|
Travel
Information
Season: May to
October, uncrowded and usually not too hot in the summer.
First Hotel: Hotel Bristol, Le Puy, on the afternoon/early evening
of Day 1.
Full Package: If you are
thinking about our flight inclusive package we use British Airways scheduled
flights from London Heathrow to Lyon, and then onward travel by train to
Le Puy (see below under ’Nearest Airport’).
Flights
to Paris are also available from most UK regional airports with onward
connection to Lyon by air or TGV high-speed train. There is now a direct
TGV train service from Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport to Lyon.
There is also the Eurostar Rail Service from St Pancras via Channel Tunnel
and Lille. (Journey time to Lyon approx 5 1/2 hours).
Nearest Airport: Lyon (for
full package customers). You should take a morning flight. On
arrival take the airport shuttle bus to Lyon Part Dieu station (not Perrache station), which takes 30 minutes. The best train to aim for has been the TGV at around
14:19, which will get you to St Etienne Chateaucreux at 15:08, where you change
for Le Puy departing at 15:56 arriving at 17:20.
Please check times before travelling. These rail tickets
are included in the Air and Rail Travel package. You will receive
up-to-date train times for your date of travel, or alternatively you can
visit Rail Europe's website at www.sncf.com.
Alternative airport: Paris. There is a TGV rail station at Charles
de Gaulle (Roissy) airport, so there is no longer any necessity to travel
into Paris. The most suitable train
departs at around 12:58 and arrives in Lyon at 15:01. You change trains
for St Etienne- Chateaucreux departing at 15:19 and arriving at 16:08.
Change again for Le Puy departing 17:13 arriving at 18:37.
By Rail: Eurostar
rail service from St Pancras via the Channel Tunnel to
Paris and Paris to Le Puy. www.sncf.com
End of Tour: In Conques
on day 12. Travel to Rodez by bus (no service on Saturday or Sundays) and
then daily direct non-TGV train For Example:
dep. 11.50, arr. Paris Austerlitz 18.50.
Or on any weekday and Saturday, taxi to St. Christophe, and direct
non-TGV train to Paris Austerlitz dep. 07.03, arr. Paris 13.35.
If
you have driven down, our ground operator can organize for a car to take
you back to Le Puy, the journey takes about 4.5 hours and costs around 50
euros per person. This has to be booked in advance.
Level of Difficulty
Fitness: A moderate to
strenuous graded trek that anyone with a reasonable degree of walking
experience and current reasonable state of fitness should cope with.
The relatively high grade reflects the length of some of the day
stages and the nature of the terrain.
Day stages: Approximately
15 to 26 km per day with average altitude gains of 550m. This is about 5
to 8 hours of walking.
Waymarking: The route is well marked with red and white GR waymarks
and 'Chemin de St Jacques' scallop shell signs.
Accommodation & Meals
Evening
meal, bed and breakfast are included throughout the tour. Two star hotels
offer en suite facilities. One
star hotels do not always have en suite facilities. Luggage is transferred
between hotels every day.
q
Night 1: Le Puy.
2 star. This
elegant and well equipped hotel is centrally situated a short walk
from the train station. All rooms have en suite facilities, telephone and
T.V.
q
Night
2: St
Privat d’Allier. 1 star a medium-sized Logis de France listed hotel (30 rooms)
in this quiet village of 200 inhabitants.
q
Night 3: Saugues. 2
star Logis de France small hotel (17 rooms) with a restful
atmosphere and a shaded terrace. TV
and phone in rooms.
q
Night 4: Les Faux.
Another small village hotel with 13 rooms about 1km off the route. The
rooms have either a bath or shower and W.C. Set in the quiet picturesque
hilly area over the River Limagnole.
q
Night 5:
Aumont. 2 star small hotel in the centre of the town. The rooms
have either a bath or shower and W.C. as well as T.V. and telephone.
q
Night 6: Nasbinals.
