This may seem a curious post but I can assure you that considerations of style assume huge importance when carrying a 18kg pack; not only stiles and the chances of getting over them, because of their design or their decrepitude, without ending up in a bed of nettles (always closely associated and often over growing), …
17.06.08 Tuesday Descartes (La Haye) to Le Grand Presigny. We are now leaving Descartes, but a quick further word about this town, it was originally La Haye and claims to have been an important point on the route to Compostella ?from Paris, it has a very old church and remains of a pilgrim hostel. After …
16.06.08 Marcilly sur Vienne to Descartes. An Epic day, not only did we cross the A10 the Paris to Bordeaux peage (toll motorway), a modern watershed but we reached the town of Descartes. This little town is not only the birthplace of Renato Descartes, philosopher, but also one of the many points of resistance between …
15.06.08 Sunday. I'Ile de Bouchard to Marcilly sur Vienne. The ladies left us today after meeting us for lunch, it was a good break and a needed rest. We were still on the site in Chinon and had washed, dried and repaired everything by last night. Our little tents were taken down last night and …
14.06.08 Chinon to Ile de Bouchard. An accompanied walk – Betsy became a pilgrim for a day (yes, you too can become a pilgrim for a day). A very straight forward walk 13 miles long, first up into Chinon and then along through wooded tracks. We left the GR3 outside Chinon and joined the GR48 …
13.06.08 Friday Rest day in Chinon. We did meet up with our ladies they had “white knuckled “ down the autoroutes from St Malo and arrived around 20:00 hrs, we then had a good meal out with the main course for 3 of us served in jamjars! The tents they brought with them seem enormous …
12.06.08 Thursday Montsoreau to Chinon Started early to Boulongerie outside campsite open at 07:00hrs and, after breakfast of a very crisp baguette and ham, headed off up and down the escarpment past more troglodyte houses and up on to top, with a good view of the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne. The GR3 …
11.06.08 Saumur to Montsoreau GR3 A good day, at last a bit of up and down – the GR3 follows the south bank of the Loire upstream southeast by climbing the 200ft escarpment that looks north behind the chateau. It then dips up and down passing through the first vineyards we have seen in France …
10.06.08 La Breille Les Pins to Saumur. Up at 06:30 to a cloudless sky and therefore, an early start at 07:00. We were still later out of the campsite though than most of the inhabitants who were living in the static caravans. They seemed to be of east European extraction and we assumed that they …
09.06.08 Noyant to La Breille les Pins (well not really) A good long day of three surprises. We are now passing through an area of very well drained sandy soils much more in use for arable farming than the rich cow lands north of here. In spite of this, these three ladies caught my eye …
08.06.08 Sunday Le Lude to Noyant Not our day of rest – about 16 miles including a bit of difficulty finding the GR36 (our new route down to Saumur where we pick up the GR3 up the Loire). We then did a mix of road, field, wood and marsh, the latter only a short section …
Notes on the geography of the last few weeks. We had not realised quite how flat this area of northern France is. In the north of Normandy around Cherbourg the land is about 300ft above sea level and obviously as we followed the coast down to Le Mont St Michel we never rose above 100 …
07.06.08 Day off in Le Lude. Morning well spent talking to tourist information lady, getting campsite info and washing. Afternoon visiting the local chateau in town which was more interesting than most being still lived in and with a guide who made the effort to speak both French and English. Medieval stronghold pre 100 years …
06.06.08 Bazouges sur Loir to Le Lude. Both these towns are on the Loir, a tributary via the Sarthe of the Loire (which is the one you’ve all heard of). Both are very pleasant with a river big enough to boat on may be the size of the Wye at Hay, but since we are …
05.06.08 Thursday Precigne to Bazouges sur le Loir A good afternoon drying and we walked out in good order today, it was not to last. The route joined the GR and passed through the usual pleasant green lanes, some of which had been mown presumably by the local communities, the lanes gradually became boggy and …
04.06.08 Sable sur Sarthe to Precigne. A rest day! Well only 6 miles, late start tents almost dry, finish for lunch and washing with a good chance of drying . Another interesting stile – see the blog still to come (too many photos to upload from here). We first walked into town to cross the …
03.06.08 St Denis to Sable sur Sarthe We knew these two days would not be fun, we had 30 miles by direct road to link up the 2 GR systems. This second day was well started by the previous afternoon in St Denis with sun and breeze so we started drier than for some days. …
The End of the Day. This was on the Campsite at St Denis in a brief moment between heavy thunderstorms.
02.06.08 Laval to St Denis du Maine Set off in the rain after a wet night. Walking down the main road for the first hour in the rush hour in the rain with articulated lorries only inches away was no fun but it made the rest of the day during which rain was intermittent on …
01.06.08 Sunday Port Brillet to Laval or St Pierre le Potier just south. Comfortable night spent out of the rain in the Auberge, started walking at 08:00 after le petit dejuener. Got a different baguette from the boulangerie opposite, with seeds (Les Grivels I think) very good for lunch. Tony got fairly stressed when his …