• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Via Francigena

A

AJ

Guest
Off to Europe tomorrow to attempt the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rpme. I'll be in Santiago in August, but as a tourist.

Back on the straight and narrow next year I hope!
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
Bon Chemin et Buen Camino (and the Italian equivalent). Looking forward to hearing how you get on. Regards, Lovingkindness
 
Have a good walk. It would be really great to follow you - do you have a blog?
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
safe journey AJ. Will look forward to hearing your news as you go and when you return. Bon Chemin Janet
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
To celebrate the release of our kindle edition of An Italian Odyssey we are holding a limited time offer Summer Book Readers Special!

The prices of the kindle edition will be the following:

5.99 US (regular 9.99 US)
4.99 pounds (regular 6.99 pounds) - VAT extra
4.99 euro (regular 4.99 euro) - VAT extra

Prices are already in effect so check with Amazon for details

No waiting, no shipping, just order and you will have it in seconds! Cool!

And the kindle edition includes 40 color maps and photographs!
 
Anniesantiago said:
I just bought the Kindle edition of your book to read on my camping trip.
I can't WAIT!
Thanks for the link.

Hi Annie

Thanks! Look forward to reading about what you think of our book

Enjoy
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I arrived in Rome on July 1st, having left Canterbury on Easter Sunday. An interesting walk, completely different from the Spanish routes. Imet my first fellow pigrims at St Bernardś hospice, almost half way to Rome. I met nobody who was doing the whole gig, and less than 20 pilgrims altogether. Of course thre could have been many more, separated by a day or two.

I arrived ahead of schdule, so walked Leon to Santiago by way of recreation. I am now in Santiago with my wife, as a tourist - weird!!
 
Congratulations Andrew. I am looking forward to hearing about it when you get home. I too will start at Easter - though I am planning to start on Easter Monday from Londodn. Have a well deserved rest. Cheers, Janet
 
Well done, Andrew!
Did you stay in accommodation each night, or did you do some camping as well?

My reason for asking is that I am planning to do the Canterbury - Besancon section in spring 2012 and when I looked at the route using Paul Chinn's guide accommodation seemed quite sparse in many places.

Regards

Bob M
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Hi Bob, Try and get Alison Raju's guide book (I got mine from the book depository). It is only newly published (about a month ago) and so is as up to date as a guide book could be (given the speed with which they put new roads etc in!). Also if you join the Pilgrims to Rome Confraternity they have accomodation listings for all countries on the path on their forum. I have bought the IGN maps and, using the Cicerone (Raju) guide, plotted the path onto them. This enables me to see other sizeable villages nearby should I need to search accomodation close to the path. Cheers, Janet
 
jl said:
Hi Bob, Try and get Alison Raju's guide book (I got mine from the book depository). It is only newly published (about a month ago)....... Also if you join the Pilgrims to Rome Confraternity they have accomodation listings for all countries on the path on their forum......

Thx, Janet. I had not thought of the Pilgrims to Rome Confraternity. That's a good place to look.

BTW, I also emailed Paul Chinn on the subject & he said that he is about to start work on updating accommodation for Edition 4 of the Paul Chinn & Babette Gallard Lightfoot guide. So that is also worth watching for. Paul is extremely helpful and obliging.

Bob M
 
I have put together a google earth and gps trace of the entire route as done by Christina Menghini. It is quite close to the official, or semi official track. It is a small file and launches nicely in google maps or goggle earth. Send me a pm with an email address if anyone wants it.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I'm thinking about taking La Via next year as the first stage of a fundraising hike I'm organising from Northern England to Cape Town SA. 'The Long Well Walk'. I'd love some advice on the guide books, I have the Alison Raju book and it looks excellent though I do see a need for the IGN maps, the instructions at times appear to be potentially vague. Also, footwear - La Via seems to consist of a lot of tarmac - should I avoid heavier boots? I was looking at some 3-4 season boots to take for the long haul of the trip but as I'll be doing La Via in summer could this be overkill?
Thanks,
 
longhaul said:
La Via seems to consist of a lot of tarmac - should I avoid heavier boots?
Thanks,

I have walked the Caomino Fances & the Le Puy Route. I wore normal walking shoes (Brookes) and they performed fine.

There seems to be a fairly even split between people who wear walking shoes and people who wear light hiking boots. Very few people wear heavy leather hiking boots. Some people wear sandals.

