GR5 Preparation

Summer has arrived and it is time to set off on a walk. I haven’t done much walking this winter and I have had to give up skiing due to a knee injury and a prolapsed disc which caused sciatica. Fortunately most of my symptoms have settled with physio and training (thanks Conor) but I thought I needed something gentle to test my fitness. I have considered doing GR5 for a long time. This is a long distance path that stretches from the Hoek van Holland to Nice (most blogs only describe the alpine section that runs from Geneva to Nice). Over 1400 miles long, it passes through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France. Many years ago I walked part of the Alpine section, from Modane to St Etienne de Tinee as well as the stretch that coincides with the western part of the Tour Du Mont Blanc.

The northern section runs from Hook of Holland to Nyon, on the north shore of Lake Geneva. For someone who is rehabilitating, the first section, through the Netherlands and Belgium, is flat, I do not think I will cross a single contour line between Hoek van Holland and Maastricht, where I will take a break. If all goes well I will have to decide whether to continue through Benelux (rather flat apart from the Ardennes); skip a section and walk the more interesting Vosges mountains later in the summer or take on a more challenging Alpine trek. Other bloggers say the northern half gets very repetitive and I may decide to concentrate on more interesting areas. Also, accommodation is difficult to come by in the Lorraine area of France.

So the next two and a half weeks walking should be fairly easy. Much of the route through the Netherlands is below sea level, alongside dykes; called the Polder. The Belgian section runs mainly through forest or crosses heathland. On the last day I will cross back into the Netherlands to reach Maastricht. I do not think the walk will be challenging but most days end in villages that sound nice and I will pass through towns that have some historic interest. Of courser, the Belgians are famous for their beer so the evenings promise to be good. Very different from the last few walks that I have done.

The first stage was a trip to London to meet up with my sister and my daughter (and their significant others). I then got the boat train to take the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hoek van Holland.