First day from Le Puy -- via Bain vs GR 65 through St Christophe

[mla1]

Hello Le Puy people,

I have just been reading a french site that recommends, for the first day out of Le Puy, taking a route that goes through Bain rather than the GR 65 that goes through St-Christophe. Does anyone have an opinion on this option? They say it has more interesting historical stuff and less pavement.

thanks,
Mary Louise

 

[SYates]

As I walked that stage last year in September there was quite a 'battle' going on between the people that promote the 'Bains Route' and the official amis, big posters on way crossings and in albergues included. I walked the traditional, direct route to St Privat d'Allier as from my guide it wasn't clear if there is accommodation in Bain and this variant adds a few kilometers to the day. I was happy with my choice and so were other pilgrims I met and that had walked the Bains variant. I guess it all depends how many kilometres you want to walk on your first day and if you can find accommodation in Bains if you want to stay there. Buen Camino! SY

 

[Hal]

So glad you posted this! Never walked a Camino, but I was looking at the Bains route to Fay, because the walk of the good reviews Bains and the Gite du Velay received, and because the walk seems prettier/shorter around to the Lac d'Oeuf area.

There's a nifty path across a field where the Bains route splits off the main drag after Ancienne Route de Saugues. What is missed is Chapelle St Roche on the way to Monbonnet. And obvs St Christophe sur Dolaison and Montbonnet themselves.

But according to (last years) MMDD you can either walk to St Christophe sur Dolaison and kind of double back up to Bains via Tallode and Augeac if you don't mind a much longer walk.

 

[Lori Butler]

About 2 or 3 kilometers after leaving Le Puy last summer we encountered an older man who spoke good English and provided us with a map to take the "real" route to St Privat going through Bains. I'm sure he was the very person we were warned about by shopkeepers and signs in Le Puy to avoid. He argued that the route through Monbonnet was manufactured for commercial purposes only. We ended up walking with him for about an hour, he was full of interesting stories and very kind and entertaining. We went through Bains which was pretty but nothing was open on a Monday mid-day. However we passed by the lodging in town which looked very nice and would make a lovely first stop. The route goes through beautiful countryside and I did hear mention that it was prettier than the Monbonnet route. We missed a turn at some point after Bains and wandered around for a bit but I chalk that up to it being the first day and not being used to the path markings yet.
According to my info, the route through Bains actually saves a few kilometers off the main route. I would take that way again.
Say hi to our guide if you see him

 

[Hal]

About 2 or 3 kilometers after leaving Le Puy last summer we encountered an older man who spoke good English and provided us with a map to take the "real" route to St Privat going through Bains. I'm sure he was the very person we were warned about by shopkeepers and signs in Le Puy to avoid ... I would take that way again.
Say hi to our guide if you see him

There is a warning about this guy? As I'm a girl walking solo, I might give the Bains route a miss!

 

[SYates]

There is a warning about this guy? As I'm a girl walking solo, I might give the Bains route a miss!

No, the warning is not about the guy/man as such, but about the route. As far as I could see it is more of a commercial or historical battle about which route is the correct one than anything else. Buen Camino! SY

 

[mla1]

Hi Lori,

I was reading a random blog this morning, about someone's camino from Le Puy, and that person also wrote about a nice man, walking the other direction, who told her and her companion about a shortcut through Bain. Her companion took it and she stayed on the 'main' route.

What you have said sounds very much like the write-up that I found at the link below. Perhaps your guide was the author.

http://www.webcompostella.com/Le-Pu...pelerinage-sur-le-chemin-historique_a644.html

There is a link partway down the page for directions for the route -- and then further down another link to another set of directions in case you started out on the GR 65 and wanted to get off (it is just before La Roche).

The recommendation is for a route that is "more historic" and goes directly from Le Puy through Bain and Fay to St Privat. The description says the route is 4 km shorter to St Privat (which appealed to me!).
And then: "without pavement and without the aggression of multiple signs and advertisements that invade the new path, which has become like the entrance to a city on a national highway!"

Needless to say they have some opinions!

A couple of years ago I walked the Chemin du St. Gilles, which goes from Le Puy south through Nimes. It runs roughly but not always along the GR 700 (I think). It seems to be the subject of similar arguments about authenticity. Unfortunately in that case, the route that was, apparently, more historically accurate, ran (not surprisingly) in the best places for roads. Partway through we gave up and just started following the GR, which had been designed to go through places that were the nicest to walk.

cheers,
Mary Louise

 

[Nancy P.]

