Gr 36 - From North to south to join Voie de Tours

[Homely]

I live in chichester, so if I want to start the camino from my front door. The obvious thing to do is walk to chichester cathedral and then walk to Portsmouth, get the ferry to ouistreham, join the gr 36 and head south until I cross the tours camino.

I cannot find much information on the northern sections of the gr36, have people got much information on it

 

[SabsP]

I live in chichester, so if I want to start the camino from my front door. The obvious thing to do is walk to chichester cathedral and then walk to Portsmouth, get the ferry to ouistreham, join the gr 36 and head south until I cross the tours camino.

I cannot find much information on the northern sections of the gr36, have people got much information on it

Hi and welcome here on this forum.

You are already aware of these websites?

GR®36 De la Manche aux Pyrénées (Itinéraire complet)

www.gr-infos.com

Le GR®36 : de la Manche aux Pyrénées - Falaise - Suisse Normande

Le GR®36 est un sentier de grande randonnée qui relie la Manche aux Pyrénées. Au cours de la première étape, vous traverserez Pont-d'Ouilly.

www.falaise-suissenormande.com

GR36: De Ouistreham à Bourg-Madame - HIKAMP

Le GR36 vous fera traverser la France des côtes de la Manche à la Méditerranée. Itinéraires et hébergements sur Hikamp.

www.hikamp.com

 

[mla1]

GR36: De Ouistreham à Bourg-Madame - HIKAMP

Le GR36 vous fera traverser la France des côtes de la Manche à la Méditerranée. Itinéraires et hébergements sur Hikamp.

www.hikamp.com

Oh!!!! I have not seen that website before! So good!

 

[Tandem Graham]

It's not the GR36, but there is a route with a guidebook, The Plantagenets Way, which goes from Mont St Michel to intercept the Voie de Tours near St Jean d'Angely.
This is a recognized pilgrimage route, with pilgrimages in both directions.
We followed it - approximately, by tandem - in 2017, and encountered several groups making pilgrimages towards the Mont. It passes through interesting towns and villages and attractive countryside. And there are several pilgrim-specific accommodation options on the way.
The Lightfoot Guide to the route has very precise navigational guidance.
It would probably mean taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Saint Malo, which is about a day's walk from Mont St Michel.
Good luck with whichever route you take!

 

[mla1]

We followed it - approximately, by tandem - in 2017, and encountered several groups making pilgrimages towards the Mont. It passes through interesting towns and villages and attractive countryside. And there are several pilgrim-specific accommodation options on the way.

I would love to know more about how you found that route overall!

 

[Homely]

It's not the GR36, but there is a route with a guidebook, The Plantagenets Way, which goes from Mont St Michel to intercept the Voie de Tours near St Jean d'Angely.
This is a recognized pilgrimage route, with pilgrimages in both directions.
We followed it - approximately, by tandem - in 2017, and encountered several groups making pilgrimages towards the Mont. It passes through interesting towns and villages and attractive countryside. And there are several pilgrim-specific accommodation options on the way.
The Lightfoot Guide to the route has very precise navigational guidance.
It would probably mean taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Saint Malo, which is about a day's walk from Mont St Michel.
Good luck with whichever route you take

Brilliant, just what I needed

 

[Tandem Graham]

Bear in mind that we were cycling, so not all of the paths were suitable for us. But the Lightfoot Guide maps include surrounding terrain, including road and trail alternatives, so we were able to plot a route for us.
I really liked the route, with variety between open countryside and small towns and villages and then cities such as Angers and Thouars. I don't know if the guide has been updated, but if you can manage to read a bit of French, there may well be more up to date info on accommodation (hebergements) on the websites of the relevant departmental Compostelle organisations.
If you book ahead, it's also possible to sleep in a pilgrim room at the top of the Mont itself. Unfortunately that was already reserved when we were planning.
If you read Timmy Mallet's autobiographical account of his bike Camino (My Life's Journey), he took roughly the same route.

 

[lovingkindness]

Hello @Homely
I have walked part of the GR 36 to Bourg Madame. Here is a conversation:

Post in thread 'GR36 route through France' https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/gr36-route-through-france.80464/post-1135532

Happy planning!
Lovingkindness

Ps in 2022 @Vacajoe followed the GR36 to Mont St Michel. He wrote about it Live, here on the forum...

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/chemin-du-mont-saint-michel-ouistreham.77307/#post-1076230