The ride across Europe for refugees
Sometimes it's the wildest dreams that lead to the greatest adventures. In the summer of 2022, Louis and his horse Sasha crossed the Ligurian mountains from Italy to Spain. Over 3000 kilometers and countless ups and downs later, he tells their inspiring story.
This travel story is one of 5 winners of the Outdooractive Travelog Contest 2022.
The other four winners: Trek to Kilimanjaro, Winter in Riisitunturi, Bears and volcanoes in Kamchatka, Hiking the Kungsleden. Enjoy reading!
The simple reason I decided to ride a horse 110 days across Europe was because it needed to be done. The world pushes against you and you push back. The global pandemic forced us all into a box that felt inescapable. Creating an adventure is an act of liberation, of freedom, and the best way I thought I could express this was to ride.
On the way, I raised money for a young charity called ‘The Big Hoof,’ promoting health and well-being through the power of the horse, with funds going to Ukrainian refugees.
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Tuscany and the Ligurian Mountains
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I bought Sasha, my Arabian horse, on 12th March 2022 and we left Siena, Italy, twelve days later. I knew where I was going (Spain) and took courage in the fact that I had a four-legged companion to help me uncover our night-by-night stops.
The first week of the ride took us up Tuscany. The weather was warm and, following the ancient Via Francigena, the routes were simple.
Everything changed once we reached the Ligurian mountains. Unknown to me, these mountains had never been crossed in their entirety on horseback and, more to the point, there was no existing route. After a bit of research, I contacted two Italian long-distance riders who were keen to help me create the first ‘Ippo via’ across the range.
We were a team of strangers, united by the challenge, the power of the horse and the will to make something special happen. We pored over maps and used a combination of local and first-hand knowledge to try and create a safe crossing with Outdooractive.
After four days we said goodbye and I rode off alone from the safehold of the town of Ceparana and up into the shadows of the mountains. It was on that day that the first snows of the year began to fall. There is a reason Napoleon crossed the Alps in May and Hannibal in June. This was 2nd April.
It took me 20 long days to reach France and, with the courage of my horse and the reliability of my routes, we didn’t get lost once.
Another extraordinary route through the Ligurian mountains.
It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Alone, cold and only your routes and a handsaw to keep you right. Kilometre on kilometre, ascent on ascent of untrodden country, partisan trails, smugglers’ routes and wolf tracks; the land was a patchwork of snow and forest, with the surreal light of the Ligurian sea, green and blue below.
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Across the south of France
To cross from Italy into France we used the 42-kilometre Monti Collardente pass that takes you from Colle di Nava down into the frontier town of La Brigue. It was freezing. A snowstorm raged. Ice clutched onto the rocks and pine trees and the 2000 metre drops were a white abyss of mist.
An historic, dramatic and ever changing trail that takes you from Italy to France.
A difficult but worthwhile route that takes you along the Verdon Gorge.
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As our route descended the conditions became warmer and the track more visible, finally we could begin to ride! Riding over the Maritime Alps the air felt fresh and our horizons broadened. Rich grass, sweet pine forests and verdant plains.
We weren’t out of the woods yet, though. Both me and Sasha very nearly fell 1500 metres from the top of Le Grand Margès, near Lac de Sainte-Croix. We were lucky to escape with superficial wounds. We carefully continued on down across Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur and into the Occitanie region.
After the canals into Arles, we rode up the steps of Emperor Augustus’ Amphithéâtre d'Arles, over the haunted bridge of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, along the Camargue grasslands, the silver-green groves, the mystical waters through Lourdes and, after a month in France, we could see the Pyrenees.
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Over the Pyrenees
Basque Country is said to be the horseman’s paradise and it became very clear to see why. In folklore they worship a goddess, the lady of Mura, who represents the flowing water, the pulsing trees, the rain, the touching sun and the very breath of the earth that we ride upon. The land here is alive, the grass like blades of emeralds and the people are children of the land. We kept the Pyrenees to our south before crossing into Spain by ascending the famous La Rhune mountain and, after a tall beer at lunchtime, we found ourselves riding down into the hills of Navarre and a new country.
Following the Gave d'Ossau river.
This one day trail takes you over the western Pyrenees, where the Basques provinces of Navarra and Labourd meet.
Spain
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Europe is full of pilgrimage and hiking routes and this makes it the most accessible place in the world I have ever ridden and walked. After the ‘Arles way,’ that leads you all the way to Spain, I then joined the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (‘Camino del Norte’) that takes you from the Bay of Biscay along the coast of the Cantabrian sea.
It was hard to believe how far we had come as we rode through the thriving valleys of Asturias and over the cider drenched hills of Galicia, less than three months before I had been standing in a plastic bowl of hot water trying to avoid frostbite while Sasha huddled up to a donkey to avoid the piercing cold of a snowstorm.
We rode south from Oviedo along the ‘Camino Primitivo’ down to Santiago de Compostela and, after riding to the magical Cathedral, we carried on our pilgrimage to the ‘end of the world,’ Cape Finisterre. 2789km in 110 days: we had made it.
Nothing would have been possible without the adaptability of Sasha and the kindness of strangers. Never be afraid to ask for help. Strangers are friends waiting to happen. When I want to remember, or connect a memory that I have almost forgotten, I look at my Outdooractive maps.
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The up, down and meadnering trail that takes you to the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, the 'end of the land.'
The map of my journey will always be there; the dotted lines of adventure and companionship forged across the heart of Europe are tied together through our routes. No one will ever truly know the experiences that we had, but at least we can share the paths we created. I look forward to our next adventure.
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About Louis:
Louis Hall is a writer, actor, and long rider from Scotland. He recently finished a 2789km ride from Siena, Italy to Cape Finisterre, Spain on his Arabian horse Sasha, in order to raise money for his charity that promotes adventure and mental well being through long distance rides: The Big Hoof.
![Profile picture of Louis Hall](https://res2.oastatic.com/v3/community/default_profileImage.png?389df605)
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- 6 Related content
Following the Gave d'Ossau river.
This one day trail takes you over the western Pyrenees, where the Basques provinces of Navarra and Labourd meet.
Another extraordinary route through the Ligurian mountains.
The up, down and meadnering trail that takes you to the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, the 'end of the land.'
An historic, dramatic and ever changing trail that takes you from Italy to France.
A difficult but worthwhile route that takes you along the Verdon Gorge.
- 6 Related content
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