As I walked that stage last year in September there was quite a 'battle' going on between the people that promote the 'Bains Route' and the official amis, big posters on way crossings and in albergues included. I walked the traditional, direct route to St Privat d'Allier as from my guide it wasn't clear if there is accommodation in Bain and this variant adds a few kilometers to the day. I was happy with my choice and so were other pilgrims I met and that had walked the Bains variant. I guess it all depends how many kilometres you want to walk on your first day and if you can find accommodation in Bains if you want to stay there. Buen Camino! SY

I am happy to start finding information on Le Puy. I walked from St. Jean to Santiago last fall and want to walk Le Puy to St. Jean in spring 2016. Is there a way to sort the posts so I can see posts about Le Puy or are they just all mixed in with the other posts?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I think authenticity is fairly bogus. In the good old days, pilgrims took the easiest route to their destination, routes like game trails and Roman roads. The really good stuff was paved with the advent of the automobile, so the authentic route is most likely underneath asphalt. The French hit the GR trails every weekend, and they like vistas. So direct routes have been replaced by circuitous routes that give good views. The best (or worst) example I remember was leaving St.-Come-d'Olt for Estaing. The primary marked route climbed a steep hill to a concrete Virgin, La Vierge de Vermus, of fairly recent construction. Down along the river was the direct road to Espalion. It was an exhausting detour of over an hour. Several times the route walks 3 sides of a square to avoid private property, which could have been done on a nearby road. Avoiding traffic is one of the primary criteria for setting a route, too. So, to me, discussions about authenticity are quite arcane, and I am always suspicious that there are underlying economic motivations!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Is there a way to sort the posts so I can see posts about Le Puy

You are on a thread for that location. The topic is:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/the-le-puy-route.50/

 

[Lori Butler]

I'm not sure how do do the quotes, but falcon269 is right, "I think authenticity is fairly bogus. In the good old days, pilgrims took the easiest route to their destination, routes like game trails and Roman roads." I talked with more than one cynical host who said that parts of the current route were developed for tourism or to benefit certain municipalities and even that some of the "ancient" crosses were only a few years old and planted there by local councils. Nevertheless, this didn't detract from my experience.
mla1, I don't know if our guide authored that site but he did have a color map that he had printed out and gave us. And, we weren't warned against him specifically, just against 'helpful" people that we might meet on the path that would steer us the wrong way under the guise of helping us. In Le Puy, the shopkeeper who warned us implied that there were mischievous people who would tell us the wrong way purposely to get us lost. There seems to be quite a serious battle going on between those who believe in the route through Bains, and those who promote the "commercial" way through Montbonnet, including signs being repeatedly blackened out and repainted, and heated meetings.
Personally I would just say go the way you feel most attracted to, I'm sure they are both nice but the way through Bains will feel more rural, less road walking I think.

 

[mla1]

Hi Lori - the fact that there is less road walking definitely appeals! and the shorter distance on the first day. Mostly I am pleased to know there is a shorter option if I feel like it.

 

[DLJ]

Hello Le Puy people,

I have just been reading a french site that recommends, for the first day out of Le Puy, taking a route that goes through Bain rather than the GR 65 that goes through St-Christophe. Does anyone have an opinion on this option? They say it has more interesting historical stuff and less pavement.

thanks,
Mary Louise

We took the Bain route after being told it was the original route, the GR65 being newer. It is well marked with black/white scallop shells, historic church in Bain, and walking on paths and farm tractor roads. Businesses in Bain are closed on Mondays, the only business open was the Pizza parlor, and they called and found us a room. There is a very nice Alberque 5 kms on past Bain. Dave

 

[Hal]

@Lori Butler @SYates - oh, good. I do not wish to slander that good man's name. The Bains/St-Christophe touristic battle is quite funny!
@mla1 - cheers for that blog link
@DLJ - pizza is always welcome. Carb loading is so important for the pilgrim.

 

[Thornley]

There is a warning about this guy? As I'm a girl walking solo, I might give the Bains route a miss!

Safer in France on the Le Puy than walking in Bondi and or Kings Cross

 

[Thornley]

We took the Bain route after being told it was the original route, the GR65 being newer. It is well marked with black/white scallop shells, historic church in Bain, and walking on paths and farm tractor roads. Businesses in Bain are closed on Mondays, the only business open was the Pizza parlor, and they called and found us a room. There is a very nice Alberque 5 kms on past Bain. Dave

Most shops are closed on Mondays unless in a big town.
I think Bains is a great walk and if you wanted to have a late stay in Le Puy , enjoying the morning there then;

1 St Christophe has wonderful food for lunch
2 The gite in Tallode is always booked by the french themselves and the food comes very highly recommended by the couples we know who used it.......never too many.
3 Just after Tallode we turn off to Bains , lovely walk and
4 The gite you mention Dave is @ Fay..............Gite du Velay which is extremely popular with the french walkers...its good.

