The Via Transilvanica is 1,400 kilometres long, from Putna to Drobeta-Turnu Severin, marked with carved andesite milestones. I had no intention of doing all of it. I wanted three days, enough to understand why people talk about it.

Day 1: Bistrița – Livezile, 19 km

Leaving town is the ugliest part of any long walk; after an hour the road becomes a path through orchards and the milestones begin to appear every kilometre, each with a different carving. I slept at a guesthouse in Livezile where the host asked whether I was “one of the trail people” and gave me a double portion.

Day 2: Livezile – Cușma, 24 km

The most beautiful day: beech forest, then pastures with sheepfolds. At one I was given fresh whey cheese and left, as is the custom, what I thought fit in the box by the entrance. Rain for two hours in the afternoon; the 30-lei poncho held, the boots did not.

Day 3: Cușma – Sărata, 17 km

The legs talked on their own. You descend towards the village, pass a wooden church and reach the 15:40 bus that takes you back to Bistrița in 40 minutes. Three days, 60 kilometres, 2,100 metres of climbing.

The list for anyone starting

• A backpack of at most 8 kg including water. I carried 3 kg for nothing: the second pair of trousers, the book, the thermos.
• The official app has the route and the lodgings; signal is missing about a third of the time, download the map.
• Book lodging a day ahead, not a week: if it pours, you want to be able to stay put.
• Cash, small notes. There is no card reader at the sheepfold.
• September is the month: warm by day, cold at night, no mosquitoes, the orchards full.