GR70 (Stevenson Route)

[Suzanne A]

Has anyone recently walked the GR70? Thinking about doing this in May. Any tips?

 

[andycohn]

My wife and I are planning to walk it ourselves in May. However, walking in France in general is much different from walking in Spain and Portugal in that it is much harder to wing it. (You probably know this already, since you already walked the Le Puy route, as we did). May willl be a particularly crowded month in that there are 3 national holidays in France, and all the advice I've gotten from camino veterans who have walked the Stevenson is book it out as far in advance as possible. Miam Miam Dodo (which you probably also know from the Le Puy route) is the only guidebook worth a d--n. I also bought the Cicerone book, but it's sadly lacking in detail. Like on the Le Puy route, accommodations are mostly gites in small towns or in the middle of nowhere, which are generally not bookable through booking.com or a website.

That said, it's supposed to be gorgeous and at least as challenging as the first part of the Le Puy route. If it's helpful to you, send me a personal message and I can forward to you our itinerary, which shows places we're staying and lengths of our stages -- mostly kept in the 15 - 20 k. range, since I'm well into geezerdom (this last adjective does not apply to my wife). Haven't booked the last 2 stages yet because I ran out of energy.

 

[BlackRocker57]

Has anyone recently walked the GR70? Thinking about doing this in May. Any tips?

it is beautiful / magnifique! I expect that it will be very busy in May ... as Andy has already noted, it would be worth making your reservations without delay ... I know from one of the GR70 Chemin de Stevenson FB groups that others are already doing that ... bon chemin et bons préparatifs

 

[Former member 104756]

Hi @Suzanne A Bonjour

I agree ... the Chemin du Stevenson (Stevenson Way) is 'beautiful, magnifique' as @BlackRocker57 says. We walked 9 days from Le Puy en Velay to Saint Jean du Gard and, due to time constraints, the next morning took a bus to Ales.

While it is a relatively short path, I think it is one of the more challenging we have walked in terms of 'up and down' - and we have walked the Le Puy, Primitivo, Norte and Salvador among others. We LOVED it.

We enjoyed some wonderful and quirky accommodation. My fondest memory of accommodation was on the third night - at La Tartine de Modestine, L'Herm. We stayed in a converted train carriage, there were others in a yurt. It was delightful.

La Tartine de Modestine : Gîte d'étape et table d'hôtes / yourte à L'Herm de St-Flour-de-Mercoire sur le Stevenson

La Tartine de Modestine est un Restaurant / Hébergement sur le chemin de Stevenson à L'Herm de St Flour de Mercoire en Lozère, entre Langogne et le Cheylard-l'évêque. Sur place Menu Tartines à 12 € et couchage en caravane.

www.tartine-modestine.com

Though not recent -we walked in 2017 - it was also in May, starting on the 21st. As others have said, due to the many long weekends in May, there will likely be families or groups of friends walking in the area - and who could blame them. We set off from Le Puy without a thought of booking accommodation but soon realised we would need to book at least a day ahead as there were not a lot of options. Perhaps there is more accommodation now - I'm not sure.

It's a delightful path, with some spectacular views and an interesting history of RL Stevenson and his donkey Modestine, which is referenced with signboards along the way. You will no doubt know he wrote about his journey in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. It was also a great excuse to revisit Le Puy en Velay.

We didn't have a guidebook - the signage was good and the fabulous credenciale (photos below) included a stylised map, simple elevations and accommodation information.

I highly recommend this fabulous route. Just thinking about it makes me want to walk it again so ... merci @Suzanne A Bon chemin.

 

[Ghislaine]

My wife and I are planning to walk it ourselves in May. However, walking in France in general is much different from walking in Spain and Portugal in that it is much harder to wing it. (You probably know this already, since you already walked the Le Puy route, as we did). May willl be a particularly crowded month in that there are 3 national holidays in France, and all the advice I've gotten from camino veterans who have walked the Stevenson is book it out as far in advance as possible. Miam Miam Dodo (which you probably also know from the Le Puy route) is the only guidebook worth a d--n. I also bought the Cicerone book, but it's sadly lacking in detail. Like on the Le Puy route, accommodations are mostly gites in small towns or in the middle of nowhere, which are generally not bookable through booking.com or a website.

