UKC

Has anyone got experience of travelling by train to the Pyrenees or other alpine regions, We are hoping to do a 7 day section of the GR10 and after a search it appears there are no straightforward or cheap flights to Pau (from the North Uk.) Taking the train appeals, as we would be able to carry walking poles and relax en route. How comfortable/tiresome can it be? I am amused to see I get a senior rail ticket now I have reached 60, and it seems relatively cheap overall.

Dorine

Unfortunately not as many night trains as there were, but the Paris - La Tour de Carol still runs with a station at Merens on the GR10. Otherwise there are TGV to either end of the GR10, plus a few train/bus options such as Luz St Saveur or Luchon. I've used both & prefer it to flying but I live in Paris. Other options for flights would be Toulouse, Barcelona or Tarbes-Lourdes from where you could access the Pyrenees by train &/or bus

We did a few days on the Cathar Way and GR10 a couple of years ago. We flew to Toulouse from Bristol and took the train from there to Foix and later, on to Merens. Had the train been competitive  and made sense timing wise all the way, or at least from London  (we're heading for 60, but not there quite yet) I'd certainly have considered it. From Merens we went towards the Med and were able to reconnect with the same train further down the line for the journey back. Had we gone the other way, I seem to recall that getting back to the train was going to be awkward. The bus only ran on Thursdays, or something. 

Watch out though, that you don't find the idea of relaxing on the way so attractive that you take more stuff than you would want to hump along the GR10. 

Consider doing a portion of the HRP - which could be less tiring and more scenic! The GR10 does a lot more ups and downs - for an experienced walker the HRP is no probs and certain sections have refuges through-out.

I tried to edit my post last night but was too late to suggest the same, or at least to look at combining the HRP & the GR 10 & 11. My last several day walk in the Pyrenees was a bit like that, starting in Banyuls (train from Paris, I think TGV to Perpignan then local train) & heading westwards, mostly in huts & gites (bunkhouses). After a week I was close to Font Romeu from where I caught the train to Ax les Thermes for a night with friends before the night train back to Paris. If I'd not got so far I was always within a day of somewhere where I could have caught a train either back to Perpignan or on to Ax

You can get a train to Pau, then to Oloron-Sainte-Marie and then a bus from the SNCF railway station to Etsaut.

There is now a train from Oloron to Bedous too. Not GR10 yet but getting close.

Other buses for the last few miles can be found here http://www.gr10.fr/archives/2006/04/16/35621145.html (check if the lines are still running)

Hitchiking is a possibility - at least my family and I tend to pick hitchikers on the way. It seems fairly common.

Good advice. Be a pity to miss Lescun out if you were walking W -E , though, and it's just a case of getting off the bus a stop earlier and a bit of a trudge  up the road.

June/July 2010, we used the trains, as summarised by drolex above.
Eurostar afternoon from St Pancras to Paris Nord. Metro transfer to Paris Austerlitz.
Overnight couchette from Austerlitz to Pau, then morning local train to Oleron Ste Marie.
Bus to Etsaut, then plenty of time to walk to first hut.
Did parts of Haute Route/GR10/GR11 then returned from Luchon couchette to Austerlitz.

Everything booked easily via Dbahn (either online or phone the London office).
The only slight hassle was on Eurostar, we had to hand over our axes etc at St Pancras and retrieve them at Paris Nord.  There were 4 of us so we just handed them all over in a single rucksack liner.

Thank you all (especially Mouflon) for very helpful replies, I need to sit down again with maps/guides and work out the best start and finish to the section. I will post when we have completed, with any useful travel tips that we found.

Dorine

Unfortunately SNCF have stopped running several night trains (& seemingly would like to stop all of them) so check before planning to use one that it still runs.