Regular readers of the Chronicle will have seen several photographs in the paper by local resident Cath Barton, who enjoys taking pictures on her walks in the local hills. Recently Cath and her friend Jude went on a rather different walk – a five-day trek in the mountains of the Cévennes in Southern France, with donkeys.

“Many years ago I read Robert Louis Stevenson’s account of travels with donkey called Modestine in the Cévennes. I think it was always in the back of my mind that I might do something similar myself, but it was rather daunting to think of walking alone with a donkey who might be stubborn! So when I came across a small travel company offering this trek for small groups I jumped at the chance,” said Cath

“I was delighted when Jude said she’d like to come too, and we were joined in France by three French companions – Virginie, Simone and Chantal – our guide Delphine and two donkeys, Passo and Vodka.

“Every morning we fed the donkeys, brushed them and cleaned their hooves, then loaded our bags onto their backs.They were delightful companions, though sometimes it was a job to pull them away from snacking on wayside plants and trees as we passed!

“The mountains where we were walking are forested with chestnut trees and holm oaks, which provided us with shade, welcome on the warm days, as was the river were we stopped for lunch and a cooling dip one day, and the swimming pool at one of our stops for the night.

The paths were rocky but the distances not extreme. At night we slept in simple gîtes or camped. We never went hungry – the French always feed you very well!

“We laughed a lot with our companions in a mixture of French and English and have invited them to come and walk with us in Wales one day. I hope they will do so!” said Cath who is now safely back home in Abergavenny.