Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[RichaM]

I'm sure this has been covered before - I just can't find it....

But - I know there's a walking route from Lyon to Le-Puy. Any tips / pointers / links anyone could please help me with?

Is there anywhere to avoid, how pilgrim friendly is it, gites and so on?

Any advice very gratefully received.

Thanks,
Richard.

[Kitsambler]

The real place to get the answer you want is the French walking organization, FFRandonee. However, their website (http://www.ffrandonee.fr) does not appear to be functional this afternoon - so I don't know the story. If you sent the request, in both English and French, to info @ ffrandonee .fr you should get a correct answer.

In the interim, looking at the map on the Standsford site (http://www.stanfords.co.uk/Cities/Auxerre/Guide-Books/France-FFRP-Topo-guides-with-Day-Walks_SI00000384.htm) it appears you have two choices coming out of Lyon, to connect you with the GR 65 coming from Geneva to Le Puy: (1) head south along the Rhone valley (no route marked but surely there must be one), or (2) head west and pick up the GR 7 or GR 76 running south.

Again, this is an incomplete map and I'm just making a stab at this until you can get a real response from the French organization.

[backpack45scb]

The same organization that puts out the yellow german french guide for the Geneva to Le Puy route also puts out an orange guide for Cluny and Lyon to Le Puy. You can order both of them from the Confraternity of St. James http://www.csj.org.uk/acatalog/The_CSJ_Bookshop_Pilgrim_Guides_7.html

towards the bottom of the page.

[KiwiNomad06]

Yes, I met a Frenchman who had walked from Lyon on the Cluny route. He had taken four days on a route from Lyon to join the Cluny route near St-Georges-Haute-Ville, which is about 9km past Montbrison. From that junction it is about another four days walking to Le Puy. Both these routes are covered in the Amis guide mentioned by backpack45scb.
Margaret

[RichaM]

Thanks for the help everyone.

For anyone who reads this later......

A French friend found this one aswell - http://www.lyon-compostelle.com/chemin_cesar.html.

It's in French but well structured, pretty easy to follow and quite useful.

Richard.

[KiwiNomad06]

A French friend found this one aswell - http://www.lyon-compostelle.com/chemin_cesar.html.It's in French but well structured, pretty easy to follow and quite useful. Richard.

Richard, what your friend found is basically the chemin that is described in the Orange guide by the Amis de St Jacques- except for one day. The route to La Cruzille is exactly the same as in the orange guide- La Cruzille is just 0.7km off the chemin, which you rejoin in the morning until just after Montarcher. This then becomes the day when you have a deviation from the chemin described by the Amis, and take a section of the GR3 as far as Apinac. The sign below is found in Montarcher.

chemin deviation.jpg (127.74 KB) Viewed 769 times

The following morning you are taken by a car journey of about 12km to Pontempeyrat, which is where you are rejoining the chemin as listed in the orange guide.

In the latest (2012) orange Amis guide to the chemin, there is some info about the GR3 section (but this didn't appear in the 2008 version). My French friend actually warned me off taking the whole GR3 as he said it was very mountainous and the gites were far apart- but perhaps the main difficulties on the route come after Apinac where you would stay the night.

signs 2.jpg (194.92 KB) Viewed 775 times

If you do decide to take the deviation along the GR3 to Apinac, you have to be very careful about a kilometre after Montarcher where the two routes deviate, as the balises that show the deviation are quite small, and there are no major signposts.

chemin de cesar.jpg (176.21 KB) Viewed 773 times

This last sign is one you see shortly after climbing out of Pontempeyrat, and you are back on the chemin as described by the Amis at this point.
Margaret