Walking the Cévennes without a donkey

A read of Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes is enough to put anyone off a walking holiday among these wild mountains in the south of France. But the frustrations Stevenson faced are all in the past, says Dixe Wills in the Guardian.

You won't need an "obstreperous" donkey like his Modestine; just employ a tour operator to take your luggage on ahead of you each day. And there's no need to camp: in each of the region's pretty old hamlets, you'll find a charming auberge whose "friendly" proprietors will serve you meals of fine local produce.

Only the immense beauty and solitude of the mountains themselves is unchanged: you can walk all day here through sunny meadows, woods and gorges without seeing another soul.

Inntravel (01653 617949) offers a seven-day walking holiday from £672 full board.