23:13 and we’re tucked up in bed.

We met up with Tom at the Mona Lisa bar where the three of us had a very congenial dinner. Tom was in fine form 😊. The hotel is ok, we’ve stayed in better but we’ve also stayed in worse. The walk into Oxford was hot, 29 degrees apparently.

The train journey to Southampton was pleasant as was the flight down to Biarritz with FlyBe.

I like the colour – ‘when I am an old woman, I shall wear purple’, Jenny Joseph, a poem that mum has taken to heart 💓.

We missed the bus from the airport, or rather, we failed to recognise that the bus at the stop would have brought us to the Mona Lisa for €2 each. Instead the taxi cost us €25 😩. C’est la vie.

We’ve debated whether to switch back to the Frances now that the ongoing heat wave seems to be ending but with temperatures on the Norte over the next week or so seemingly limited to early 20s as opposed to early 30s on the Frances, mum has pulled rank and has refused to contemplate changing to the Frances again. So, the Norte it is.

Breakfast tomorrow is at 8 o’clock and our 40 minute train journey to Hendaye, the start of our Camino del Norte is at 9:48. I’m hoping to stay at an albergue some 7km before San Sebastián whose doors open at 4 o’clock. Tomorrow’s route profile is reasonable but by no means flat and it’s roughly 18km from Hendaye to the albergue. We should be fine but it all really depends on Tom. If we’re there too late there’s a good chance it’ll be full and we’ll have to continue to San Sebastián.

That’s it for now. Good to hear that Taliesin and all of you are fine (note the priority 😊).

Buen Camino