Vezelay to Le Puy update

[Metropolly]

This is a last-minute plea for help, because as usual I'm going on Camino more or less on the spur of the moment. When it's time to walk, it's time to walk! Last year my long trek included the Vezelay route via Nevers, so this year I'm hoping to walk from Bourges to Vezelay, then over the hills to Le Puy. My first Camino began in Le Puy, at Easter 13 years ago, so this is a nicely closed circle. My question is whether anyone has up-to-date information about the Vezelay-Le Puy link? I've read the old threads on this topic here, but there doesn't seem to be any recent information (and things are changing very quickly in France these days - businesses sadly closing down etc). I would like to hear from anyone who has walked this way, with any tips for linking from Vezelay and the GR13 to the Cluny route. Thanks in advance.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Here is Vezelay to Le Puy:

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2915156298/

This one has your reverse route from Bourges to Vezelay.

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2746925192/

 

[Metropolly]

Here is Vezelay to Le Puy:

http://www.amazon.fr/Vézelay-Puy-en-Velay-Itinéraires-pèlerins-randonneurs/dp/2915156298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395101939&sr=8-1&keywords=vezelay le puy

This one has your reverse route from Bourges to Vezelay.

http://www.amazon.fr/Les-chemins-Compostelle-voie-Vézelay/dp/2746925192/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395101939&sr=8-3&keywords=vezelay le puy#reader_2746925192

Thanks - but the guide is out of date and apparently unhelpful, according to the one reviewer! I appreciate your link, and I'll probably buy the unhelpful guidebook anyway, but I'd still like to hear from anyone who has actually walked that way for some practical tips

 

[Kanga]

Can't help but I'd be interested.

When walking in "unchartered" France (usually by design, sometimes by error) I rely on the IGN maps downloaded onto my smartphone (there are two or three apps that do this), plus the Gites de France app for accommodation, plus tourist offices. I find this website helpful
Http://walkinginfrance.info/

 

[robertt]

Thanks all. I have this vague plan to go from Le Puy along the Regordane then do the Arles. Starting in Vezelay then heading to Le Puy is an even vaguer part of the plan, but I sure appreciate the update.

At present the whole thing seems impossible - just like my previous caminos!

Best, and bon chemin

Rob

 

[mspath]

Thanks - but the guide is out of date and apparently unhelpful, according to the one reviewer! I appreciate your link, and I'll probably buy the unhelpful guidebook anyway, but I'd still like to hear from anyone who has actually walked that way for some practical tips

Metropolly,

I have not walked this route but I do realize that you wish to walk it on your own. Nevertheless in this current link for a 2014 guided walk from Vezelay to Cluny following the Chemin de Cluny you MIGHT find helpful info in either the Itinéraire or Fiche technique.

Bon Chemin,

Margaret Meredith

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Very interesting link Margaret M. I notice in their description of the route they say it is very well marked, with either the red and white GR markings or the Coquille (shell) marking.

Metropolly, maybe you know this already, but if it is marked in the manner of the Cluny route, it will be very important that you understand how these coquille work, and especially, how they indicate direction. From Le Puy south, that kind of thing was not important- but from Cluny to Le Puy I know that it was vital to understand how they showed the route. Also on the route from Cluny south, in places the GR route and the coquille routes diverged from one another, and you really needed to know where each route was going and how the difficulty compared.

I also know there were signs in Cluny for an Assisi walk that people came along from Vezelay on. Perhaps it is the same route Margaret has linked to, but it may not be.

I met several Dutch people who came across from Vezelay onto the Le Puy route, so there might even be a Dutch guide out there somewhere- though some of them were hardy souls who camped out in wild places and crossed by mountainous routes of their own devising!
Margaret Riordan

PS Have you seen this (Lepere) French guidebook? Published in 2010. http://www.chemin-compostelle.fr/boutique/france/vezelay-le-puy-en-velay/
PPS When I looked further into Margaret's link, I saw they also catered for the Cluny route. I noted that they took the more mountainous route after Montarcher which is the GR version of the route. My French friend walked this and said it was very difficult. He told me to make sure I followed the coquille signs at this point for a less rugged last few days of the journey to Le Puy.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Thanks all. I have this vague plan to go from Le Puy along the Regordane then do the Arles. Starting in Vezelay then heading to Le Puy

A good guide for the Regordane route: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/291644632X/

 

[Metropolly]

Can't help but I'd be interested.

When walking in "unchartered" France (usually by design, sometimes by error) I rely on the IGN maps downloaded onto my smartphone (there are two or three apps that do this), plus the Gites de France app for accommodation, plus tourist offices. I find this website helpful
Http://walkinginfrance.info/

That app sounds brilliant, Kanga - but unfortunately I'm one of those stubborn smartphone refuseniks (especially after my heroic ancient Nokia survived a severe soaking on Camino last year)! Gonna have a look at the webiste now - thanks

 

[Metropolly]

Very interesting link Margaret M. I notice in their description of the route they say it is very well marked, with either the red and white GR markings or the Coquille (shell) marking.

