The narrow enclosed world of the valley proper begins south of Oloron at the village of ESCOT, where a beautiful side route, the D294, climbs east through beech woods to the Col de Marie-Blanque and down to Bielle in the Vallée d'Ossau. South of Escot, the road follows the river through narrow defiles, past the attractive riverside village of SARRANCE, where the Eco-Musée du Vallée d'Aspe (July–Sept daily 10am–noon & 2–7pm; Oct–June Sat & Sun 2–6pm; €3.80), devoted to valley history, is installed partly in the cloister of the ancient monastic church.Some 7km south of Sarrance, BEDOUS is the largest settlement in the upper valley, with a miniature Château, an arcaded mairie and the Gîte d'étape Le Mandragot, on place de l'Église (tel 05.59.34.59.33). Further gîtes can be found 1.5km southwest in Osse-en-Aspe – Les Amis de Chaneü (tel 05.59.34.73.23) – and at the excellent Auberge Cavalière-des Ecuyers Montagnards (tel 05.59.34.72.30, www.auberge-cavaliere.com), 1km up the east flank of the valley from L'Estanguet, geared up for horse-riding and Hiking holidays. Beyond here, Cette-Eygun offers a bar-gîte, La Goutte d'Eau (tel 05.59.34.78.83), occupying the disused train station between the road and the river, and run by the CSAVA (Coordination pour la Sauvegarde de la Vallée d'Aspe), the most vocal opponents of the road-building project in the valley. If you're desperate they can provide accommodation of dubious quality in an old train carriage parked on the tracks, camping space on the banks of the river and food if you're lucky at negotiable prices. Beyond Cette-Eygun, the road curls southeast to ETSAUT, where there's a Maison du Parc (tel 05.59.34.88.30) in the old gare SNCF, which has information on walks and accommodation in the Parc National des Pyrénées Occidentales, a gîte d'étape, La Maison de l'Ours (tel 05.59.34.88.98, fax 05.59.34.87.50), a hotel, Des Pyrénées (tel 05.59.34.88.62, fax 05.59.34.86.96; under €30), and a food shop. BORCE, a more attractive medieval village 1km away on the west flank of the valley, is home to another, communally run gîte d'étape (tel 05.59.34.86.40) in the centre, and a campsite on the outskirts. Further upstream at one of the narrowest points of the Aspe squats the menacing Fort du Portalet (now privately owned), which served as a prison for 1930s socialist premier Léon Blum under Pétain's Vichy government, and then for Pétain himself after the liberation of France. Just before the fort, at the Pont de Cebers, the GR10 threads east along the Chemin de la Mâture, an eighteenth-century mule path hacked out of the precipitous rock slabs that form the sides of a dizzy ravine, facilitating the transport of tree trunks felled for use as ships' masts. The path is broad enough, but if you don't like heights keep away from the edge. The GR10 reaches the Lacs d'Ayous refuge opposite the Pic du Midi d'Ossau in about five hours. Less than 2km south of the fort, URDOS is the last village on the French side of the frontier, and has arguably the best hotel-restaurant in the valley: the Hôtel des Voyageurs (tel 05.59.34.88.05, fax 05.59.34.86.74; closed mid-Oct to mid-March; €30–40) – with an annexe across the road known as the Hôtel Somport – which serves a wonderful, four-course set meal (€15). From here, you can continue through the new tunnel under the Col de Somport and on to Canfranc in Spain, the terminus for trains from Jaca.
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