Euskal Herria, Basque country, lies squarely astride the Pyrenees but its boundaries are elusive and its people rather than its geography often define it. The French Basque country, Iparralde, is five times smaller than its southern Spanish counterpart and is made up of three provinces, all situated in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques* departement*. Labourd boasts 20 wonderful miles of coastline with treasures like St Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne; Lower Navarre has a more agricultural feel with St Jean-Pied-de-Port as its historic capital; and lush landscapes and fast powerful rivers have earned Soule the nickname of the secret garden. Fierce defenders of their identity, the Eskualdunak - literally Basques by birth - number around 2.5 million in Euskal Herria with several million more in the US. Eskuara, the Basque language, is renowned for being one of the world’s most grammatically complex tongues and is celebrated at festivals like the Fete* de la Langue Basque which takes place in St Pee sur Nivelle on the second Sunday in May. Aberri Eguna, the Basque national day, coincides with Easter Sunday.

Basque daily life, it’s said, revolves around the church and the pelota court, or fronton. Also known as jai alai, the sport of pelota derives from royal tennis which was fashionable in France of old and probably adopted by the Basques to mark the celebrations hold in honour of the marriage of Louis XIV at St Jean-de-Luz. Countless versions of the game now exist but all are essentially a high-risk version of squash where the ball can fly at more than 300 km an hour making it the fastest ball game in the world. The sport’ s most striking feature is the chistera or wicker glove worn by participants to propel the ball. To see the world’s best players in action, head to St Jean-de-Luz for the Cesta Punta world championships from 24 September to 02 October or to Bayonne for the World Cup En Trinquet from 04 to 12 September. Alternatively, sign up for pelota lessons with the Federation* Francaise* de Pelote Basque in Bayonne where you’ll discover the rules of the game and the basic technique behind three different disciplines.

Other popular Basque sports tend to involve a show of force - log-chopping, stone-lifting, tossing iron bars, even grass cutting. The Festival de Force Basque takes place in Saint-Palais every year on the first Sunday after August 15 when eight villages come together to battle it out for first place in the tug-of-war or soka-tira competition.

With the harvesting of the chillis comes the main event of the autumn, La Fete du Piment (Chilli Festival) in Espelette which takes place this year on 23 and 24 October. Thousands of bright red chillis festoon Espelette’s buildings and Saturday is devoted to selling and tasting them...

Basque Cake isn’t the only emblem of the Basque country. At the Musee* du Beret in Nay, 12 miles from Pau, you can follow the history of the humble shepherd’s cap as well as how it’s made. A symbol of rural independence, both French and Basque, the original beret was either navy blue or red and the earliest record of it appears in 13th century stone carvings at a local church. Contrary to the national stereotype, it’s not just the domain of gnarled old men and is worn by young Basques with pride, even on the ski slopes. From the age of 8-12, schoolboys used to don them on their way to school to show that they had entered adolescence. Sported by the likes of General Montgomery, Abbe* Pierre and Greta Garbo, the beret now carries military and religious connotations as well as being a fashion icon in its own right. There are only two companies left in the region that produce berets, one of which is Blancq Olibet who set up the museum.