One of Europes last remaining wildernesses, the Camargue forms a unique landscape of salt-marsh, lagoons, cultivated farmland & seashore. Where the turbulent River Rhne meets the Mediterranean in southern France lies this huge delta, home to a rich array of wildlifeflamingos, a host of other migrating birds & marshland floraas well as a complex mix of agricultural & tourist interests. The whole region is now under increasing threat from commercial & ecological pressures. Edwin Mullins, whose acquaintance with the Camargue dates back many years, evokes the areas natural beauty & also its appeal to artists & writers. From Dumas pre to the great champion of Provenal culture, Frdric Mistral, & Vincent van Gogh, he considers the aesthetic inspiration offered by a romantic emptiness that was once despised as a mosquito-infested swamp.