and also may i, on behalf of my sister and myself, also thank most sincerely all those members who have emailed us with words of support, advice and encouragement..we will reply to all individually..its so good to hear your kind words..

by the way the bridge on the Google map leaving Caudebec is the actual bridge you will cross after breakfast on the second morning leaving Caudebec..the view is beautiful..

hi members..i have replied to Mr Pennifolds criticisms, which have been many, on the London website.I explained that as the first walk took place in 1979 we didnt have any images to post on our site and i never claimed the images that did appear were images of our walkers. i understood these were stock images and if some are not i will humbly apologise to the owners and remove them..i also explained that the site was examined by Save the Children and meets with their full approval..i also pointed out that we are not trying to sell anything to anyone..sometimes its very nice to receive a few words of encouragement for people who are trying to do something good for others rather than a stream of negativity..i dont know mr.Pernnifold but i wish him well

After Paul Vignoles posted the same information to the LDWA Facebook page I started some research. I have found that most of his photos claiming to be from previous walks have in fact been 'stolen' from elsewhere on the internet. This makes me very suspicious. For example his photo "8am day 2 leaving Caudebec" is actually taken from Google Street View. Several other photos are also commonly seen elsewhere on the internet. It's quite easy to search on the internet to see if a particular photos appears elsewhere, go to images.google.com and drag any image – either from your desktop, file or another web page – to the search box. Similar matches are displayed.

Thank you for the extra information Paul. Now I understand why you are not ABTA affiliated. While I feel that most members would regard this as a walking holiday (albeit a very long one) however the trip is defined it is important that anyone paying money up front is protected should something unforeseen go wrong. I would therefore advise any member thinking of walking this epic walk, and raising money for charity by getting sponsorship, to buy appropriate travel insurance (including insolvency cover) for the trip BEFORE they send off any payments.

hi members..this is not a holiday and we are not a travel agency neither are we a business..we are simply a group of people who want help the work of Save the Children through an unusual project..our site meets with their full approval..if you are in any doubt please ring their number..we have done this before with great success..and will treat your confidence in us with great respect..thank you

As membership secretary I feel obliged to warn all members of the risks of paying for a holiday without ABTA protection. Having visited the website suggested I note that those who sign up will pay £4995 in advance to undertake this walk but there is no reference to ABTA protection. As Credit Card payment is not an option, there is no way of getting protection through the credit card payment either.

hi members.. LDWA mem number 31693 Paul Vignoles..we are organising a marathon walk from Le Havre to Rome leaving the UK April 2016..all sponsorship proceeds will go to Save the Children..our website is www.southwalks.org.uk..have a look and let us know what you think..if there are any LDWA members families or friends who would be interested in participating we would be delighted to hear from you..thanks for your time..best wishes