I felt myself about to dissolve into a kind of crème brûlée on the road, so I bought some super-power Number 8 suncream. This had the word ‘Bronzante’ on it, and must have contained some dye or other chemical because my knees stayed brown until February.’Fed up with questions about what he was going to do when he retired, Edward decided to get on his bicycle and ride from Le Havre to the Mediterranean. Armed with a tent and a smattering of French, ...

As I drew closer to the town of Pont-de- Vaux... I found myself thinking of some of the places Id passed through. There were so many tiny hamlets, villages and larger towns, some vibrant and fine-looking, others lifeless, run down and in dire need of repair. Then there were, of course, the countless numbers of French people who had helped me piece together the jigsaw of roads along my way. The places I was riding through werent quite the same, but there was that unmistakable pungent smell ...

Night trains have long fascinated us with the possibilities of their private sleeping compartments, gilded dining cars, champagne bars and wealthy travellers. Authors from Agatha Christie to Graham Greene have used night trains to tell tales of romance, intrigue and decadence against a rolling background of dramatic landscapes. The reality could often be as thrilling: early British travellers on the Orient Express were advised to carry a revolver (as well as a teapot).In Night ...

Racing cyclists all ride the same frail machine and all are equal before the demands of the road. But what is it that makes a winner? What special attributes do winners need to give them that extra edge? To find out, Fife analyses and illustrates the moral strength, intelligence, racing nous, cunning, tactical acumen and superior mental resilience of the champion racing cyclist. Drawing on exclusive interviews and personal acquaintance with some of the best riders to have raced on the cont...

Sixteen years after first moving to Catalonia, Richard Guise finally finds time to slow down and explore the back roads by bicycle. With over 400 kilometres of sparkling Mediterranean shoreline and an interior dominated by the Pyrenees, it’s a spectacular journey from wind-blown headlands to the glitzy costas, and from bustling Barcelona to remote hillsides where only wild goats grazing and chirruping cicadas disturb the tranquillity.Dipping into the unique history of this fiercely...

Our illustrated travel guide will take you to Corfu, Greece.Corfu is the northernmost of the Ionian Islands in Greece. Located off the far northwest coast of Greece, Corfu lies in the Adriatic sea, east of Italy and southwest of Albania. Historically Corfu has been controlled by many foreign powers, notably the Venetians, as well as the British.Corfu Town, known in modern Greek as Kerkira or Kerkyra, is the largest and most important town on the island. This is where the ai...

Not many people would consider cycling hundreds miles through Europe to be a relaxing holiday. Mike certainly didn’t. But Julia did, she was peculiar that way. There was a challenge to be had in following the River Rhine from its source high in the Swiss Alps, through Germany, France and the Netherlands to the North Sea. But if Mike could not be convinced by mention of the varied scenery, the cultural diversity and the cake, what would change his mind? Finally it was mention of the hundred...

With a glint in his eye, Rob turns and asks me if I want to ‘touch his furry puma’. I begin to feel a little concerned about the days and weeks ahead; we are only hours into the trip and things have already taken a sinister turn. Thankfully it turns out he is referring to the little embossed logo on his new shirt. Fuelled by a degree of mid-life crisis and the need to escape, albeit temporarily, the dull routine of modern life, David and Rob set out to walk from the Atlantic to the Mediter...

Patronising advice by a doctor at a retirement course to 'walk a couple of miles a day' challenges architect Sean Rothery to take a proper walk and so, at the age of sixty-five, he sets out to walk the GR5, the Grande Randonée Cinq. From the steely grey North Sea to the intense blue Mediterranean, Sean's 2,300km-long route follows a network of old trails, forest paths, canal banks, Alpine valleys and passes. Along the way, he recounts some of his youthful enterprises, including cycling fro...