I arrived in St Pierre des Corps on Thursday, gliding in on a double decker TGV at what felt like the speed of sound. I’m staying in Tavers for a while with my friends, Jim and Brigitte. I’m here to help them build an old stone wall. That’s me and Jim above in full 1930s dust bowl, wall-building attire.

In about a week when the wall’s done and dusted I’m going to walk down the Loire to the Atlantic Coast, with my rucksack and tent. That’s the plan, although I’m not sure if I’ll go the full distance.

The Loire’s often described as the last wild river in Europe, untamed and beautiful, snaking its wide way through some lovely countryside and past interesting old towns and ancient castles. But it’s almost two-hundred miles to the coast and I’ve a rucksack the weight of a small car, so we’ll see.

That’s as much as I can offer right now because I’m staying in an old, thick-walled barn with no reception and weak Wifi. There’ll be more to come soon, when I’ll probably be banging on about the merits of lime mortar, used by the Romans for the Colosseum and Pantheon, and even the Great Wall of China in 618AD. That’s what we’re using. It’s lovely stuff.

À bientôt!

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