That said, it's supposed to be gorgeous and at least as challenging as the first part of the Le Puy route. If it's helpful to you, send me a personal message and I can forward to you our itinerary, which shows places we're staying and lengths of our stages -- mostly kept in the 15 - 20 k. range, since I'm well into geezerdom (this last adjective does not apply to my wife). Haven't booked the last 2 stages yet because I ran out of energy.

Bonjour, if possible, I would love to get your itinerary as it will be my next one. It would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance and buen camino.

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[TaijiPilgrim]

For a French film about the Stevenson route, watch "Antoinette dans les Cevennes." It is a light romantic comedy about a young woman who goes on her first solo grand randonnée because she is hoping to catch up with her paramour!

 

[backpack45]

For a French film about the Stevenson route, watch "Antoinette dans les Cevennes." It is a light romantic comedy about a young woman who goes on her first solo grand randonnée because she is hoping to catch up with her paramour!

TaijiPilgrim I will look for this--thanks for the suggestion. We are planning to do the GR 70 this year and I also recommend, as Suzanne above mentioned, that those wanting to do the RLS route that you read his "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes." He had so many issues with his donkey, Modestine, that I think it's sort of funny that renting a donkey to do the route is popular (I don't ride rental horses anymore because I can't control them either!)

 

[TaijiPilgrim]

TaijiPilgrim I will look for this--thanks for the suggestion. We are planning to do the GR 70 this year and I also recommend, as Suzanne above mentioned, that those wanting to do the RLS route that you read his "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes." He had so many issues with his donkey, Modestine, that I think it's sort of funny that renting a donkey to do the route is popular (I don't ride rental horses anymore because I can't control them either!)

Stevenson’s book plays a role in this film as does a donkey.

 

[Suzanne A]

My wife and I are planning to walk it ourselves in May. However, walking in France in general is much different from walking in Spain and Portugal in that it is much harder to wing it. (You probably know this already, since you already walked the Le Puy route, as we did). May willl be a particularly crowded month in that there are 3 national holidays in France, and all the advice I've gotten from camino veterans who have walked the Stevenson is book it out as far in advance as possible. Miam Miam Dodo (which you probably also know from the Le Puy route) is the only guidebook worth a d--n. I also bought the Cicerone book, but it's sadly lacking in detail. Like on the Le Puy route, accommodations are mostly gites in small towns or in the middle of nowhere, which are generally not bookable through booking.com or a website.

That said, it's supposed to be gorgeous and at least as challenging as the first part of the Le Puy route. If it's helpful to you, send me a personal message and I can forward to you our itinerary, which shows places we're staying and lengths of our stages -- mostly kept in the 15 - 20 k. range, since I'm well into geezerdom (this last adjective does not apply to my wife). Haven't booked the last 2 stages yet because I ran out of energy.

Bonjour Andy! I am interested in your itinerary: ***** I will get Miam Miam Dodo. I won't book anything until I get there as not really sure of the dates. Maybe we will cross paths. I have read Stevenson's book, but will pull it out again.
Cheers, Suzanne

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[andycohn]

Bonjour Andy! I am interested in your itinerary: asuzy@comcast.net I will get Miam Miam Dodo. I won't book anything until I get there as not really sure of the dates. Maybe we will cross paths. I have read Stevenson's book, but will pull it out again.
Cheers, Suzanne

Hopefully that should work for you, especially if you're only looking for one bed. We didn't have any problems booking just a day ahead when we walked the Le Puy in September - October, 2019, but the scare stories I heard about May made me more cautious on the Stevenson. But definitely a major p.i.t.a. to book so much so far in advance. Here's the itinerary with lots of notes. "Plan" refers to the "plans" (maps) in MMD and the Ragodane is a parallel trail also described in the MMD guide that sometimes offers shortcuts, if you want them. I hope we do cross paths. I'm not anticipating a lot of English-speaking dinner companions. Our first night in Le Puy will be April 29, and we have a very short walking day on the 30th because we wanted to spend more time exploring Le Puy than we were able to do when we were there three years ago. Bon chemin!

