@DowtyCamino Greetings Mark
I have walked
Camino Frances several times and VIa Francigena from Canterbury to Rome (and on to Brindisi) last year. [BTW I don't think there are any rules
about abbreviations, but hereabouts CF usually means
Camino Frances and VF is generally used for Via Francigena. But I am NOT complaining!!]
There are certainly well described paths (I am not sure about waymarking) for walking from London or Winchester or Southampton. I would have started in Winchester, but I did not have time, so I started from Canterbury.
What you have listed is essentially exactly true! I walked starting on Easter Sunday, April 1st.
Traffic. From Canterbury towards Dover I walked with two people for a few hours setting out for Santiago. I briefly bumped into a couple from New Zealand twice along the way in northern France. I met a group of 13 French people who were walking for a week and joined them for three days as we crossed from France to Switzerland. That was the total complement of pilgrims up to the Italian border which is approx 1000km.
It was not hugely 'busier' in Italy. The odd one or two people as far as maybe Lucca. It got a bit 'busier' after that. Sometimes passing 6-10 pilgrims during the course of the day.
So this is certainly different from CF - although exactly the same as my experience say on Camino de Madrid and Camino Baztan - single figures of pilgrims met on both added together! I walked Portuguese route in November and met very few pilgrims there too.
If you are looking for lots of pilgrims, you may be disappointed. I am never looking for pilgrims, though I generally enjoy meeting them. But I am sociable and I talk to local people. I enjoy struggling with the languages much much more than seeking out fellow English speakers. I can stay at home for that!
Infrastructure. Yes indeed a lot less in France. Specific signage is essentially non-existent in 90% of France. That is, there is
not the profusion of reassuring arrows telling you which way to go. You need some sort of map/guide. There is a lot of GR signage, (red and white stripes), but these are not directional, nor is the number marked on them, so you need a map/guide/app if you are going to follow these. It was very instructive to walk with the French people I mentioned as they were 'GR experts'.
There is not any definitive single route through France - I used three guides, Raju, Lightfoot and an Italian one, and compiled my own route as I went along. Those three did not agree on route. I don't think I ever got seriously lost, (except inside forests, often!!!) but I did walk quite a bit on (very quiet) roads in France.
There
is infrastructure in terms of recognition of the VF and also accommodation. Monasteries, convents, presbyteries (priest's houses) all provide accommodation and B&B's in several places are very pilgrim-aware. But there is not such accommodation available every day. And very definitely you cannot just turn up and knock on the door as in Spain - you definitely need to ring ahead. You may well be the first pilgrim for a month, and they may need to go out and get food!! And in the historic towns along the way there are signboards etc with accounts of the history, especially in towns where the VF going south crosses the Camino going West, like Langres for instance or Chalons-en-Champagne. And after Reims, I stayed with a family on three consecutive nights followed by a night in an old school house in a stretch where there is otherwise virtually no accommodation.
Route planning - yes there is a need for route planning in France. I enjoyed it. OTOH there is no need at all for route planning in Italy. You could make your way from GSB to Rome by following permanent signage, without using a map, just as you could on the CF from SJPdP. You need to keep your eyes open and navigating the rice paddies around Vercelli will test your observational skills. But if you add in the Sloways app you really cannot get lost - it gives a GPX for the entire route in a free app.
Sections without fountains/free water. Yes certainly in northern France there are long stretches without any form of bar/cafe/shop. At one stretch I walked 62km between bars (although on one of those nights I was in a town, Chalons-en-Champage. It is ultra-chic and I paid 5€ for a bottle of fizzy water in a bar!!!!) In Chalons I stayed with a wonderfully welcoming and supportive family. This is a huge difference from the CF(
Camino Frances). You need to think about where you are going to find food, especially if you are camping. And you need to keep an eye out for public holidays of which there are a lot in France and on which much is closed.
Camping - I chose not to camp and not to bring a tent. I am (I think) too old
. I didn't regret my decision. I walked for 88 days and never had any anxiety that I would not have a bed. And only rang ahead (or used booking.com) one day at a time. Yes camping would have been significantly cheaper I think. I was in daily touch with a couple and two other separate walkers on FB (though we have never met) and they were all camping. Camping in France and Switzerland very easy I think and wild camping not a problem. Others can give you more details. None of them is on this forum I think but ask on the VF FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/19899007360/
In Italy, most people don't camp, or not nearly as much, because it is cheaper anyway, and more difficult to camp (I think wild camping is not allowed), and there is plenty of albergue/parish type accommodation more like Spain (though a bit more expensive).
Costs - Yes indeed France and Italy are both more expensive than rural Spain. (Spain is more expensive than Portugal, Ireland is more expensive than any of these I think. It is a spectrum!) NOTHING will prepare you for the expense of Switzerland if you have never been there before.
It is a fantastically beautiful stretch of the route, but you need to press on through fairly smartly!
I walked on, after a break, from Rome to Bari and Brindisi. Wonderful walk. I met only two pilgrims. But wonderful countryside with a fair bit of waymarking and pilgrim accommodation about 8 nights out of 28. Cheap accommodation in BnBs out of season. And where there was pilgrim-friendly accommodation it was VERY pilgrim friendly!
Equipment - I took exactly what I would take to Spain. 7kg in a bag plus water. Layers. Summer-type clothes.
If you are leaving in August, just keep a watch on the Gran San Bernardo (GSB) issue. As early as late September you could run into problems with snow. I walked to GSB in early May and could not get to the pass (which is as I had expected.) I did try, and some people had managed to walk (through deep snow) the previous week. [I am about to write a post here explaining the options for the Pass, as I found getting clear advice was a bit difficult.] I went back up to Aosta (by bus) from Rome in July, and then back into Switzerland to walk across the Pass again and it was like walking in the English Lake District in the summer. Last winter they had 18m of snow.
People often ask - can I manage with just English? Yes of course you can BUT I would strongly encourage learning as much French as you can as it will be immensely rewarding. If you are going for a weekend to a country and are mute it hardly matters. If you are walking for six weeks through a country you will want to talk to people in the evenings! And many many nights you will find you are with people who do not speak English. Of course if you are a couple this is slightly different.
Italy a bit the same, but in Italy you are morel likely to be able to find a pilgrim who speaks English, certainly as you get nearer to Rome.
I blogged the first third of my journey at
www.walkingtim.com (I plan to finish it one day). I will also, now I have a little time, compile my accommodation list.
I am more than happy to answer specific questions.
My speculation: I walked CF first sime in 2009. It has increased hugely in numbers, even in that short time. I suspect something similar may be going to happen on VF. 2022 on VF may be a lot busier than it was last year. VF is currently a very attractive option for people (like me) who seek a quieter walking experience and who actively enjoy a solo walking experience. But I think (fear!) the word is out.....
Oh and I plan now to continue from Brindisi to Istanbul and am 'on the cusp' of deciding I may bring a tent
Tim