Long March - France 2004

The Long March - France 2004

Alex Hatherall and Gerry Klippell set off for France on 4 May 2004 on the 'long march'. They were driven by Liz Hatherall to their starting point, near Reims, and then they set out on foot, heading for St Julien Moulin Mollette, where Alex has a house in the south of France.
The initial part of the journey was somewhat wet but the weather cheered up, and so did their spirits, as they pushed further south. Their journey took them along country roads and tracks and, after 16 days, they had reached a little village called Mussey sur Siene.

Gerry and Alex had invited other members of the Association to join them for part of the walk. So it was at Mussey sur Seine that they met up with Ken and Marlene Coburn. Ken walked with Alex and Gerry for two days whilst Marlene gave some short respite from carry their rucksacks by transporting them to the next stop-over.

Of course there was time in the evening to enjoy the delights of French cooking and French wine.

After a good nights sleep (the wine certainly helped) it was time to check the route for the next day and leave the comforts of the hotel behind for the day's march. The pace was leisurely, aiming to cover around 15km per day and arrive in the next town or village with sufficient time to have a shower, do some sight-seeing, and then enjoy a convivial evening meal.

It was soon time for Ken and Marlene to bid farewell to Alex and Gerry as they set off on the next leg of their journey - this time with their rucksacks.

Alex and Gerry continued their journey southward to Dijon, Nuits-St Georges and Beaune.

Unfortunately, it was here that Gerry became ill and so they were forced to abandon their 'long march'. They completed their journey to Alex's home by rail where arrangements were made to fly Gerry back to the UK.

Gerry has now recovered and Alex is contemplating whether or not to go back to Beaune and continue the journey. Watch this space for further news.