 

[Suzanne A]

Hopefully that should work for you, especially if you're only looking for one bed. We didn't have any problems booking just a day ahead when we walked the Le Puy in September - October, 2019, but the scare stories I heard about May made me more cautious on the Stevenson. But definitely a major p.i.t.a. to book so much so far in advance. Here's the itinerary with lots of notes. "Plan" refers to the "plans" (maps) in MMD and the Ragodane is a parallel trail also described in the MMD guide that sometimes offers shortcuts, if you want them. I hope we do cross paths. I'm not anticipating a lot of English-speaking dinner companions. Our first night in Le Puy will be April 29, and we have a very short walking day on the 30th because we wanted to spend more time exploring Le Puy than we were able to do when we were there three years ago. Bon chemin!

Thanks Andy. Probably won't start until May 6 as my husband and I are finishing up the last half of the Genève to Le Puy route which was cut short last May due to Covid.

 

[Ghislaine]

Bonjour, if possible, I would love to get your itinerary as it will be my next one. It would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance and buen camino.

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thank you.

 

[andycohn]

Bonjour Andy! I am interested in your itinerary: ***** I will get Miam Miam Dodo. I won't book anything until I get there

thank you.

as not really sure of the dates. Maybe we will cross paths. I have read Stevenson's book, but will pull it out again.
Cheers, Suzanne

EDITED by a moderator to remove personal email address for security reasons. To exchange private details, including email addresses, please use the Private Message (PM) system - click on the avatar of the person with whom you wish to share information and "start a conversation".

Hi Suzanne and Ghislaine,

Susan Alcorn (Backpack 45, above) and her husband, Ralph, are also planning to do the Stevenson, and they put together a very helpful spreadsheet, which includes distances between the towns, places with lodgings, and what services are available where. Although no particular lodgings are noted -- they're just starting the task of making reservations -- it's a great compilation of the most useful information found in Miam Miam Dodo. They're fellow activists in our NorCal chapter of APOC (actually, they're co-founders of the chapter). and with their permission, I'm sharing that spreadsheet here. Happy planning!

RobertLewisStevenson3

Sheet1 Date,Day,Destination location,km,days km,total km todate,Lodging, services,miles,days miles,total miles hypothetical dates 23-09-01,Fri,sfo to Frankfurt 7:15pm arrive 3:15pm 23-09-02,Sat,Frankfurt-Lyon 5pm arrive 6:15pm 23-09-02,Sat,train to Le Puy,0,0,0,all 23-09-03,Sun,walk to Coubon ...

docs.google.com

 

[Ghislaine]

Thank you Andy. Much appreciated.

 

[lindissima]

My wife and I are planning to walk it ourselves in May. However, walking in France in general is much different from walking in Spain and Portugal in that it is much harder to wing it. (You probably know this already, since you already walked the Le Puy route, as we did). May willl be a particularly crowded month in that there are 3 national holidays in France, and all the advice I've gotten from camino veterans who have walked the Stevenson is book it out as far in advance as possible. Miam Miam Dodo (which you probably also know from the Le Puy route) is the only guidebook worth a d--n. I also bought the Cicerone book, but it's sadly lacking in detail. Like on the Le Puy route, accommodations are mostly gites in small towns or in the middle of nowhere, which are generally not bookable through booking.com or a website.

That said, it's supposed to be gorgeous and at least as challenging as the first part of the Le Puy route. If it's helpful to you, send me a personal message and I can forward to you our itinerary, which shows places we're staying and lengths of our stages -- mostly kept in the 15 - 20 k. range, since I'm well into geezerdom (this last adjective does not apply to my wife). Haven't booked the last 2 stages yet because I ran out of energy.

 

[lindissima]

Hi Andy, I would really appreciate a copy of your GR 70 itinerary if it is still available. We hope to walk it in early May, though I realize it is late in thegame for booking. I will order the Miam miam dodo copy too. Thanks so much and bon chemin!

 

[Suzanne A]

Hi Andy, I would really appreciate a copy of your GR 70 itinerary if it is still available. We hope to walk it in early May, though I realize it is late in thegame for booking. I will order the Miam miam dodo copy too. Thanks so much and bon chemin!

