Back home in Provence having been driven down from the Vercors by wind, rain and low cloud... The clear blue skies of Provence lured us up the twisty road from Gemenos up the col de l'Espigoulier (725m) towards to the cool and forested heights of Mont Sainte Baume. The ancient path up to the ridge at the Col du St. Pilon (955 m.) has been improved by religious pilgrims since when Mary Magdalene spent the last thirty years of her life in a cave looking out over Roman Provence.

Some pictures from The Lake District as spring arrives: a trek up Grizedale where the snow is still on the summit and a hike from Aira Force to Patterdale along the banks of Ullswater. We also saw an Osprey on our hike up to Dodds Summit.

Two contrasting postcards from the first weekend in summer at Villard de Lans in the Vercors region of France.

We hiked to the hike to the Col Vert (1760m) on a blustery day. Starting off from Villard de Lans (1050m), our choice of paths took us up through forests of a variety of pine trees. Above the tree line the heat of the midday sun and the violent winds made themselves known but the skies stayed clear.

The Col Vert is a craggy limestone window with a precipitous view through to the valley of the river Gresse 1000m below, which meets with the river Isère at Grenoble.

A fine but windy sunset and then the weather all changed for the first day of summer, see below:-

Postcard of my pictures of a circuit of England's fourth highest peak, Skiddaw (931 m). Up from Millbeck, on a sparkling winter's morning; Carlside Tarn was frozen hard and the path upwards was slippery with a sharp wind from the west. My thermometer read -5°C on the summit ridge.

Skiddaw Man and Little Skiddaw Man were busy and the view over towards Lonscale Fell was cracking. The Lakeland peaks were all clear but I couldn't make out Snaefell on the Isle of Man.

Down to Latrigg saddle and then a back route home.