The Pyrenees offer some of the best horse riding options in France on routes which can cover tranquil villages, forestry roads and old beech forests or the spectacular high mountains – and quite often a combination of all of them.

Whether you have the stamina to take your own horse – read my article on the paperwork required here – or just want to join an organised tour, you will be astonished by the quiet beauty of the region.

We base ourselves in the Ariège, a central backwater, where our campsite at Biert provides a handy base for day rides or longer excursions when we take a tent and pack horse.

On the elevated communal pastures, no-trace camping is quietly tolerated and there are few people to be seen. However, the French love to see horse riders and one’s ears will often be left ringing with exclamations of “Ils sont beaux les chevaux!”

These photos and videos will hopefully show some of the wonderful riding in the region