Le Puy to Santiago via Lourdes ??

[aedan808]

Hi everyone, Im planning on starting my pilgrimage in Lyon or maybe Le Puy (arriving by plane at Lyon airport) to Santiago and am wondering if it is worth diverting to Lourdes for a couple of days extra walking? Are there good footpaths that I can take and does anyone know which they are please? I dont want to walk on tarmac.
Secondly I am undecided whether to start in March or April , I am used to winter walking and have good equipment although I will be stealth camping for most of the journey so April may be the better option considering drying clothes , bivvy etc. I expect to cover 20 miles a day with ease so by the time I reach Pyrenees most of the snow and slush should be gone ?? I hope. Any info from past pilgrims is appreciated. Im also a veggie so will be relying on fruit/nuts/breads / cakes/ pastries /juices and milkshakes. Can most of these be purchased at local stores along the route?

Best wishes Aedan

[Anna-Marie]

Hi Aedan,

I walked from Le Puy, but I've never been to Lourdes so I'm not sure how easy it is to get there from the Chemin du Puy. I know people have walked from Lourdes to Santiago (here's one example). I should point out, though, that there is a fair bit of tarmac on the Chemin du Puy itself--in addition to off-road paths and gravel roads. Some sections are along busy highways, but usually not for too long.

I can't advise you on the timing, since I walked in fall. Kiwi Nomad started in mid-April and had quite a bit of rain. You can get an idea of what it was like from her blog.

From what I remember, fruits, nuts, breads and pastries are quite easy to find in shops and bakeries along the way. I'm not sure about milk shakes, but there's definitely a lot of yogurt. Store opening hours can be tricky, though--the "siesta" closed time in the middle of the day can come any time between about 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., in my experience--though it's more often about 12:30 to 2:30. Most stores/bakeries are closed on Sunday or Monday (and some are open Sunday mornings only), and some are closed on some other random day(s).

The Miam Miam Dodo guidebook tells you where there are stores, though it's not always up-to-date on their opening hours if it lists them at all. But it does give you an idea of where you need to stock up in advance. I eventually started carrying around a package or two of soup mix, since it was light and would give me something to eat if I ended up in a gite with no stores around.

Hope this helps. Bon chemin!

Anna-Marie

[geraldkelly]

Hi Aedan

I see you've posted two similar questions about the route to Lourdes so I'll try to answer both.

The info comes from the TopoGuide no. 653 which covers the GR65 from Moissac to Roncesvalles. Even if you don't understand any French the TopoGuides are still useful because they have excellent maps and the info is given in symbol form which you'll be able to decipher.

Walking there from the GR65: from what I can see there's no direct GR however the GR65 crosses the river Gave de Pau and if you follow that upstream you'll come to Pau and Lourdes. It's about 50km. Could be a nice walk but you'll need a good map unless you follow the road which won't be any fun. To get back you have a couple of options. You could retrace your path back down the river to the GR65 or you could head for Oloron Sainte Marie and from there head south to join the Camino Aragones via the Col de Somport which brings you to the Camino Frances near Eunate (see Camino de Santiago Guide - St James Way - free guide to download). Beautiful walk but you'll miss St Jean, Roncesvalles, Pamplona.

Public transport: There are buses from Arthez-de-Bearn and from Maslacq. I can't find a timetable but I assume they go to Pau because it's the nearest town. Otherwise if you walk about 15km off the GR65 there's a train station in Orthez from where you can get a train to Lourdes.

As for whether Lourdes is worth a visit. Well, if you want to see it and you've got the time then go. I went once for a day when I lived down that way and I have no desire to ever go back. It doesn't have the feeling of happiness that Santiago has.

Anyway, hope that helps! Go n-éirí an bóthar leat!

Ger