Hi Linda. I used an agency to book our stays as I was overwhelmed booking places for 2 weeks. I’m going in April. You can message me if you’d like info

 

[andycohn]

Hi Andy, I would really appreciate a copy of your GR 70 itinerary if it is still available. We hope to walk it in early May, though I realize it is late in thegame for booking. I will order the Miam miam dodo copy too. Thanks so much and bon chemin!

Hi Linda, Attached is our actual itinerary for our walk on the Stevenson in May, 2023. It's heavily annotated and suggests detours / shortcuts if you have difficulties making some reservations. One suggestion: book Cassagnas first. It's a stage past Florac, and is a real chokepoint, with only one place to stay that's near the trail (L'Ancienne Gare). After booking that stage, do the rest of your planning around that. Overall, ours was a pretty leisurely itinerary, as I'm an old geezer.

I was also about to email Suzanne A. to get permission to include her itinerary for her upcoming trip, but I see she's all over this already, so do contact her as well.

 

[Jjkbb1]

Hi @Suzanne A Bonjour

I agree ... the Chemin du Stevenson (Stevenson Way) is 'beautiful, magnifique' as @BlackRocker57 says. We walked 9 days from Le Puy en Velay to Saint Jean du Gard and, due to time constraints, the next morning took a bus to Ales.

While it is a relatively short path, I think it is one of the more challenging we have walked in terms of 'up and down' - and we have walked the Le Puy, Primitivo, Norte and Salvador among others. We LOVED it.

We enjoyed some wonderful and quirky accommodation. My fondest memory of accommodation was on the third night - at La Tartine de Modestine, L'Herm. We stayed in a converted train carriage, there were others in a yurt. It was delightful.

La Tartine de Modestine : Gîte d'étape et table d'hôtes / yourte à L'Herm de St-Flour-de-Mercoire sur le Stevenson

La Tartine de Modestine est un Restaurant / Hébergement sur le chemin de Stevenson à L'Herm de St Flour de Mercoire en Lozère, entre Langogne et le Cheylard-l'évêque. Sur place Menu Tartines à 12 € et couchage en caravane.

www.tartine-modestine.com

Though not recent -we walked in 2017 - it was also in May, starting on the 21st. As others have said, due to the many long weekends in May, there will likely be families or groups of friends walking in the area - and who could blame them. We set off from Le Puy without a thought of booking accommodation but soon realised we would need to book at least a day ahead as there were not a lot of options. Perhaps there is more accommodation now - I'm not sure.

It's a delightful path, with some spectacular views and an interesting history of RL Stevenson and his donkey Modestine, which is referenced with signboards along the way. You will no doubt know he wrote about his journey in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. It was also a great excuse to revisit Le Puy en Velay.

We didn't have a guidebook - the signage was good and the fabulous credenciale (photos below) included a stylised map, simple elevations and accommodation information.

I highly recommend this fabulous route. Just thinking about it makes me want to walk it again so ... merci @Suzanne A Bon chemin.

Hi Suzanne, thank you for sharing this. You just raised the level of my excitement! Thanks for the info and for your favorite place for accommodations. I will have to look for that! Jeanne

 

[Jjkbb1]

Hi Linda, Attached is our actual itinerary for our walk on the Stevenson in May, 2023. It's heavily annotated and suggests detours / shortcuts if you have difficulties making some reservations. One suggestion: book Cassagnas first. It's a stage past Florac, and is a real chokepoint, with only one place to stay that's near the trail (L'Ancienne Gare). After booking that stage, do the rest of your planning around that. Overall, ours was a pretty leisurely itinerary, as I'm an old geezer.

I was also about to email Suzanne A. to get permission to include her itinerary for her upcoming trip, but I see she's all over this already, so do contact her as well.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Jjkbb1]

Hi Linda, Attached is our actual itinerary for our walk on the Stevenson in May, 2023. It's heavily annotated and suggests detours / shortcuts if you have difficulties making some reservations. One suggestion: book Cassagnas first. It's a stage past Florac, and is a real chokepoint, with only one place to stay that's near the trail (L'Ancienne Gare). After booking that stage, do the rest of your planning around that. Overall, ours was a pretty leisurely itinerary, as I'm an old geezer.

I was also about to email Suzanne A. to get permission to include her itinerary for her upcoming trip, but I see she's all over this already, so do contact her as well.

Just went through your notes, and this is exactly what I need. Thank you so much!