En route

Photo grabbed as I drove back from my first Tuesday afternoon walk for ages. I could tell this scene was only going to last a few minutes, so I had to take it from where I happened to be.

The walk was a gentle re-introduction ... only 7.8 km and 29 m of climbing. Hardly taxing! Early on we had an unscheduled rest as we arrived at a large fenced off area occupied by about 300 sheep with their little lambs (first extra) and three patous (large Pyrenean guard dogs). The dogs were not in the least aggressive, not even barking, but just calmly observing the 43 (yes, really) loudly chattering walkers taking photos of them . But operating on the principle of precaution, Jean-Jacques phoned the shepherd, whom he'd met when checking out the route on Sunday. The shepherd duly rolled up in his 4x4 and escorted us past the sheep, with one patou romping alongside, tail wagging, happily nudging people with his nose in the hope of a cuddle.

Most of the walk was along a voie verte, a former railway line closed in the early 1970s (see second extra), so it was not strenuous in the least, but it was a pleasant outing even if the weather could have been a bit better.