I used the guide Paris to the Pyrenees by Maurice and Marigold Fox. CSJ, London, 1998 + update, Jan 2003. 88 pp. (Pilgrim Guides to the Roads through France #1). Sadly this is out of print now and I gave mine away. I got it originally from the Confraternity of Saint James UK.
I have plotted the villages and towns the first half of the route goes through here
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
214919992285651424574.0004852257331ac19da63
Sadly I did not have the time to do all of it and caught the train down to Bayonne from Bordeaux. But in 2011 I went back to do the part I missed.
Thank You for all for your kind comments here.
This route is amazing in Spring. The depth of green from the fields, trees and vines was outstanding. At times I could feel the energy moving into me. It was truly transforming.
It is very flat so gets you fit with easy walking. It has some long stretches of road walking, sometimes up to 15km at a time on roads with tilting edges that gave me blisters on the side of my feet. Sometimes the sides of the roads have long grass to power through.
It is a very quiet way in terms of other Pilgrims. I met only three other pilgrims between Tours and Bordeaux but I was camping out and not staying in Pilgrim accommodation - I did not know about it then.
If you want to find accommodation lists best to google "Hebergement Voie de Tours"
In 2011 I went back to Bordeaux and walked on the Voie Littoral down to Bayonne, along the coast to avoid the roads.
The Tours Route is a solitary walk but this gave me time for a lot of prayer and I was honoured by Love in return. I think back now and I was so, so, honoured. It has taken me almost two years to get a grasp on it and to be able to put it in words.
I hope to share the story of how I was honoured there and how we are all Loved soon.