Bear in mind that pilgrimage routes did not evolve as endurance walks, they evolved as the easiest way to achieve the objective. Early pilgrims wore sandals and other basic footwear.

To some extent the decision for novices ( I don't know longhaul's walking experience) is a psychological one: Wear what makes you feel confident and easy in your mind - assuming you have no known ankle problems.

Long walks present mental as well as physical challenges. Yours is particularly so, because you have the added pressure of walking for a purpose, and not letting your supporters down. So make sure you are mentally comfortable with your gear and preparations.

If that means a little overkill on boots, that's just fine. But in reality, basic good quality walking shoes would be perfectly fine.

I hope that is useful.

Bob M
 
BobM said:
Bear in mind that pilgrimage routes did not evolve as endurance walks, they evolved as the easiest way to achieve the objective. Early pilgrims wore sandals and other basic footwear.

Bob M

Though there was a tradition of leaving Conques after the fete of St Fleuret and arriving in Santiago for the fete of St Jacques on the 25 of July. That gives you 22 days, or 59 km per day. Those old pelerin were tough!
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I think those old pellerins were on horseback!!

Anyway, it seems a very long way around to walk from England to Cape Town using the Via Francigena into Italy?

Most people who have walked it have walked through France and Spain.
http://www.walkaboutmag.com/12walkingninetofive.html

Paula and her husband split whilst on this trek but she continued and you can read about her walks here.

http://www.constanttrek.com/
 
On very long walks I find it helpful to immerse myself in the moment and focus on what is happening as each day unfolds. I keep the big picture and my desired daily schedule in the back of mmy mind, but I try not to fixate on it too much.

Of course, walkers have to meet travel committments at the end of their walk, so a focus on achieving a certain daily progress is important, but I try not to let it become a fixation.

Ease of mind, time for reflection, and marvelling at the ever-present beauties of nature are paramount for me.

There is serenity and timelessness on pilgrimage walks. One has the feeling of walking in the footsteps of countless other pilgrims across the ages, plus the companionship of fellow travellers.

We can strip away the non-essentials in our lives for a few brief weeks and try to reconnect with the physical world about us.

Bob M
 
Thanks for all the replies!
For footwear I'm torn between going back and getting a new pair of light hikers I have used in the past or going for a pair of light boots which I know will last longer...I have over a year to break them in and decide, I will keep you posted!
Though I haven't walked the camino de santiago I have traveled through Spain, Morocco and West Africa and this extended route through East Africa is a chance for me to see some new landscapes and new challenges. Thanks for the link to the couple who have done this trip before, it's inspiring to read about others who have gone for such a trip.
BobM - thank you for your words, the timelessness of walking (and sometimes trudging) the long distances is what I am looking forward to the most. Though this is for several charities, it isn't entirely altruistic!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I will be setting out from Canterbury on the VF on July 19. I could wear my Camino Frances "scallop shell" (as some do, apparently), but I would prefer to carry a "keys" symbol as being more appropriate for the VF.

Does anyone know if such a thing can be bought at Canterbury?

Of course I could always make my own. :!:

Regards

Bob M
 
Bob

I did look for pilgrim badges in Canterbury and in fact the Cathedral shop has many but none to my recollection were crossed keys. In fact we had a good deal of difficulty finding any in Rome without the Papal crown.

DIY with a couple of keys and a little solder is probably the best bet.

William
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
When my group joined the Association Via Francigena, we bought 'gold' crossed keys on a brooch.
In Rome I bought a silver crossed keys pendant.

I also bought a fridge magnet with the crossed keys and Papal headress.
 
sillydoll said:
When my group joined the Association Via Francigena, we bought 'gold' crossed keys on a brooch.

Here is a weblink to the brooch, but there is no indication of size, although it appears to be quite small judging from the safety pin:
http://www.francigena-international.org ... ducts_id=4

Is it too small and fragile to hang on a backpack?

Rgds

Bob M
 
I pinned mine on my hat. It made it to Rome and back home.
A few weeks later my group clubbed together and had another one made for me in 9c gold.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I have also asked the CPR if they know of any "X-keys" I could buy in London/Canterbury before I set out on the VF (Phase 1 to Besancon this year)

BTW, I have both Alison Raju's Cicerone guide & Paul Chinn/Babette Gallard's Lightfoot guide. They are both complementary.

