The Pyrenees make up one of the largest mountain ranges in Europe, forming a natural border between France and Spain and extending from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea. At their highest point they reach an elevation of 3404m at the Pico d’Aneto on the Spanish side with the highest on the French side being Vignemale, near the village we stayed in which reaches a height of 3298m. It is also one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe with many of the immense cirques, cliffs, peaks and valleys being formed during the Quaternary Ice Age, 2.5 million years ago! The variation in rock types, altitudes and climatic conditions supports a stunning variety of plants and animals and when combined with the scenery, the Pyrenees is a truly fantastic place to visit.

My girlfriend Anna and I stayed in the village of Gavarnie which is situated three kilometres or so from the base of an impressive Cirque (a french word meaning ‘amphitheatre’), which is an large concave-shaped glacial valley.  Our B&B was situated on a hill just outside the main street, giving us a fantastic view of the surrounding peaks. It was surrounded by rich hay meadows with a wealth of different wildflowers and butterfly species. Marbled Whites were everywhere and probably the commonest butterfly of the entire trip. They were accompanied by Meadow Browns, Pearly Heaths and a few Small Heaths. One or two Clouded Yellows whizzed by and a single Apollo stopped momentarily to feed on a Knapweed flower. A Black-veined White was found in the early morning trying to warm itself up whilst my first ever Mountain Argus was seen basking in the grassy area just above the B&B. Flowers such as Thyme, Lady’s Bedstraw and Field Scabious were abundant, along with the less familiar Fringed Pink, a lovely species of well-drained soils found in southern Europe.

Several of the ‘golden’ skippers were seen further up the hill and were so numerous that there was one basking on almost every other blade of grass! Essex and Small Skippers were the most numerous but there were a few Large Skippers in the mix too. Accompanying them were large numbers of Marbled Whites and a solitary male Large Wall Brown which was a nice addition. The two most notable species in my opinion however were a Purple-edged Copper and a slightly worn but still impressive Large Blue.

The walk from the village to the cirque winds through luxuriant meadows supporting a wealth of species followed by a gradual ascent through woodland. This in turn is followed by open sub-alpine grassland and scree at the foot of the cascade, which is reported to be the highest in Europe! Wildflowers included many familiar species such as Knapweed, Field Scabious, Lady’s Bedstraw, Red Clover and a beautiful subspecies of Kidney Vetch which was pink in colour instead of the more familiar yellow; something which is unique to the Pyrenees. The meadows were alive with butterflies, especially fritillaries of which I counted at least 7 species; Silver-washed, Dark Green, Niobe, Queen of Spain, Lesser Marbled, Heath, and False Heath. Chalkhill Blues were fairly numerous and were accompanied by a few beautiful Turquoise Blues and the odd Mazarine Blue.  One Heath Fritillary even landed on Anna’s bag, thinking the bright colours were flowers!

There were a few Clouded Yellows which flew by rapidly, as well as one European Swallowtail which I tried to follow but it was just too fast for me. I saw my first Piedmont Ringlets here (which were quite common throughout the trip), one individual in particular was laying eggs on blades of grass by the edge of the path. Horses would regularly walk visitors along the path and as a result, manure lying around was a common occurrence. It managed to attract several butterflies including a first Marbled Skipper for me and a few Heath Fritillaries. Perhaps the species that made me most excited was a beautiful male Scarce Copper which was initially very flighty but eventually settled on some Yarrow before being chased off by a Mazarine Blue.

After about a kilometre or so the landscape suddenly changed quite dramatically, with the lush meadows being replaced with mature woodland. Here there were fewer species, partly due to the amount of cloud which was starting to settle in the valley. I did manage to find a few Heath and Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, Wood Whites and the Piedmont Ringlets were still quite abundant despite the lack of sun! Some clearings in the woodland were home to large numbers of Pyrenean Iris, a large rich purple flower that was to become a very familiar sight over the next few days.

A kilometre before the foot of the cascade the trees made way for open sub-alpine grassland which brought with it a host of new species. Birds such as the Alpine Chough and Crag Martin flew overheard with the former being quite tame and apparently quite used to the large droves of visitors which the Cirque attracts. I also managed to observe a curious type of insect, the Scorpion Fly. Flowers which had restricted distributions or precise habit requirements occurred here such as the Rock Cinqufoil, Alpine Aster, Fairy’s Thimble, Dusky Cranesbill and Pyrenean Columbine existed among the rocky crags and short grassland. Butterflies here were sparse, but the Mountain Ringlet was added to the ever-growing list.

As we neared the base of the cascade it began to rain quite heavily. Anna and I were dressed for the sunny weather down in the valley so resorted to huddling under an overhanging rock until the rain subsided! The final ascent up to the cascade involved walking on steep scree which would have been very challenging without walking poles, so we decided to turn back and head back down the valley. The clouds remained for the majority of the descent but of course, as soon as we set foot in the village the sun came out and it was as if it has never rained. Such is the unpredictability of mountain weather. We headed back to the B&B and decided to have an early night as there was much more hiking still to be done!