Metropolly, maybe you know this already, but if it is marked in the manner of the Cluny route, it will be very important that you understand how these coquille work, and especially, how they indicate direction. From Le Puy south, that kind of thing was not important- but from Cluny to Le Puy I know that it was vital to understand how they showed the route. Also on the route from Cluny south, in places the GR route and the coquille routes diverged from one another, and you really needed to know where each route was going and how the difficulty compared.

I also know there were signs in Cluny for an Assisi walk that people came along from Vezelay on. Perhaps it is the same route Margaret has linked to, but it may not be.

I met several Dutch people who came across from Vezelay onto the Le Puy route, so there might even be a Dutch guide out there somewhere- though some of them were hardy souls who camped out in wild places and crossed by mountainous routes of their own devising!
Margaret Riordan

PS Have you seen this (Lepere) French guidebook? Published in 2010. http://www.chemin-compostelle.fr/boutique/france/vezelay-le-puy-en-velay/
PPS When I looked further into Margaret's link, I saw they also catered for the Cluny route. I noted that they took the more mountainous route after Montarcher which is the GR version of the route. My French friend walked this and said it was very difficult. He told me to make sure I followed the coquille signs at this point for a less rugged last few days of the journey to Le Puy.

Thanks Kiwi! Does this mean you've walked the route from Cluny? How did you find it? I have details for that route and have an idea I must join it at Briennon, and I'm trying to find out how to link from the GR13 to there. I'm sure the IGN maps will cover it, but I'd kick myself if I fudged together a route scrambling over rock and scree, only to find there was a comfortable and established path that already exists!
PS - that's the same book Falcon linked to. It seems to be the only one, and according to one French user it only gives (2010) accommodation details but no route finding. Better than nothing, though!

 

[Metropolly]

Thanks all. I have this vague plan to go from Le Puy along the Regordane then do the Arles. Starting in Vezelay then heading to Le Puy is an even vaguer part of the plan, but I sure appreciate the update.

At present the whole thing seems impossible - just like my previous caminos!

Best, and bon chemin

Rob

Not impossible, Rob - it's only France, after all! From Vezelay to Le Puy then on along the Tolosana to St Jean Pied de Port should take you two months at most, but I'm sure you could manage in six weeks or less. If only we can find how to get started from Vezelay, though! Bon chemin!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Another Cluny to Le Puy guide:

http://www.chamina.com/produit/les-chemins-de-saint-jacques-de-compostelle-110/

http://chemins.amis-st-jacques.org/?page_id=6#guide_orange

These routes are walked almost exclusively by the French, and sometimes the Germans and Swiss; they just do not appeal to the English-speaking pilgrims. As a result, all the guides are in French or German (Rother has some good ones for the more obscure routes). So one pretty much has to settle for a guidebook in French. The books in French get regular updates because there is a sufficient market for them, or because the randonneur associations provide support. A book that is a year or two out of date is not unusual, though.

 

[Metropolly]

Another Cluny to Le Puy guide:

http://www.chamina.com/produit/les-chemins-de-saint-jacques-de-compostelle-110/

http://chemins.amis-st-jacques.org/?page_id=6#guide_orange

Already got it, thanks Falcon. I've done all those basic Google searches myself. What I'm looking for is the link to the Cluny route at Briennon through the mountains from Vezelay, which is less travelled, and am trying to establish this from people who have walked it or who know the area. Thanks for your help, though

 

[Metropolly]

For those who are interested in the route I'm proposing, I've found this rough outline which should make route planning through IGN a bit easier:

http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZE1.07.Bou.Vez-Puy.htm

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If you go to a Peter Robins map with Vezelay on it, you can trace the GR-13 on an IGN map all the way to Le Puy.

 

[Metropolly]

The beauty of on-the-hoof camino planning is that one is free to adapt - and so I've decided to simplify my plans by sticking to the marked Cluny-Le Puy route instead of trying to cobble together a link from Vezelay. Perhaps another time I'll go back and walk Bourges to Vezelay, and maybe from there to Cluny (a route suggested in one of the itineraires on the website Margaret helpfully linked to). Cluny looks wonderful, so it would be a pity to miss it. Thanks for all help and suggestions, and if anyone does have info on Vezelay to Le Puy please do post it anyway!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Cluny looks wonderful, so it would be a pity to miss it.

The Cluny Abbey once incluced the largest church in France. After being burned and sacked in the French revolution, there are just a handful of remnants among the modern reconstruction. Its spirit is there, but its physical presence is scattered around the city from being used as a quarry after its destruction.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

This 2009 German guide goes through Cluny to Le Puy en Velay:

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/3763343660/

Outdoor has a newer one:

http://www.amazon.fr/dp/3866862113/

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Thanks Kiwi! Does this mean you've walked the route from Cluny? How did you find it? I have details for that route and have an idea I must join it at Briennon, and I'm trying to find out how to link from the GR13 to there.

