If you go down to the woods today

Pam, who runs a Facebook photo group I belong to, invited us on a photo walk today. She lives a long way from me, but I thought it would be nice to discover an area I don't know at all, get some walking in, and meet some new people. It was an hour and a half drive into the hills of the Haut Languedoc, through spectacular scenery

The ten of us met in Olargues, a village I know Connections and Pilipo are very familiar with, and walked along the Voie Verte, the former railway line between St Pons and Bédarieux which was closed sometime in the 1970s. So it was an easy, flat walk, but I had been hoping it would be cooler up there. Nope, 29C and sunny. Luckily much of the walk was in the shade of the woods, and we ended up at a lovely swimming spot on the river Jaur.

Back in Olargues, some people climbed up to the tower to admire the view, but the more sensible/doddery among us repaired to a bar for very welcome cold beers and chat. A lovely afternoon in good company and the drive back in golden evening light was a pleasure. Stats: 5 km, 98 m climbing (allegedly, I don't really believe it), just under two hours including stops -- the good thing about walking with photographers is that they don’t mind stopping frequently ).