I had a very comfortable night. It had clearly rained a lot in the night, but threatening clouds were clearing when I left at 08.15. The first part of the route followed a tributary of the Vienne, and it was clear that the area had endured a lot of flooding recently.

There were many trees uprooted, even large ones, and on both sides of the road there was a lot of debris in the way of bushes and branches. There had been mudslides too, some still half cleared. The river itself was still very high, and brown, dirty and angry.

As I went along I emerged onto upland just as the clouds vanished. It is not very warm here yet, and their trees and bushes are no further into spring than those in Nottinghamshire, which surprised me. But it was pleasant to walk in sun, even if the light breeze was a bit chilly.

After several hours of walking through rolling Limousin  pastureland I was trying to work out why this was proving rather a dull walk. Then the penny dropped. There was absolutely nothing on this prime pastureland, famed for its beef production. I didn’t see a single cow all day. It was weird.

Asking the man at the Cafe des Sports in Flavignac what was going on he told me that they have never known a winter like it for rain, and this has only just ended, so the farmers haven’t put their herds out in the fields yet. I hardly saw any agricultural workers, and the few who were out were mending fences.

On the other hand I did see the very unusual push-me-pull-you beetle.

The one at the top was forging ahead, and the one behind was walking backwards as fast as they (no dodgy genders assumptions here!) could go. They are conjoined at the end of their abdomens. Fighting? Sex? Luckily, I know a naturalist who will tell me all. But it was a very funny sight

I had another short break at Les Cars, notable for the impressive fragments of what must have been a stonking castle

With these castle stables, like a huge tithe barn with renaissance twiddly bits.

From there it was a 5km haul uphill with no breaks (nobody told me that) and then 1k downhill to my digs.

Laurence is firmly of the opinion that I should have comfortable nights, and not ‘rough it’. But on a pilgrimage route through fairly remote rural parts there isn’t always much choice. So this is my bedroom tonight.

Wish me luck.