It is a week before we set off to trek across southern France from Severac le Chateau in Aveyron  to Grasse in Haute Provence.  The distance is about 500Km and will take us 4 weeks travelling at a relaxed pace and walking every day.  This is almost the final stage in our trek from the English Channel, La Manche to the French, to the Mediterranean.  Already we have walked across Europe on two route - first from Dunkirk to Genoa on the Italian Mediterranean coast and second from The Hague to the Slovene Adriatic coast.  This time we started in Calais and over three years, walking for 2 weeks at a time, we made our way through Nord Pas de Calais, Picardy, Normandy and Centre to Limousin where we finished last time in November on a glorious autumn day on the causse.  Severac le Chateau lies on the edge of the Causse Sauveterre on the eastern edge of the Perigord and to the west of the Cevennes.  Nearest sizeable towns are Rodez and Millau.

Our walking route will take us across the Causse Sauveterre and along the Gorge du Tarn to the Causse Mejean.  Then into the Cevenne for a week to emerge on the eastern slopes facing the Rhone Valley which we cross at Tarascon.  From there we go along the ridge of hills made world famous in the paintings of Van Gogh, Les Alpilles to cross into the Luberon mountains where we pass through Moustiers to the Gorge du Verdon and into Haute Provence.

We are gathering our kit while putting finishing touches to our work to ensure that it is OK while we are away.  We are checking that our smart phones have all necessary apps and other functions so that we can keep in touch with work and family matters while away.  Some of our overnight stops have wi=fi and we shall be able to use the phones then.  We'll be careful not to data-roam, given the propensity of the phone companies to exploit this opportunity to over-charge,.