The last post

For now…

Archie and I are setting off to France for a couple of months sans Noddy. I think Noddy is a bit too old for foreign travel, especially as pet passports mean numerous trips to the vet (Noddy’s least favourite person) it seems wiser to leave him behind.

Unlike other foreign trips, which were organised like a military exercise, (start points, objectives etc) I have not made any detailed plans. My broad plan is to travel west to visit Monet’s garden at Giverny and then head south east towards Clermont Ferrand in the centre of France. Planning hasn’t been forgotten though as I’ve packed about 30 maps and 20 assorted guide and walking books plus GPS.

I plan to tour the Auvergne region of extinct volcanoes and then onto the Cevennes mountains and the Mediterranean. Top of my list of things to see are the Puy de Dôme, the Puy du Sancy, Le Puy-en-Velay and the Pont du Gard. I also intend to see many of the wonderful gorges in the region, the Tarn and Jointe, the Truyère and the Ardèche to name a few.

This part of France is quite mountainous so it should provide some good départmental topping; Puy du Sancy (Puy de Dôme) 6,187ft, La Plomb du Cantal (Cantal) 6,096ft, Mt Lozère (Lozère) 5,500ft and Mt Aigoual (Gard) 5,141ft are some of the highest tops. Perhaps I should have warmed up somewhere a little more challenging than Norfolk.

I’ll try wherever possible to update this blog, otherwise I’ll speak to the nation again on my return on Bastille Day.