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We are looking for some ideas & inspiration for walking and trekking holiday/trip. I know the world (or Europe) is our oyster........but
Duration would be at least 2 weeks, possibly 3 weeks. It needs to be somewhere in Europe, towards end of season so the weather would be good but not tropical
We would like to avoid stuff that is stupidly busy or overcrowded. We are looking at both supported and non-supported. I would prefer being self-sufficient and just go with the flow, but not carrying loads of gear, tent etc.
My immediate thoughts would be carrying sleeping bags, clothes & kit etc but possibly using huts, bunkhouses etc.
Any trails and/or areas worth looking at?
My girlfriend would like to backpack across Europe, trains, public transport and walking etc rather than walking/trekking.....but that’s another request for another day....perhaps.....
Corsica. There is a selection of long distance paths of varying degrees of difficulty, and most ,if not all,have the option of sleeping/eating in gites d'etaps. You could link up two or more if one isn't long enough, or catch the ferry over to Sardinia and do something there? Absolutely stunning island, still ok weather wise in September, I think. Also cheap to get to and around by public transport/hitching.
IMO the GR5 is hard to beat as a quality and varied walk. I did it in under 3 weeks but started at Les Houches in the Cham Valley. We got to the start and home to the UK again via train and ferry, which was great fun. I did it in July, which is too hot really in the southern sections so early starts were the name of the game
Gr58 Tour de Queyras is a shorter circular route that is also excellent and IME quiet. There are lots of varients to increase/shorten the distance but it's a 2 week trip really. Again possible to access via train. In September it was v cold at night, sub zero on many occasions but warm in the day.
Worth noting that French refuges will shut around mid september, the winter room will be open but unmanned so no food. I can't vouch for other countries but suspect it will be similar.
If you intend to use huts, most in my experience will not allow your own sleeping bag, they will provide blanket/duvet and you use your liner. So I wouldn't take a sleeping bag unless I was camping. YMMV of course, and you may not feel confident not having a bag which is fair enough.
Another possibility is eating in huts but camping - saves on stove/cooking kit weight. I know some folk who do this but it's not my cup of tea (which you won't get in the morning, or in the evening sat watching the sun go down!)
Your girlfriend is right, I did a cross europe walk following the Via Francigena from canterbury to rome. It took 100 days and was bloody awesome in every way possible, and I heartily recommend it. Stayed in bus shelters, under hedges, cemetries and the tent and in the occasional random persons spare room. It was total immersion in french/swiss/italian life.
In terms of kit we had pack weights around 5.5kg, not including food or water. I am confident of losing 0.5kg of that now but it would cost (new rucsac/tent etc). So quite comfortable weights, the key is to work out food pick up points as best you can to avoid multi day meal carrying.
The cicerone guidebooks are very good and we did the GR5 with that only, no maps required. In fact if you go on the cicerone site you can pick your walk from the list of guides they have. Another site worth looking at is Traildino for route inspiration, it really is excellent with tone of info and links
If you have a screw on gas stove get a edelrid type gas adapter that lets you use camping gaz gas with the threadless nipple. You can almost always get that type of bottle in supermarkets but not the screw on type other than in outdoor shops
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edelrid-Ventilkartuschen-Adapter/dp/B076ZYPJJF
Corsica is amazing too but can be insanely busy - racing between refuges is normal to get a bed!
Compostelle route. St Jean pied de Port à Burgos or St Jean de Luz to Llanes. Further if you've got the legs.
Have a look at KE adventures. They do organised trips which isn't what you want but it might give you some inspiration.
Plenty of them are hut to hut. We recently did one in the tatras mountains. We realised we could have sorted it ourselves. The huts you can book online and the navigation was very simple.
Dolomites, Alps, Pyrenees all have huts and long distance paths but I'd suggest heading to somewhere in Eastern Europe, Croatia or around the Balkans to get more remote and adventurous.
Slovenia - walking between mountain huts.
Pyrenees are lovely walkers' mountains. Much quieter than the Alps, most summits are accessible without mountaineering skills. You could walk a chunk of the GR10 - lower level - or the high level HRP.
Or, if you want more alpine, check out the Adler Weg (Eagle's Way) in the Austrian Alps, which is stunning hut-to-hut trekking and mostly quieter than better known French / Swiss / Italian areas.
The Alta Via routes around Aosta valley are beautiful.
GR11 - did a section of it (starting in Andorrra and going West) in August time and most of the time we were on our own. A few crowded areas near entrances to some of the National Parks. we did a mix of campsites and wild camping
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The two places that I like the most are Aosta Valley and Ecrin Park.
Norway and Denmark are very well set up for walking. Estonia too if you prefer quieter trails. Excellent hospitality with cheap food and drink.
+1 for Corsica done both the mare a mare sud & nord great weather and almost deserted in late Sept/early Oct but make sure places are still open if in later October.