From Oloron-Sainte-Marie to L’Hôpital-Saint-Blaise

(S) On leaving the Relais du Bastet municipal lodge, Place de la Résistance, turn left onto Rue Amédée Gabe, N134. Cross the Gave d’Ossau, then the Gave d’Aspe via the Sainte-Claire bridge. Continue straight on along Rue Sadi Carnot to Place du Général de Gaulle. Turn left and continue along Rue de la Poste.

(1) Turn left onto Allée du Comte de Tréville. At the end, turn right and walk alongside the Gave d’Aspe. At the end, turn right onto Rue Carrerot, then left onto Rue Revol and head towards the cathedral.

Red and white markings for^{the GR®78}

(2) At the roundabout, turn right onto Rue de la Cathédrale. Cross Rue Casamoyor Dufaur and take Rue Saint-Grat, which runs alongside the cathedral. At the roundabout, carry straight on into Rue Tristan Derème. At the end, turn right onto Boulevard François Mitterrand.

(3) At the large roundabout, head straight ahead onto Boulevard Henri Laclau. Continue straight on and leave the town via the^GR®78. Pass under a high-voltage power line and walk alongside the Lamiellotte stream. Pass under two further high-voltage power lines.

(4) You will then come out onto the D424; follow it to the right to pass through the village of Mounour. In front of the church, turn right. After passing the church, turn left and walk between the church and the castle. At the junction, head down the Côte de la Hargouette to the left. Cross the stream and, immediately afterwards, turn left onto the Chemin du Cang Rand. At the end, turn right and cross the Vert via the Pont de César.

(5) As you come off the bridge, turn right. Turn left straight away and head uphill. Take the first hairpin bend on the right and climb steeply. At the next junction, follow the^GR® to the right^. You’ll come to a T-junction.

(6) Continue to the left, still on the^GR®, as the path narrows to a track. You’ll reach a wider track; follow it to the left. At the next junction (where^{the PR®} joins from the left), turn right. You’ll reach another junction before the village of Orin.

Leave the^GR® here

(7) Do not enter Orin: turn left and cross a stream. At the next junction, turn right to reach the houses of Andrinople.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left. On leaving the hamlet, at a Fork in the road, take the path on the right. Walk down into the hollow of a small valley, ignore a path branching off to the left, and head back up. After a left-hand bend, pass under a high-voltage power line. At the T-junction, turn left.

(9) At the next junction, turn right. At a Fork in the road, veer left. At the next junction, go straight on and walk past the small churchyard. At the end, join the D836 on the right and follow it to the left for about a hundred metres.

(10) At the junction, turn left and cross the Joos. Stay on the tarmac, pass the cemetery and follow the river. At the fork in the road, take the right-hand branch. Join the D59 and follow it to the right until you reach another Fork in the road (cross).

(11) Turn left. Pass through the hamlet of Charbonnel.

(12) At the hamlet of Laborde, first turn left then right. Continue (north-west) along a track skirting the houses without actually entering the hamlet. You’ll come out onto the D325.

(13) Turn left onto this road and pass under the high-voltage power line. Further on, enter a wood. Continue along the road, ignoring all paths to the right or left, until you reach the crossroads at the hamlet of Chêne Conseil.

(14) Take a path on the right and join the^GR®78after about 250 metres.

Red and white markings for^{the GR®78}

(15) Follow the^GR® to the left. Head down towards the Ibarle and cross it. Shortly afterwards, cross a stream (a tributary of the river). At the Fontaine de Maures (Fork in the road), turn left and head straight up.

(16) At the crossroads, go straight on and head back down. At the bottom, take a sharp right-hand bend to cross the small bridge over the Lausset. Follow a wide left-hand bend to join the D859.

(17) Follow the road to the left and, immediately afterwards, take the path on the right. When you reach the village, cross the Lausset again and head for the village of L’Hôpital-Saint-Blaise, today’s destination (E).

To get to Oloron Sainte Marie by train:
- Pau (the shortest route),
- Dax,
- Bordeaux or Bayonne,
- Toulouse (the most complicated)

Where to stay:
(S) Oloron-Sainte-Marie:
- Tourist Office, Allée du Comte de Tréville. Tel: 05 59 39 98 00
- Relais du Bastet municipal hostel, 12 Place de la Résistance. Tel: Call Eric before arrival on 06 77 19 82 85 to get the entry code.
- Stopover lodge. Le Bialé, 10 Rue Revol. Tel: 05 59 39 15 29, 88 beds. Kitchen.

(E) Hôpital-Saint Blaise.
- Municipal refuge: sleeps 8 / fully equipped kitchen / tel 05 59 66 07 21. (To get to the lodge: at the church, turn right, then right onto the D25 and diagonally left)
- Hotels and restaurants.

Mauléon-Licharre + 17 km
- Tourist Office. Tel. 05 59 28 02 37
- Municipal lodge – Pilgrims’ accommodation (Association des Amis du Chemin de St-Jacques P.A.)
Open from 1 April to 30 October. €8 / 8 beds. Key available from the Town Hall until 6.00 pm. After that, keys available from the Eskualduna bar (opposite the Town Hall).
- At Mrs Michèle Ellisalt’s: 8 Lot. Gorre. Tel. 05 59 19 10 98 or 06 80 52 62 33. Accommodates 4 people.
- Hotels, restaurants and all shops.

(S) Oloron-Sainte-Marie
- Cathedral. Cromlech. Notre Dame Church. Sainte-Marie Bridge.
Mounour
Church, castles and César’s Bridge.
(E) Hôpital-Saint-Blaise.
St Blaise’s Church.