As for accommodation

So far, so scary. We want to log details of a large number of places to stay along our way, so we can walk as far as we want each day rather than race to beat nightfall. Our intention is a slow, considered look at the land and the people, and have chosen a generous timescale.

Stanfords in Long Acre sells many Topo Guides of French long distance walks. But not all. A trawl through the IGN and FFRandonees websites (the miracle of internet shopping) plug the gaps, while the National Trails site and our gorgeous Tourist Information Centres offer up enough B&Bs to sprinkle over the English part of the route. We plunder the Michelin, AA and Logis de France guides for their offerings.

Our divergent approaches to research are where the problems lie. I start broad-brush and fill in the details later. David’s plan is methodical and structured before he even opens a book. Amid long sighs and old-fashioned glares, we devote previous hours to agreeing that both approaches have their merits; but if we don’t come up with a third way, pronto, we won’t be going anywhere.

So armed with all our documents, we put up the picnic table in the middle of the flat and spend suddenly peaceful afternoons trading place names, distances and page references. A directory that can be read from our mobile phones is born.