CHEMIN DE LA LIBERTÉ

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In 1943 the most decorated woman of the Second World War made her escape from the Gestapo through the Pyrenees. As a Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent and resistance fighter, Nancy Wake helped thousands of servicemen escape across the Pyrenees to freedom.

In 1943, Nancy and her fellow escapees had no such luxuries. Wearing nothing but ordinary clothes they moved in silence among the enemy patrols, replacing their boots with espadrilles. They walked through blizzards with no opportunity for sleep and just snow to eat for hydration.

Between the years of 1940 and 1944, more than 33,000 civilians and 6,000 allied servicemen were forced to tackle the peaks of the Pyrenees in an effort to escape from Nazi-occupied Europe and regain their liberty via neutral Spain. The route taken is the most inaccessible across the Pyrenees, with snow and boulder fields to cross. Covering 50 miles (80km), with steep climbs up to 2,600 metres, are you tough enough to follow in their footsteps?

A challenging trek of endurance across the Pyrenees in the footsteps of WW2 Evaders. This is the route taken by downed Allied aircrew and others escaping the German occupying forces. From a chateau to a shepherds hut and high mountain refuge, this is a beautiful but testing endurance expedition.