After 4 nights of hospitality, the summer holidays were declared officially over. We cleaned and closed up the house, and all set off early.

It was a misty and atmospheric woodland journey, retracing the forest paths back to Bagnoles de l'Orne.

Then north west from the Étoile d' Andaine to Dompierre on the Route Forestière du Vivier du Roy.

At Dompierre I was sorry to see the derelict Le Bon Laboreur (The Good Ploughman). It looked like it had once been an ideal watering hole.

Then turning north on V43 past Le Chatellier and on to Flers. More than half the distance to Vire covered by the 10am teabreak. The sun came out and I soaked it up on the low walls of the Château.

Continuing NW for a very steep climb up to Mont de Cerisy which doesn't have much of a view but, as well as rhododendrons in the spring, does have an impressive ruin. In 1870 Lord Burkingyoung had this mock-Tudor mansion built. During the war it was used as a radio base by the Luftwaffe and was destroyed by British bombs in 1944.

A technical descent on a mix of trails and rocky paths before rejoining undulating lanes heading west through Monsecret and Saint Quentin.

Here I used my new Opinel knife for a picnic. Not only had my friends thought to buy me a replacement for the one confiscated in June at Eurostar security, but they'd also engraved it, to help ensure I can hold on to this one for at least the 25 years I managed with the previous one.

After lunch, just a short push on to the municipal campsite of Vire, located to the south of the city. I had plenty of time to get the tent up before a sudden and prolonged downpour. Hopefully I'll be able to get out for supper without a soaking...