Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes [Paperback]

"What it is to be young, to load a donkey with all one's belongings. The last whim of exquisite youth." --Frasers Magazine - first edition 1895

"Bursting with life to this day"

"A Classic. Delightful. Resolutely off the tourist map."

"This special book perfect for the modern traveller"

"A new slant on classic travel literature; enjoy the same
views as Stevenson and even eat at the same tables."

"This special book perfect for the modern traveller"

"Bursting with life to this day"

"What it is to be young, to load a donkey with all one's belongings. The last whim of exquisite youth."

"Masses of practical advice. Up-to-date reviews of places to eat"

"A Classic. Delightful. Resolutely off the tourist map."

Read it and live it for yourself: The classic 19th century travelogue by the author of "Treasure Island" and "Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde" is the evergreen story of one man's 200-mile hike through the mountainous heart of France, and his love-hate relationship with his companion Modestine, a donkey with a personality as broad as the dramatic landscapes of the Languedoc and beyond. More than a mere traveller's tale, this much-loved diary celebrates the history, passion and culture of the last unspoilt corner of France. This new edition, on the 130th anniversary of the original publication, features an eat and sleep guide for the modern traveller keen to follow in the footsteps (and hoof prints) of the original adventurers. Stevenson's route is now a nationally recognised and preserved ramblers trail and takes in some of France's most stunning and unspoilt countryside. There are no international chain hotels in the Lozere, and hospitality is left to innkeepers, taverniers, monks and local families. You may still travel the length of the route with a donkey to carry your bags and pass the time of day with farmers and country folk. In Laurence Phillips companion section, discover up-to-date reviews of dozens of places to eat, from the starched napkins of great restaurants to home cooked meals around a kitchen table; find plenty of hotels, guesthouses, campsites, even one of Stevenson's monasteries, on the original route: Take a fresh look at the ever glorious Lozere and southern Auvergne and discover tips for everyone passing through or hiking the original route - whether travelling with a donkey, strolling with the family and friends, walking the dogs, driving through the region or even exploring in a wheelchair. Lots of advice for disabled guests, and heads up on which restaurants and hotels accept donkeys and dogs as guests. This edition even tells you which villages and hamlets on the trail have a resident physiotherapist, should the walking start to take its toll. For visitors pressed for time or reluctant hikers, the book even includes a range of cheating options - hopping on a school bus to save a day's trek here and there, even driving from hamlet to hamlet.

Read it and live it for yourself: The classic 19th century travelogue by the author of Treasure Island and Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the evergreen story of one man's 200-mile hike through the mountainous heart of France, and his love-hate relationship with his companion Modestine, a donkey with a personality as broad as the dramatic landscapes of the Languedoc and beyond.

More than a mere traveller's tale, this much-loved diary celebrates the history, passion and culture of the last unspoilt corner of France. This new edition, on the 130th anniversary of the original publication, features an eat and sleep guide for the modern traveller keen to follow in the footsteps (and hoof prints) of the original adventurers.

Stevenson's route is now a nationally recognised and preserved ramblers trail and takes in some of France's most stunning and unspoilt countryside. There are no international chain hotels in the Lozere, and hospitality is left to innkeepers, taverniers, monks and local families. You may still travel the length of the route with a donkey to carry your bags and pass the time of day with farmers and country folk.

In Laurence Phillips companion section, discover up to date reviews of dozens of places to eat, from the starched napkins of great restaurants to home cooked meals around a kitchen table; find plenty of hotels, guesthouses, campsites, even one of Stevenson's monasteries, on the original route: Take a fresh look at the ever glorious Lozère and southern Auvergne and discover tips for everyone passing through or hiking the original route - whether travelling with a donkey, strolling with the family and friends, walking the dogs, driving through the region or even exploring in a wheelchair.

Lots of advice for disabled guests, and heads up on which restaurants and hotels accept donkeys and dogs as guests. This edition even tells you which villages and hamlets on the trail have a resident physiotherapist, should the walking start to take its toll.

For visitors pressed for time or reluctant hikers, the book even includes a range of cheating options - hopping on a school bus to save a day's trek here and there, even driving from hamlet to hamlet

Stevenson practically invented the hiking holiday - and certainly came up with the design for a sleeping bag, in his case a complicated leather bed, strapped to his celebrated donkey. Since then, hundreds have trecked the unspoilt route from the Volcanos of the Auvergne to the gateway to the Midi - Languedoc at the foot of the Cevennes. I love to follow in his footsteps and over the years have done so in an air-conditioned car, on foot and even using public transport. Latterly, I've explored Lozere as a disabled traveller and discovered that much of the journey may still be enjoyed even without the company of a donkey. I've met many fabulous fellow travellers, including a very self-willed and entertaining donkey (of course), and in seeking out inns and hotels, taverns and even monasteries, I've rated all the establishments in my guide by their friendliness to four legged guests. The carrot and bone logos in the book indicate special welcomes. This special edition of the Stevenson classic includes a travel guide - almost as long as the literary work itself, with tips on taking school buses, which villages are home to physiotherapists and how to get to the last unspoilt corner of france by road, rail and air. Laurence Phillips

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) is best known as the Scottish author of Treasure Island (1883) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and A Child's Garden of Verses (1885). In 1879, he published Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, his account of a 12-day September hike in 1878 through the heart of France. Stevenson undertook the journey as much to explore the raw countryside shaped by nature, history and the passions of religion, as to forget the heartache the return of his beloved Fanny Osbourne to her native United States. Years later, Fanny & Robert were to be re-united and eventually married. Stevenson's Cevennes journey inspired the GR70 national footpath. Laurence Phillips is an award winning author, lyricist and travelwriter. He has written many guidebooks to France. The Bradt Guide to Lille and his guide to Eurostar cities were both been voted Guidebook of the Year. A popular classroom poet, his latest collection of children's verses Poetry is Boring is published in 2009. His words have travelled further afield, lyrics for the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Shakespeare Revue being performed from the West End to the South Pacific.