Lyall Watson encounters some helpful fellow-travellers • Sue Gee follows the tale of Orlando the Marmalade Cat • Stephen Glain revisits Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria • Charlie Lee-Potter remembers springtime in Paris • Linda Leatherbarrow enjoys a peak experience • Hilary Macaskill tackles the Cévennes with several donkeys • Richard Platt meets a Kentucky barber • Jim Ring admires the view from a periscope • Ysenda Maxtone Graham goes Ladybird-hunting