Hi @Metropolly,
Have only just seen this post sorry. Yes, I walked the route from Cluny to Le Puy in April/May 2012. Lots of good memories, though it was quite lonely. I've blogged about it here.
The terrain was interesting and varied- quite hilly on many days, but some relatively flat walking in the middle. There were several days of walking mainly through forest where I was scared of missing a balise and getting lost, but that never happened. The route passes through many old interesting towns and villages, and in a couple of places you reach the Loire. One of my favourite villages was St-Jean-St-Maurice where you overlook a part of the Loire where they have found prehistoric human tools dating back 60,000 years ago. Another favourite place was a village near the mountaintop of Montarcher. Most days I never met another pilgrim, (though on a few days I met several of them) but some of the people looking after the gites etc were very kind indeed.
There are alternative routes from Montarcher- one in the Amis guide and the other in the Chamina guide. My French friend told me not to take the GR3 at that point as it was very difficult (and longer), so from Montarcher onwards I relied on the Amis orange guide.

Sorry, I really can't say for sure where you can join the route coming from Vezelay other than at Cluny- but I am sure there are less orthodox ways of joining it. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about how I found the Cluny route.
Margaret

PS Briennon would make sense as a joining point, as the Cluny route has just made its way westwards before crossing the Loire at Briennon, then soon heads in a more southerly direction. Have just been re-reading my blog and see I have written GR65 in a few places where it shouldn't be. Bedtime here now though- will look at editing that in the weekend!

 

[Metropolly]

Hi @Metropolly,
Have only just seen this post sorry. Yes, I walked the route from Cluny to Le Puy in April/May 2012. Lots of good memories, though it was quite lonely. I've blogged about it here.
The terrain was interesting and varied- quite hilly on many days, but some relatively flat walking in the middle. There were several days of walking mainly through forest where I was scared of missing a balise and getting lost, but that never happened. The route passes through many old interesting towns and villages, and in a couple of places you reach the Loire. One of my favourite villages was St-Jean-St-Maurice where you overlook a part of the Loire where they have found prehistoric human tools dating back 60,000 years ago. Another favourite place was a village near the mountaintop of Montarcher. Most days I never met another pilgrim, (though on a few days I met several of them) but some of the people looking after the gites etc were very kind indeed.
There are alternative routes from Montarcher- one in the Amis guide and the other in the Chamina guide. My French friend told me not to take the GR3 at that point as it was very difficult (and longer), so from Montarcher onwards I relied on the Amis orange guide.

Sorry, I really can't say for sure where you can join the route coming from Vezelay other than at Cluny- but I am sure there are less orthodox ways of joining it. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about how I found the Cluny route.
Margaret

PS Briennon would make sense as a joining point, as the Cluny route has just made its way westwards before crossing the Loire at Briennon, then soon heads in a more southerly direction. Have just been re-reading my blog and see I have written GR65 in a few places where it shouldn't be. Bedtime here now though- will look at editing that in the weekend!

Hello Kiwi! Between sending my message and receiving yours, I found your blog and thoroughly enjoyed it. You are the same kind of pilgrim as me, I think - happy alone yet appreciative of good company when it presents itself, and not afraid to admit being overwhelmed at times! My feet are itching towards Cluny, and I've booked my return on Eurostar for the Monday after next. I've read snippets over the years about a link over the Morvan from Vezelay, but there's no reason but curiosity for insisting on that route - and anyway, it amounts to a short cut, and what's the rush? Thank you so much for your input here - I've found it very inspiring and helpful

 

[sjeanmarc]

Hi
If interested, I walked in 2012 from Vezelay to Cluny and then to Le Puy. I used parts of the way to Assisi, sometimes GR, going down I crossed several ways to Le Puy as Lyon-Le Puy or Geneve-Le Puy.
You will find informations about accommodation, daily route on my blog :
http://caminaireinenglish.wordpress.com/way-of-assisi/
http://caminaireinenglish.wordpress.com/cluny-to-fay-sur-lignon/

 

[Metropolly]

Hi
If interested, I walked in 2012 from Vezelay to Cluny and then to Le Puy. I used parts of the way to Assisi, sometimes GR, going down I crossed several ways to Le Puy as Lyon-Le Puy or Geneve-Le Puy.
You will find informations about accommodation, daily route on my blog :
http://caminaireinenglish.wordpress.com/way-of-assisi/
http://caminaireinenglish.wordpress.com/cluny-to-fay-sur-lignon/

Thank you! I am VERY interested. I will now read your entire blog! Thanks again for responding to this thread