I prefer the Lightfoot guide for navigational ease and field-friendly layout, but the Cicerone guide is better for little historical/factual snippets and other useful info - eg where shade/seats and bus stops are available. Alison also makes useful comments on where lack of shops means extra food/water should be carried.

Bus stops, you say? Yes! - they often have seats and shelter. I have often used a bus stop to shelter from rain and eat my sumptious mid-day repast. I wish all guides would mention them, just as they do water points.

I won't carry the Cicerone guide, but I have written notes from it into my Lightfoot guide.

I have managed to optimise my stages to about 25km/day except for 2 places where I plan to arrange taxi pickups. Here are my route notes for those stages:

1. Walk to Grenant (26.1km), call taxi to Champlitte, return next day & walk to Champlitte 13.3km
2. Stop Corbeil 19km & call taxi to accom eg Hanourt, Taxi back to Corbeil, then walk 26.6km to Brienne.


I built 3 spare/rest days into my plan to cater for the unexpected.

I will carry a set of the IGN 1:100k maps and also a Garmin Dakota 20 GPS unit.

I have given up the towed cart idea. Too complicated to get it to/from the UK. The airline calls it a bike and insists on special packaging. If I lived in Europe, no problems (at least not with the cart!).

There is a very comprehensive account of a pilgrimage in 2010 by Cristina (an Italian lady) at: http://www.globetrotter-life.com/1Luglio2010.htm The text is all in Italian, but there are a huge number of wonderful photos, all geo-tagged to Cristina’s route, which you can see on her maps. I found it very useful in getting a pictorial overview of the route to Besancon. Much of it is very open and probably very hot in July/August.

Rgds

Bob M
 
I am having no luck booking accommodation in or close to Wissant for Saturday, July 21. I have tried all the places on the CPR list and in the Lightfoot guidebook. I am locked into that date, unfortunately.

Is it normal for accommodation to be difficult for summer weekends in that part of France, or is there some special event on in that region on the weekend 21/22 July?

Given the difficulty, I don't want to just turn up and hope for the best - or throw myself on the Parish, so maybe I will have to bypass Wissant and go direct from Calais to Guines. :cry:

Bob M
 
Bob,

Wissant is located on a most famous stretch of the Atlantic French coast. As Victor Hugo wrote in 1837 "l'on retrouve le ciel, la terre, la mer, l'infini"/ "here one finds sky, earth, sea, infinity ". July 20 is the middle of the SEASON for French summer holidays. What do you expect? Most accommodation has probably been booked for months. Perhaps you might reconsider your alternatives.

Bon Chance, Bon Voyage and Buen Camino,

Margaret
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
If you want to include Wissant you could get a bus back to Calais that evening.

It is a bit of a dog leg via Wissant and there is a canal from Calais to Guines though I am not sure there is a path by it.

Jonas Ewe wrote
I discovered the "Ancienne voie romaine" that starts 2km SouthWest of
Sangatte, and goes straight like a ruler to Guines, surely a very historic
alternative to both the Calais-Guines and Calais-Vissant-Guines proposals in the
guides? But is it walkable or are there un-passable fences?

PW Robins wrote
This is the Leulène, recorded in the Willelmi Chronica Andrensis as "stratam
publicam a Francia tendentem in Angliam" (the public road leading from France to
England). There was a spur from Guines to Wissant/Sombre, presumably taken by
Sigeric, and probably much as the current D244. The purple line on the 1:25,000
IGN maps means the Sangatte-Guines bit is waymarked, more or less all the way,
so there's no problem walking it (apart from the bit where the autoroute gets in
the way). I did walk a bit at the N end - many years ago. You can roughly follow
the route on the map on more or less to Therouanne, via Autingues, Zouafques,
Lumbres/Setques, though there's nothing like a continuous track. There is,
though, a track where it crosses the Field of the Cloth of Gold (as in Henry
VIII).
 
William Marques said:
If you want to include Wissant you could get a bus back to Calais that evening.
It is a bit of a dog leg via Wissant and there is a canal from Calais to Guines though I am not sure there is a path by it.

The Paul Chinn & Babette Gallard guide to the VF has instructions for the Calais - Guines alternative route, basically along the canal. I think Alison Raju's guide also describes it.

Rgds

Bob M
 

Most read last week in this forum

The official Via Francigena site has published a list of free walks ** happening in 2024. If you happen to be passing through you might want to take part - or avoid that section that day. (**...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top