La France

Libby and I have just returned from a walking trip in the south of France. Over 5 days we walked from La Brigue in the French Alps to Menton, a lovely old seaside town on the Mediterranean coast just east of Monaco. We booked through a company called Inntravel. They arrange for luggage to be taken from one hotel/auberge to the next and send detailed maps and directions for the walks, including options to extend or shorten the walks, depending on your mood and the state of your legs! The route that we chose - "The Alps to the Mediterranean" - was fantastic with some of the best walking we have experienced, especially the stretch between Sospel and Menton. Stunning snow-capped mountains, sheer-sided gorges and magical forests made the walk a real pleasure. As always in France the food and wine were fantastic too. Everything just tastes so much better when you have been outdoors all day. Although not a birding trip I did manage to see quite a few good birds. The trip started well when I saw around 15 Alpine Swifts hawking around a road bridge just outside Nice airport. And when I opened the curtains on our first morning in La Brigue, I was greeted by the sight of 4 Short-toed Eagles hunting along the ridge opposite our hotel. Fantastic. The stream below produced Grey Wagtail, a few Black Redstarts were feeding in the local gardens and a Wryneck was a nice surprise in the park. Over the 5 days the walks produced Golden Eagle (3), Crag Martin (lots), Western Bonelli's Warbler (4-5), Rock Bunting (3), Firecrest (many), Black Woodpecker (at least 3 heard), Common Redstart and Cuckoo as well as the seemingly omni-present Serin.

On the coast at Menton, visible migration was in full-swing with Swallows streaming through in an almost constant procession with a supporting cast of Common and Alpine Swifts, a few House Martins and the occasional Sparrowhawk or White Stork.

Our visit to Menton coincided with a women's football international tournament. We stumbled across a match involving Denmark and Russia on an artificial pitch near our hotel. Despite us swelling the crowds cheering on our adopted homeland (I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that we doubled the Danish support), the Danes went down 2-0 to a very competent Russia team. A post-match tour of the old town and the seafront, sampling the local cuisine was a very pleasant end to our stay in France and a welcome rest for our weary muscles.

Photos: a house at La Brigue, our starting point on the walk; a street in Saorge, one of the pretty mountain villages in the Maritime-Alps; a view of Tende from the hills above La Brigue; some of the violet-coloured flowers that adorned our route (are these violets?); and Libby working out our route.