The Dolmen de la Siureda, from Maureillas

I'll begin this post with a confession: it's more than ten years since we did this walk. In the winter of 2006, we spent a month in a funny little Catalan cottage in Céret. It was a memorable holiday for many reasons. Firstly, our cottage had no inside staircase or downstairs loo, so every time we wanted a pee (or to go to bed - the bedrooms were upstairs too), we had to go outside and up the external stairs - never mind that it was January and freezing. Secondly, it was during that holiday that we finally decided to start the process of moving from north Norfolk to the Pyrenees. And thirdly, because we were blown away by the sheer variety of the walking: we'd be walking the coast path one day, clambering up the snowy foothills of Mont Canigou the next, and rambling around the wooded slopes of the Albères the day after.

This is a relatively easy walk, perfect for French Foothillers. For your money you get a dolmen, a ruined tower, a cork oak woodland and some lovely views over Canigou, the Aspres and the Roussillon plain, all for the price of an overall height gain of 415 metres and three to four hours of walking. It would be a great walk for a hot summer's day as much of it is in dappled shade.

We parked just outside the village centre of Maureillas (on the Céret side) then followed a small road that runs along a river and around some houses. From here, the way is well signed, and it's not long before the first views towards the Aspres started to appear. When the path split, we took the one on the left (the other one is the return route), passing some relics of a former talc mine and a lime kiln. It always amazes me that so many of the peaceful and beautiful paths in the Pyrenees go through areas that once would have been hives of industry.

Wine and water: a round walk from Villelongue dels Monts

Our Mediterranean retreat, Maison Leela (where you'll stay if you're on a French Foothills holiday), is in a small village that's lucky enough to be surrounded by small lanes and tracks known in Catalan as cami, from the same root as the French chemin. They're ancient ways of getting from one old house or domain or vineyard to another; some have now been tarmacked, though they see little car traffic, while others remain the earth tracks they always were. There are no yellow waymarks or red map markings, and sometimes you have to work a little to create your route (except when we've done it for you!), but when you just want a lovely but low-key stroll, they make for perfect rambling.

This particular round walk is one that we often do almost as soon as we arrive, as a kind of hello handshake. It takes us around three hours, as we like to stop and catch up with the changing views and seasons on the hills and in the vineyards and orchards, though it's probably around two hours walking time; sometimes though we turn it into a longer outing by packing a picnic to eat at the lake, which is roughly the halfway point. It's great done all year round, though perhaps at its best in late spring and early summer when the nightingales are singing (all day, contrary to popular belief). And of course, although the route comes right back to the house, we often amble on down to the village bar afterwards for a well-deserved beer!

This is one of the walks for which we've created our own walking map and directions (you'll find it in the walking guide at the house), but here it is in a few photos:

Great views of a still-snowy Canigou in early spring.

Walking the coast path: Le Racou to Port Vendres

This gorgeous walk along the Côte Vermeille really is a walk for all seasons - we've done it on a cloudless blue day in January, on a golden October afternoon and, best of all, in spring, when the cliff tops are full of flowers and the Thekla larks are singing. (Just don't do it if the local wind - the Tramontane - is blowing strongly, or you might suddenly find yourself taking an unscheduled dip ...). It's well-marked and easy to follow so you don't need a map - and each time we've done it, the route has been a little bit different as bits of the path have been closed for restoration work or because of cliff erosion, so although the way is marked on the local IGN walking map, that's not necessarily exactly where you'll walk! Unless you have no sense of direction at all, with the sea on one side you simply can't get lost.

In terms of walking time, this is a relatively short walk that could be done in 3 to 4 hours (there and back) at the most. However ... as you'll see, it's charms mean that like us, you'll almost certainly want to make a long day of it, even if you've done it before!

Start the walk at Le Racou ( racou means 'corner' or 'nook' in Catalan), a small beach hamlet to the south of Argelès sur Mer and one of everybody's favourite summer hangouts. It's a charming and quirky kind of place - lots of little houses built in the 30s just behind the beach, with the roads between them just sandy tracks. In 1957, the inhabitants declared independence and created the 'Racou free commune'; it's never had legal standing, but is still very much its own place, quite unlike anywhere else. It makes me think of a Mediterranean Walberswick.