The road less travelled

[Annette london]

most of us on this forum have cut our teeth so to speak on the Camino Frances and it beckons us back time and time again like moths to the flame. Dare I say almost like an addiction! Oh well I'll say it, it is an addiction and a wonderful experience.a lot of us then go on to walk other caminos in Spain-- all of course leading to Santiago. Recently the numbers on the CF have been increasing year on year and this year in particular the numbers entering Santiago have at times so far exceeded 1000 pilgrims a day. Some indeed have found problems with securing beds. I think this increase in numbers is pertinent to all the Spanish caminos.
How about trying a Camino in a different country??
We have just returned from the last leg of the Via francigena (Canterbury-Rome) and what a wonderful journey it was. In 2014,we walked from vercelli to Lucca and whilst a lot of the via then was road walking, it has, now most probably changed due to the wonderful efforts of the VF volunteers to keep pilgrims off road.Certainly the way from Lucca has been a joy with most of the walking on tracks and paths. If you have gps then good. We got there on some dodgy maps but we did get there in the end!!
Alison raju has written a good book and Ivar has an informative site. TheVF association has plenty of information also.
The marking of paths is also excellent due to the efforts of the VF association.
With regard to accommodation, there are albergues in every town and for those with cash to splash there are hotels, pensions and rooms for rent. Between towns, there are plenty of agruturismos. The prices are slightly higher than Spain.
We never saw more than 20-30 pilgrims a day and this mostly in the evening.
Only twice did we find a menu peligrino so food is more expensive generally.
With regard to safety,we did meet about 5 lone women walking but personally it is not a route I would walk alone due to the many longish solitary areas.
Cafes are not as numerous as on the VF so a big change here!
If people want more info, then 2 CF forum members have written wonderful blogs on the VF. Bradypus who has walked from Canterbury to Rome and michaelG who is walking it at the moment with his wife Melenie. His blog is very informative and very funny at times. They are about to hit the Eternal City!!
For us, entering The Vatican City was very emotional and we treasure our beautiful parchment testimonial.
Any one want to walk that road less travelled?

 

[Pathfinder075]

I am up for it in a year or two.

My first camino is this year, but i would like to walk down to the vatican too, some day. But as far as routes its a bit of a long one. Also needs considerably more money in the bank to finance it. The one nice thing i guess for me is at least on that route i could cook for myself without all the hassle that seems to occur in spain/portugal.

What time of the year is best for walking the Via Francigena? How much money is required to bank roll it? Is it worth doing it from Canterbury (which for me personally is how i would want to do it)? What do you do about credencials? Those are a start of the questions i would like to ask.

But at least the language wouldnt be an issue on this route. I speak enough french to get by and know a small amount of italian (which im sure could be improved via duolingo).

 

[Annette london]

I am up for it in a year or two.

My first camino is this year, but i would like to walk down to the vatican too, some day. But as far as routes its a bit of a long one. Also needs considerably more money in the bank to finance it. The one nice thing i guess for me is at least on that route i could cook for myself without all the hassle that seems to occur in spain/portugal.

What time of the year is best for walking the Via Francigena? How much money is required to bank roll it? Is it worth doing it from Canterbury (which for me personally is how i would want to do it)? What do you do about credencials? Those are a start of the questions i would like to ask.

But at least the language wouldnt be an issue on this route. I speak enough french to get by and know a small amount of italian (which im sure could be improved via duolingo).

Not sure how much you would need. France and Switzerland fairly expensive and I think Uk is even worse as we found on the South Downs way. They think of a number and double it. However camping would greatly reduce the bill. Italy slightly more expensive than Spain. Why not get the 2 cicerone books by Alison Raju. They are excellent and very informative. As I said above Ivar has aVF forum. We did not do the French section as we had met Alison raju on the Camino a few years ago and she said that there was a lot of road walking in France, so we gave that a miss. We might do the Swiss section sometime.The confraternity of st James in London now have a section for the VF and if you join them , they will send you a credential. You can also download a good accommodation guide there. (All types and prices) in Italy, May and September seem the most popular months to walk. Summer months could be very hot. We hit a heatwave in June 2 years ago and it was dreadful. The CPR in London also have a VF bookshop and are very helpful if you phone them. Apart from this, it's just researching the route and deciding how you want to walk it eg in stages or all at once. We are the worlds worst at over the top planning I'm afraid. We just pack a rucksack and off we go!! Somehow or other we've never not had a place to stay. The luck of the Irish I guess!! (Well one half at least!) best wishes with your plans and enjoy the planning. Annette

 

[koilife]

The VF is my retirement present. Not sure if 90 days away is more a present to me or to my wife . . .

 

[Bradypus]

If you want to walk the whole VF the critical point for timing is the Grand Saint Bernard Pass. It is closed by snow for most of the year and only reliably walkable in June, July, August and September. You need to time your arrival accordingly. I reached there exactly 1 month after leaving Canterbury.

I avoided much of the road walking through France by walking canal towpaths most of the way from Calais to Besancon. There is little dedicated pilgrim accommodation in France. I kept costs down by wild camping in France and Switzerland and by buying my food mostly in supermarkets. Much more affordable in Italy where there is a growing network of albergues along the VF. If you intend to walk from Canterbury to Rome then the sheer length inevitably makes it more expensive than walking the Camino Frances. I walked the Camino Frances in 23 days - the VF took 66 days. Most people would take longer but I tend to walk long daily stages. Anywhere from 80 to 100 days seems to be the norm.

Credentials are available at Canterbury cathedral. Or you can order one online or download images to print your own.

Cooking for yourself might not be as easy as you think unless you take cooking gear with you. Many of the albergues do not provide kitchens. Walking mostly in summer heat I didn't really feel the need for hot food often. My staple diet was mainly bread, cheese, cold meats, fruit and chocolate - with quite a lot of beer and wine to wash it down Affordable when bought in supermarkets.

There is a lot of information on the Italian section of the route, including detailed maps and accommodation lists, on the official website - www.viefrancigene.org/en

 

[Pathfinder075]

I suppose thats the thing for me. I have to cook for myself. Its a matter of health issues. So i would be carrying a full cooking set, which for me is generally a saucepan and a MSR Whisperlite, which i tend to run on petrol (unleaded), so fuel is generally easy to come by since their isnt a shortage of petrol stations in most european countries. Also if im out toruing on the motorcycle i have been known to siphon some fuel on occasion.

I will also be wild camping, probably carrying a lightweight bivvi roll/swag with sleeping bag and mat. Through France it would be either wild camp or municipal campsites (as long as it has a shower and toilet, im more than happy, or even a toilet and a tap). Just basics required, and somewhere to rinse out my clothes. I would also factor in a hotel room once a week, just so i can properly clean up and get all my clothes washed, and have a night of luxury.

In fact the camino im doing this year is more of a pain to plan than walking to Italy. When you dont speak the language in any way, shape or form, and have a ton of health problems that mean you have to carry a lot of stuff with you, it turns into a massive pig of a job. At least if im walking through France i have friends littered along the route that i could ship medication to, allowing me to lighten the pack a bit. Anyway im not going to moan about my situation, their are many worse than me.