Another grey day – no hint of sunshine, not even a sliver of blue sky. But at least it wasn’t raining.

As on the previous afternoon, we initially headed to the centre of Chasseradès and its church before descending to the hamlet of Mirandol. This cluster of houses sits beneath an impressive railway viaduct. It carries the Lozère line which runs from Marvejols to La Bastide. An interesting feature is the construction of what look like long sheds covering the tracks on either side of the viaduct. These prevent snowdrifts blocking the line in winter.

We followed the railway line to the next hamlet, L’Estampe before entering the forest of Goulet. We would spend a great deal of the day in woodland. This particular stretch was a very tough climb and didn’t relent for a good 600 metres.

The rain arrived three hours into the day’s walk, albeit very lightly at first. In the drizzle, in the depths of forest, we came upon Serreméjan, an abandoned village. The ruins of the stone-built houses looked at peace with their sylvan setting. What caused this community’s demise? 

Not much further along the Way, we walked into a lush valley, its tiny stream seemingly unaware of its grandeur. For this was the Lot, not so very far from its source, its waters destined for a 500 kilometre journey west. And on its rive gauche, we found a clump of pines dense enough to provide decent shelter for our lunch break.

After our rather late lunch, the rain became more determined, and hence we became much more focused upon the finishing line for the day. We hurried through Les Alpiers, and descended over moorland landscape towards Le Bleymard. We were taken aback by the bright lights of a grand petrol station on the edge of the village kitted out with a supermarket and post-office counter. We stocked up with water, postage stamps, and treated ourselves to a couple of lightweight hiking capes. These seem to be very popular in France; they’re designed to provide cover for the walker and his/her back-pack. So, we were joining the ranks of the hunchbacks. Well, if you can’t beat them ….

From here, it was but a hop, skip and a jump to Hotel Remise. This was a well-established coaching inn, but had been modified for the 21st century. The efficient receptionist, keenly aware of our sodden state, took us through to the porch entrance of their restaurant where she drew back a pair of full-length curtains. Within this recess were heaters and space to hang garments and stack muddy boots. Brilliant! The hotel was otherwise clean and comfortable. The stone walls and wooden beams of the restaurant were a reminder of the hotel’s long tradition. The fare was unspectacular. 

The forecast for the next day predicted more rain – we didn’t really know how long we could stomach all this sogginess.