Early summer activity break to the French Pyrenees

For many years now fly and flop holidays have been on the decline as we increasingly look to get active on holiday, perhaps as a result of the fact that we spend all day staring at, PC, laptop, tablet, TV and Smartphone screens!

L’Ancienne Poste, a ski lodge in the village of Avajan in the French Pyrenees, has created the ultimate week-long activity break for exercise junkies, which includes mountain hiking, mountain biking, canyoning and white-water rafting.

All of the activities are run in conjunction with fully-qualified guides and instructors and James Dealtry, the English owner of the lodge also helps to put his guests through their paces (something of an action man himself, James is a fully-qualified mountain guide and skiing instructor).

Guests are free to do as much or as little as they like, or to focus on just a few of the activities if that is their wont (flexibility is key).

Following arrival at the lodge, there will be a short, guided walk following the nearby river to a lake (duration 2-3 hours).

On day two there will be a day-long guided trek of 4-6 hours to discover the surrounding mountains and scenery, whilst on the third day there is a choice of shooting the rapids head first, rafting or going on an adrenalin-fuelled hydrospeed ride.

Following a well-earned day off to relax on day four (perhaps a visit to the local public where treatments can be booked in advance by James and his team?) there is a chance to go on a mountain biking tour or rock climbing (2-4 hours) with a free afternoon to recover!

Day six involves a full-day guided trek to the summit of one of the local mountains and the final day provides a chance to try canyoning or abseiling down waterfalls.

Evening meals are one of the highlights each day at L’Ancienne Poste, with in-house chef Eddie Charvet creating excellent four course meals, each of which is preceded by home-made canapés.

The week-long holiday which can start any day from now until the end of October costs from €699 pp (two sharing) which includes 7-nights’ half-board accommodation (including one meal in a local restaurant) and activities as detailed with expert tuition. Car hire or airport transfers available on request.

The area is well served by three main airports Pau, Lourdes-Tarbes and Toulouse. For more information, visit ancienneposteavajan.com.