2 star a hotel in the centre of the village, close to the church.
q
Night 7:
St Chely d’Aubrac,
2 star. A small hotel with comfortable rooms in the centre of a small
village. The restaurant
offers regional specialities.
q
Night 8:
St Come d’Olt. Our
guesthouse (Chambre d’hote) tonight will give you a warm welcome. This
is a 19th century Aveyronnaise house located in the entrance of Saint-Come
d’Olt, one of the most beautiful villages of France. It has a private
garden and a heated swimming pool with six superb bedrooms. Each of the
six rooms wonderfully restored in 2002 has its own personality with
private bathroom and from 2 to 4 beds. A generous breakfast, is included.
q
Night 9:
Estaing. 2 star
standard. The Logis de France
hotel is tucked into the narrow space between the river Lot and the
castle. It has 40 comfortable rooms with all modern conveniences.
The large dining room has a fine stone fireplace in which the chef
cooks a range of regional specialities.
q
Night 10:
Espeyrac. This
small hotel, owned by the family Marragou, offer a warm welcome, the hotel
has a nice restaurant and bar.
q
Night 11:
Conques. The
hotel we normally use is a 2 stars, 11 bedroom hotel. It is situated in
the centre of the village or guest house located in the lower part of
village if hotel fully booked..
|
Outline
Itinerary
q
Day
1: Arrive Le Puy.
q
Day
2: Le Puy to St
Privat d’Allier 22 kms. We
climb out of Le Puy onto a plateau and overlook a winding valley. We pass
through black basalt villages like La Roche, then cross a watershed to
reach St Privat, perched above the Allier gorge.
q
Day
3: St Privat
d’Allier to Saugues 18 kms. Much
of the day is spent crossing the valley; 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 the other
side past some striking geological formations.
Easy tracks at about 1000 metres take us to Sauges, meeting-point
for all pilgrims coming from the Auvergne.
q
Day
4: Saugues to les
Faux. 25 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 - 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.
q
Day
5: Les Faux to Aumont. 19 kms. We eventually arrive in the
village of St Alban with its Romanesque church dating back to the 11th
century. We climb upwards for a couple of hours, 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.
This is a desolate region of wild flowers, treeless, empty of
people. Part of the route
here follows the old Roman road of Agrippa.
Aumont is a fine little town - one of those delightful undiscovered
parts of France.
q
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.
Our route takes us through tiny hamlets and farmsteads crossings
streams over ancient granite bridges until we arrive at Nasbinals.
q
Day
7: Nasbinals to St Chely d’Aubrac. 17 kms.
An exhilarating day, much of it on open hillsides and grassy drove
roads, reaching 1350 metres. We
pass through the great transhumance centre of Aubrac (church of 1220 and
Tour des Anglais), drop steeply past the ruins of Belvezet castle to
pretty St Chely in its secluded valley.
q
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 St Come d'Olt, with its mediaeval gateways and
twisted church spire.
q
Day
9: St Come d'Olt to
Estaing 17 kms. We pass the
exquisite little chapel at Bessuejouls, climb through oak woods to a ridge
with extensive views over the Lot valley, and pass between vines and
tobacco-fields 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.
q
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. 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 Espeyrac.
q
Day 11: Espeyrac
to Conques 13 kms. A short
distance today, taking us through Senergues (picturesque castle) and
maintaining our height until the final dramatic decent 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.
q
Day 12: Return
home.
General Information
Baths:
it is not normal for your room to have a bath, the main reason being that
it takes up a lot of space, some hotels/guesthouses may have a separate
room in the house where a bath is available to guests, but in the main it
is showers.
Breakfast:
in countries such as France/Italy/Spain/Greece etc are usually coffee and
toast/croissant, if you want more for breakfast then we would suggest you
purchase some food the night before. It is important for you to tell us if
you have any dietary requirements when you book your holiday so that we
can inform everyone that you are staying with.
Single
Supplements:
are payable on most of our tours. 1) The single supplement
guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can at times be
small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities as double/twin
rooms.
Language:
Don’t expect people to speak English! Why not bring a phrase book with
you and practice a little
French?
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes your luggage will have been taken to
you room awaiting your arrival. However don’t be surprised if your
luggage is waiting for you to take it up to your room.
ESCORTED
DEPARTURE 2009 (Research &
Development trip)
EJPT07
Thursday 7 May - Monday 18 May
|