 

[DLJ]

Most shops are closed on Mondays unless in a big town.
I think Bains is a great walk and if you wanted to have a late stay in Le Puy , enjoying the morning there then;

1 St Christophe has wonderful food for lunch
2 The gite in Tallode is always booked by the french themselves and the food comes very highly recommended by the couples we know who used it.......never too many.
3 Just after Tallode we turn off to Bains , lovely walk and
4 The gite you mention Dave is @ Fay..............Gite du Velay which is extremely popular with the french walkers...its good.

That is a good point, there are a lot of French (non pilgrims) hiking the GR65 at this point, so it can tax the available accomodations.

 

[Thornley]

Oh, I'm sure of that. The previous posts gave me a brief but vivid mental image of a French leprechaun appearing at the crossroads to Pied Piper me away to Bains!

Hi Hal,
Gai Waterhouse has horses that excel on the tract but disappoint on race day.
I know i own one.
Please don't get too many ideas over 2 years on this forum site before you walk from Le Puy to Santiago. [ The 60 days allowed will be very fine mate ]
Every bit of training and correspondence will not prepare you for what actually happens......and please Hal ....just let it happen.

Just for the smile , if everybody is related in Wagga Wagga , just think of the families that exist in Le Puy , they stretch back before we were discovered , have become successful shop owners and just might have expanded to lovely restaurants in nearby villages , exactly 8km from Le Puy on the GR. Many of these restaurants all along the GR are actually homes and i'm talking **** ratings.

The mayor of the village is the man...he is God...believe me.
Nothing can be approved unless he says so and i mean nothing.
1/ Just before Cahors when the Gov't was building the new motorway from Paris they asked if they could store the heavy machinery in nearby paddocks ...remember its the Govt asking.
When you build a bridge for the village over The Lot river for easier access to Cahors was the answer....... the bridge was the first thing built....a year in advance.
2/ In the village of Concots just before Bach and Vaylats the sewerage was implemented 6 years ago. It runs down one road until a certain plot.......there it stops ......the then mayor had a falling out many years ago with the owner .....no sewerage.
In the same village a new restaurant has commenced , the mayors daughter...others had tried to start up same....no hope.
Nobody except the french can farm or use their land for cropping.......if there is a disagreement within the family no property can be sold......when you walk you will see lovely old farm houses ...they can't be touched as the boys have died in the wars and estate laws there are very different than here and on it goes .....the neighbours are allowed to farm the property.
I was very close indeed to buying on The Lot where we had over 8 home exchangers from 1999 to 2006....but

When we walked Frances we found the best meals were had in the bars/homes on the outskirts of the town , never in the village square. We found the word "Comedor" was an invitation to enter the home and there we discovered all the village people that had gone to the fields or construction sites for work eating their lunch.
Soup , chicken done a hundred ways and deserts , all with plenty of wine....no menu's

When we walked Le Puy it changed.
No Sunday or Monday trading .....no salad sandwiches , zilch.
Better food ? but not available in every village....and not as many options.
The french grow everything they eat and if its not in season you won't find it on the table.
In the village of Lascabanes [ P43 MMDD] we and 6 others had dinner with two uncles of Francoise. They were 90 and 92 in age and were working in the field opposite until dinner, they never changed their gear either.
They ate and drank a lot ,very funny men and no english whats so ever , great night with wonderful food served in the garden.
I love the french Hal , we go there every year , but i never worry about what people say only what they do.

As we know Paris to Santiago was via Valcarlos , not STJPdP .
Maybe the old man was correct with Bains?

 

[gml]

No, the warning is not about the guy/man as such, but about the route. As far as I could see it is more of a commercial or historical battle about which route is the correct one than anything else. Buen Camino! SY

It seems the local business owners are in league against the man on the road because he directs pilgrims toward the Bain route and away from the newer and more "commercial" GR route. I took the Bain route last fall and actually witnessed an argument and car chase, the pursuer being a flashily-dressed guy in an SUV who was clearly very angry at the elderly gentleman who had stopped in his old beater of a car to give me a map to Bain. So pay no attention to the "official" warnings about people on the road and just choose the route you're most likely to prefer. The Bain route to St. Privat is quiet, and I heard that it is less strenuous and a few km shorter than the GR65 route, and that's exactly what I wanted for my first day.

 

[Hal]

It seems the local business owners are in league against the man on the road because he directs pilgrims toward the Bain route and away from the newer and more "commercial" GR route. I took the Bain route last fall and actually witnessed an argument and car chase, the pursuer being a flashily-dressed guy in an SUV who was clearly very angry at the elderly gentleman who had stopped in his old beater of a car to give me a map to Bain. So pay no attention to the "official" warnings about people on the road and just choose the route you're most likely to prefer. The Bain route to St. Privat is quiet, and I heard that it is less strenuous and a few km shorter than the GR65 route, and that's exactly what I wanted for my first day.

You're totally selling this to me. This sounds like a Benny Hill movie!