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Itinerary:
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Day
1: Arrive Le
Puy. Hopefully you will have enough time to look around some
of the sites or this could be saved for tomorrow morning if you
manage your time well. Le Puy Cathedral is a beauty and has a
history of pilgrimage dating back to the 9th century. There is
also the pretty St Michel d'Aiguilhe sitting on its volcanic plug
with its beautiful chapel and at its foot the little Romanesque
Chapelle St Claire which was originally part of a pilgrim's
hospital. Le Puy is famous for its lace and green lentils
which can be purchased in the town.
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Day
2: Le Puy to
St Privat d’Allier 23.5 kms.
We climb out of Le Puy onto a plateau and overlook a winding
ravine type valley. We pass through black basalt villages like La
Roche, then cross a watershed to reach St Privat, perched above the
Allier gorge with its much modified castle dating from the Hundred
Years War.
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Day
3: St Privat
d’Allier to Saugues 19 kms. Much
of the day is spent crossing the valley of the River Allier; we
start with a level walk to Rochegude, where the Saint Jacques chapel
dominates the Allier pass, providing beautiful views.
We descend to the river at Monistrol (Romanesque church) and
climb steeply up the other side past some striking geological
formations. Easy tracks
across an agrarian and forest plateau at about 1000 metres take us
to Sauges, meeting-point for all pilgrims coming from the Auvergne.
This town features in the history of the Hundred Years war and in
the 1700s as a marshalling point for hunters of the giant man eating
wolves that terrorized the region for a few years.
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Day
4: Saugues
to les Faux. 27.5 kms. We
stick closely to the route the pilgrims took as we start off through
the tiny hamlet of Pinet where many of the pilgrims stayed.
We gradually climb up the valley and follow the Villange
River upstream to Clauze with its ancient tower impossibly still
clinging to a boulder - the remains of a 12th century castle.
Our walk is long but not steep through wooded landscapes,
moors of broom pine woods and meadows enclosed by granites posts.
We head off into forests and around a huge estate called Le Sauvage
with its massive solid stone barns, ramps and court yard.
Interesting damed ponds kept water supplied to the place. On
the way on we pass the pilgrim's chapel at St Roch, before detouring
off the GR route to a pleasant rural stay at Les Faux.
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Day
5: Les Faux to Aumont. 21 kms. We eventually arrive in
the village of St Alban with its Romanesque church dating back to
the 11th century and interesting chateau which has been partially
restored.. We climb upwards for a couple of hours, into rolling
bucolic landscapes, enjoying the views of St Alban and the lush
Limagnole Valley. Eventually
we emerge on to the Margeride plateau at around 900 metres, before
descending down to Aumont. It
is a pleasant market town with a beautiful church. A fine
little town - one of those delightful undiscovered parts of France.
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Day
6: Aumont to
Nasbinals. 26 kms. Our
walk starts off through the small town with its 16th and 17th
century houses, until we join a forest path.
We pass through the villages of La Chaze and Lasbros and we
start to cross the vast and remote plateau of Aubrac.
This is a desolate region of wild flowers, dry stone walls, largely
treeless and empty of people. Part of the route here follows
Agrippa's old Roman road. Our route takes us through
tiny hamlets and farmsteads crossings streams over ancient granite
bridges, past huge granite boulders and piles until we arrive
at Nasbinals, a transhumance village with a beautiful church.
May time is fantastic for the flowers in the fields including large
stands of narcissus and orchids in damper niches.
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Day
7: Nasbinals to St Chely d’Aubrac. 17 kms.
An exhilarating day, much of it on open hillsides and grassy
drove roads, reaching 1368 metres - the highest point of the tour.
We pass through the great transhumance centre of Aubrac
(church of 1220 and Tour des Anglais). There is a new
interpretation centre here and a fantastic inn, an ideal place to
take refuge if it is cold, where huge slices of fruit flan are
served for a few Euros! After Aubrac you drop steeply past the
ruins of Knights Templar Belvezet caste to pretty St Chely in its
secluded valley.
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Day
8: St Chely
d’Aubrac to St Come d'Olt. 16kms.
We contour along beech-clad slops onto an open ridge, and
then descend through chestnut woods to the 'Cancels' stream crossing
a few little bridges to ascend suddenly steeply to the hamlet of La
Roziere. There is a bit more undulation until finally you
descend to St Come d'Olt, with its mediaeval gateways and twisted
church spire. This is a pretty little walled village, very
much part of the original Way of St James, and has a great
patisserie. (Possibly you will have to walk a further 6
kilometres onto Espalion if we cannot get you in here).
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Day
9: St Come d'Olt to
Estaing 17 kms. Leave St Come
with good views across the Lot back to the village. Really it
feels as if you are leaving the Massif Central region and into more
productive farmlands from now on. The route then splits with a
higher or lower route to the important market town of Espalion,
perhaps too early for lunch but there are plenty of places for
coffee and time to admire the old arched bridge dating from the 13th
century, the regal houses and the 16th century turreted chateau
overlooking the River Lot. Continuing on we pass the exquisite
little chapel at the picturesque hamlet called Bessuejouls which has
a concealed upper chapel in the belfry. There follows quite a
muddy section climbing through oak woods to a ridge path with
extensive views over the Lot Valley, and then pass between vines and
tobacco fileds to reach Estaing. Estaing has preserved vividly
the memory of the passage of pilgrims to Compostela. The
famous festival of St Fleuret is held yearly on the first Sunday in
July, during which hundreds of costumed people follow a procession
to commemorate Saint Jacques and other pilgrims. An imposing
castle dominates the town and is gradually being restored for the
public.
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Day 10:
Estaing to Espeyrac. 25 kms. After
a short stint along the banks of the Lot, we climb up to the plateau
of Campeux plateau. We
continue along the left bank of the Lot until Rouquette and then
through beautiful villages such as Golinhac, Campagnac and still
smaller hamlets until we reach the very tranquil village called
Espeyrac. It is an idyllic spot.
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Day 11:
Espeyrac to Conques 13 kms. A
short distance today, taking us through Senergues (picturesque
castle) and maintaining our height until the final stony descent
into Conques. This, one
of the finest hill-towns in France, clusters round the magnificent
Romanesque abbey of St Foy, patron saint of prisoners: her shrine
became an object of pilgrimage in its own right. The village
does get its fair share of tourists but for good reason. It is
other worldly, unspoilt and absolutely chocolate box! At St
Foy they sometimes do free evening organ recitals. Other
attractions include the treasury where some very fine mediaeval
treasures are housed. There is also the Romanesque bridge down
in the valley which is worth the detour to cross.
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Day 12:
Return home. Limited early morning bus service to Rodez
railway station, otherwise or at weekends, you will need to pre
order a taxi.
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