St Martin du Froid, from Mons.

St Martin du Froid, from Mons. 16km, 5h.30 with several short breaks. Yellow/red markers. This is a magnificent walk and you can make a circular walk from the col de Bardou on your return by either taking the route via the Gorge d'Heric or Bardou.

Start in Mons (just above Mons la Trivalle). Park by the church and walk up the route marked yellow/red through the village. The route goes up between some old stone houses at the top of the village and enters the chestnut woods. Now stay on this path for about 5km until you reach the col de Bardou. It's a lovely path under col trees for most of the time.

At the col, cross over the GR7 and take the left side of the path ascending from the col which is signposted for the chapel 3km. It doesn't seem far but don't underestimate this route. It's a gentle path of lovely rounded stones, a real old donkey path, but it's all uphill all the way and there isn't a lot of shade on the last zigzags. There is also no water in summer on this route so if you have a dog with you, you will need to take water for it too.

The views just get better and better as you climb up each zigzag. From the last zigzag you will be able to see the coast, Pyrenees, Gorge d'Heric, Caroux, Aret, and the Mont Gros. It's just so very beautiful. Breathtakingly. Soon after this you will see little pines marking the top of your route and a couple of cairns direct you to the path up through pine trees to the chapel St Martin du Froid.

It's amazing how much cooler the air is up here and it makes a delightful spot for a picnic too before your descent. (A lot of people like to make a circular route of this by continuing on the GRP across the forest and then down to the Montahut. It looks a long way on the map but you can cover a lot of ground quickly in the level forest). I really enjoy the descent over the same course as you can now enjoy the wonderful views without being out of puff!

Once back at the col de Bardou there are a number of routes that you can take and there isn't a lot of difference in the distance. Either turn left down the GR7 to Heric and walk through the beautiful gorge(this way there are two cafes on route!), also you can turn right and down towards Bardou,

There is a little yellow spot route that you can take back this way that comes out near Pibons and then takes the little road into Les Pradals.

Or finally retrace your route down the yellow/red route back to Mons. (If you want a challenging end to your route with more spectacular views take the yellow spot route to the col du Roujas and the the red one past Gleyzo and Peyris). A wonderful route. Enjoy.