So, where did I leave off this eventful day’s walking? I had just witnessed a violent hailstorm and, when it had abated and the sky looked just a little brighter, I set off from Attilly to walk to through the… Continue reading

The morning after the night before, Bapaume slept soundly. At breakfast at the Hotel le Paix, I discovered that my Swiss pilgrim compadre Marcel had also stayed at the hotel. I had first met Marcel at Wisques and then again… Continue reading

I love watching a city come to life. I left my comfortable flat on the Rue du Turenne and skirted past the Neptune fountain (currently not emitting water) for one last time and headed off on the Via in search… Continue reading

Yesterday’s walk from Ablain St Nazaire to Arras very much brought home the impact of the First World War on this part of France. I had a great stay with Sylviane and Pierre Labenne, practically on the site of the… Continue reading

If you detected a certain lack of “joie de vivre” in my last post, you would have been right. The jokes and witty observations I spent the first half of the walk distilling, evaporated in the heat and effort of… Continue reading

Well today has been a long and eventful day. After bragging yesterday about the lack of rain there was sunshine, wind and rain today – happily the wind and rain were never head on. I walked from Liettres to Amette:… Continue reading

I don’t wish to rub this in for readers following this in the UK, but today was another dry day – but right at the top of my weather condition wish-list, warm and overcast too. No need to try to… Continue reading

The morning began at the charming Moulin du Audenfort with a homely breakfast. Madame Pillot’s children joined us with choruses of “bonjours”. It was an opportunity to catch up with Jim, Georgina and Jerry, the Canadian pilgrims who had been… Continue reading