Arthez-de-Béarn - Navarrenx

(S) Start from the campsite by heading up Allée des Sports, which continues into Rue du Foirail. Walk past the school and continue to the Stop sign.

(1) Cross the D31 with care, then cross Place du Palais and turn left onto Rue la Carrère (where you can stock up on supplies: bakery, chemist, bank). Continue along the street, passing the church and then the care home, and carry on until you reach the junction with the D946.

(2) Continue straight ahead (west), following the signs for the gendarmerie, Rue du Bourdalat. Pass the gendarmerie before reaching a fork in the road with a cross in the middle.

(3) Turn right onto Chemin du Bosc, heading north-west, and continue to the last house.

(4) Continue along a stony path that descends gradually. Cross the Bois de Leire before returning to the tarmac on the Route Impériale, in the hamlet of Lasserre.

(5) Head due south along Route de l'Église, descending towards Argagnon. Stay on this road to reach the hamlet of Arramoun.

(6) Turn right (south-west) and continue to the hamlet of Marquittou.

(7) Continue past the hamlet of Lourteigt. Pass under the high-voltage power lines before reaching a Stop sign at the junction with the D275 (refreshments available if you turn right at the Au Cachau café-bar-tobacconist’s).

(8) Cross the main road carefully and continue to the Church of Saint-Pierre d’Argagnon, visible in the distance (water point at the cemetery).

(9) After the church, take a small path that runs alongside the D817’s crash barriers through the meadow, and continue to the pedestrian crossing at the Maysonnave junction, located on a wide left-hand bend.

(10) Cross the D817 carefully and follow the signs for Maslacq. Cross, in turn, the Toulouse–Bayonne railway line, the Gave de Pau river and the A64 motorway.

(11) Continue on to reach the town of Maslacq via the D275. Carry on to the junction with Rue du Fronton, situated in a wide right-hand bend.

(12) Turn left towards Lagor. Pass the Basque pelota fronton and continue to the junction.

(13) Turn left, keeping in the direction of Lagor (refreshments available; follow the sign for the grocery shop). Continue along the road to the stadium until you reach the bridge over the Geü stream.

(14) Turn left onto Rue Qua Laubadère and continue to the fork at a place called Lacluque.

(15) Continue along a gravel path, winding through the maize fields, which runs alongside the Gave de Pau for a short while, at a place called Guironolé.

(16) Carry on, moving away from the river and climbing through the woods. At the top, as you emerge from the woods (you can stop to admire the Notre-Dame de Muret Chapel), continue downhill to reach the junction with the D9.

(17) Cross it carefully. Walk on to the house at the end of the road and turn left. Turn right, skirting the D9, then head down a small road closed to 10-tonne vehicles to the hamlet of Saubade.

(18) Continue south-west, passing through fields and meadows. Carry on to the bridge over the Geü.

(19) Carry on straight ahead until you reach the fork.

(20) Follow cycle route no. 81 straight on along Chemin Lacoume, then continue along the dead-end track to arrive in front of a farm, at a place called La Coume.

(21) Pass between the buildings to continue along a narrow path winding up the wooded bed of a stream.

(22) Turn left (south-east) to reach the small road to Sauvelade, in front of a picnic area (drinking water point).

(23) Turn right and then head downhill, along the edge of a wood, to reach a crossroads with a bus shelter at the Camin de Causet stop.

(24) First turn left then right to descend into the Laà valley. Continue to the fork at the junction with a PR^®.

(25) Stay on the^GR®65and continue to cross the River Laà, before arriving in front of the Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (refreshments and food available here). Head towards the Stop sign.

(26) Turn left, towards Vieilleségure, onto the path running alongside the D110. Pass to the left of the village of Sauvelade and continue to the organic snack bar (refreshments available).

(27) Continue south-east until you reach the fork.

(28) Turn right to continue along the small road, Cami de Copau. After the farm, carry on to the fork.

(29) Turn left onto the Camino de Compostela, which crosses meadows where the blonde Aquitaine cows pay no attention to the walkers! Continue down the slope to the Barsalonne stream.

(30) After crossing the stream, head up the other side via a lovely climb and continue to the hamlet of Plâa.

(31) Continue southwards to the ‘Dessine-moi un chemin’ lodge, followed by a refuge set in the woods.

(32) Continue the climb to reach, at the summit, the fork in the hamlet of Bugnein (a sign from the Navarrenx community of communes and the tourist office welcomes pilgrims).

(33) Carry on to the right, towards Navarrenx, along the ridge path. Pass the picnic area, then the farm. Continue to the fork.

(34) Turn left towards Bugnien. Continue to the fork.

(35) Head left towards the old school. Stay on the downhill road, pass the hamlets of Petit and Matheu, and continue to the Le Saley stream.

(36) Continue uphill, passing several farms before reaching the hamlet of Bugnien, opposite a pumping station.

(37) Head left towards Bastanès, down a gentle slope. Pass two large poultry sheds before reaching a crossroads.

(38) Follow the signs for the hamlet of Méritein along the Chemin le Haut de Serre. Continue to the fork.

(39) Turn right towards Méritein, following the edge of the woods before crossing through them. Pass a mobile café (refreshments available) before reaching the Ruisseau de Lucq.

(40) Follow this stream, at varying distances, heading west. Continue to the first house and a fork in the road.

(41) Carry on straight ahead, then turn right at the next junction. Continue until you cross the Ruisseau de Lucq.

(42) Turn left and follow the stream into the village of Méritein. Continue to the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

(43) Head left onto the D947 and, shortly afterwards, turn left towards the Maison pour Tous. Continue along a small path at the side of the road until you reach the Stop sign at the junction with the D67.

(44) Just before the Stop sign, take the underpass on the left to enter the outskirts of Navarrenx via the Chemin de la Biasse. Continue to the Stop sign at the junction with the D111.

(45) Turn right, cross the L'Arroder stream, pass in front of the Collège des Remparts, and arrive at the Stop sign on the road to Orthez. Cross carefully, continue straight ahead and arrive opposite the state school.

(46) Turn left (leaving the^GR®65here), then turn right to follow the signs for Camping Beau Rivage. Walk past the school complex and, at the crossroads, follow the small road lined with tall trees to the right to reach the campsite (E).

Refreshments available: at (8) turn right in the village of Soun de Coste, at (12) in the village of Malacq, and at (46) in the town of Navarrenx.
Campsite: Camping Beau Rivage. Tel: 05 59 66 10 00 Info:

Cistercian Abbey of Sauvelade (26) dating from the 12th century. This abbey, shaped like a Greek cross and clearly visible from the outside, allows us to admire its harmonious cascading roofs: a slate cone atop the dome at the crossing of the transept, sections of flat tiles straddling the four arms, the staircase, the apsidioles and the sacristy. The interior displays a beautiful Cistercian simplicity, except for the altars in a naive rural Baroque style and the holy water font, which consists of a column shaft between two Corinthian capitals, undoubtedly the remains of a Roman villa. Next to it stands the vast 17th-century monastery.

Navarrenx (46) is surrounded by a bastioned wall on almost all sides, as it was, from the outset, a frontier town. The great arch of the bridge over the Gave d’Oloron dates back to the 13th century. Furthermore, the Tour de la Poudrière, the arsenal, the Place des Casernes and, above all, the monumental Porte Saint-Antoine and its ramparts, facing the river and rebuilt in 1645, are worth seeing within the town. The Church of Saint-Germain (d'Auxerre), completed in 1562, is in the Late Gothic style. Finally, one cannot leave the town without visiting the Maison Ancienne, known as the Maison Paillée, which dates from the 16th century and boasts a magnificent façade.