In ordering the sheets of the 1/200,000 (if one does not purchase them as a whole), reference is made not to numbers, but to names. There are five sheets, “Bayonne,” “Tarbes,” “Luz,” “Foix,” and “Perpignan,” the price of which in England is 10s.; the whole series can also be purchased mounted.
The sheets of the 1/100,000 map may be referred to either by the names of their central towns, or by the index number of the series in which they are printed. It is difficult to say what numbers of these maps exactly cover the range, unless one knows how far from the watershed towards the plain the traveller intends to go. The smallest number sufficient to cover the actual watershed and the highest peaks is 16, or, for the whole frontier, 17. These sheets are by name (going from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, from west to east), St. Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, St. Jean Pied-de-Port, Mauléon, Ste. Engrace, Laruns, Luz, Gavarnie, Bagnères-de-Luchon, Val-d’Arouge, St. Girons, Mont Rouch, Perles, Ax-les-Thermes, Saillagouse, Ceret, and Banyuls. Referring to their numbers in the series upon the index map, they are respectively viii. 35, ix. 35, ix. 36, x. 36, x. 37, xi. 37, xii. 37, xii. 38, xiii. 37, xiii. 38, xiv. 37, xiv. 38, xv. 38, xvi. 38, xvi. 39, xvii. 39, and xviii. 39. It will be observed that in the index map of the 1/100,000 series, the divisions running from north to south are marked in Roman numerals, those from east to west in Arabic numerals, and that the gradual increase in Arabic numerals from 35 to 39, corresponds to the gradual trend southward of the Pyrenean chain from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
Very few of my readers will be concerned with the main crest of the range alone; it will therefore be necessary to add to that list northward of the frontier (the lower Arabic numerals) the further sheet according to the district each may have chosen to travel in. A certain number of extra sheets are necessary to those who travel in the main chain only, for instance, “Perles” (xv. 38) includes within the limits of its sheet the frontier upon either side, but this frontier so nearly approaches the northern limits in one spot, that it will be quite impossible to travel in this part until we also add the sheet “Foix” (xv. 37), to the north of it. Even the little lake of Garbet, which is not three miles from the crest of the range, is half out of the map and half in.
Those who desire a complete collection of all the sheets of the 1/100,000 survey, extending from the furthest mountain over the Spanish side up on the foothills into the French plain, may remark the following lists: in series viii. 35; in series ix. 35 and 36; in series x. 35, 36, and 37; in series xi. 35, 36, and 37; in series xii. 36, 37, and 38; in series xiii. 36, 37, and 38; in series xiv. 37 and 38; in series xv. 37 and 38; in series xvi. 37, 38, and 39; in series xvii. 38 and 39; in series xviii. 39; in all twenty-five sheets will cover the mountainous region in this survey, and anyone who desires a complete map of the French Pyrenees, with as much of the Spanish side as the survey includes, should possess them all.
Schrader’s map is in six sheets upon the scale of 1/100,000 and with contours. It is essentially a climber’s map. Detailed maps of special districts of course exist in many shapes, but they must be sought for in the periodical reviews, and in monographs in which they have appeared. Finally, it may interest the reader to know that in the Casino of Bagnères-de-Luchon he may inspect a fully detailed relief map of the whole range on a scale somewhat larger than one inch to a mile, though the inspection of it rather satisfies curiosity than affords any guide to travel.
Schrader’s map is of the greatest value for one particular piece of touring, which I shall describe later in these pages. Meanwhile it may be as well to add a further note upon it here. It is by far the best, so far as it goes, of all the Pyrenean maps; it is due to private enterprise, and if the whole range had been done in the same way there would be no need to discuss any other type, it would amply suffice for all purposes. Unfortunately, whereas the range, within the limits laid down in this book, stretches in length from a degree east of Paris to nearly four degrees west of that meridian, covering, that is, four or five degrees of longitude, and stretches in latitude from 43° 25′ to at least 42°, Schrader’s survey covers only 1½° in longitude (namely, from 1° 10′ west of Paris to 2° 40′), and in latitude extends over no more than half a degree, namely, from 42° 20′ to 42° 50′.
As the reader may see by comparing these bearings with a general map, Schrader’s map is intended to include no more than the very high Pyrenean peaks: it is the result of many years of careful individual survey, begun before the war of 1870 and carried on to quite the last few years.
Like the French Home Office map, it is in the scale of 1/100,000, and, like it, it is printed in colours, but unlike the Home Office map, it shows the invaluable feature of contours. You have an exact plan of the country before you, and in clear weather, with the aid of this map, you can fall into no error in connexion with the relief of the land. The contours are at some distance, at 100 metres or 328 feet apart, but this in such country is an advantage; indeed, the cramping of the closer contours on the official 1/200,000 map, greatly detracts from their usefulness. Not only are contours marked, but all rocky places are given with the greatest care, and the impression of relief is helped by shading as well as contour lines. The only drawback of the map, apart from its restricted area, lies in the absence of any indication of woods. As to the steepness, to which woods are often a guide, his contours amply make up for the deficiency, but for camping it affords you no indication. On the other hand, all cabanes and all paths are very clearly marked.
All heights and distances with which you will have to do in these hills upon either side are marked in metres, save in the popular talk, which measures distances by the time taken to traverse them. With this I shall deal in a moment. Let me first deal with what is a constant source of trouble to Englishmen on the Continent, the turning of the metrical system of measure into its English equivalent.
There are two ways of doing this. One is the application of quite easy and rough rules of thumb, the other is the more complicated process which aims at a fairly high degree of accuracy. It is the first of these of course which most people will want to know, and there are two simple rules, one for heights and one for distances.