Starting 80k before SJPdP…..

[Shazenalan]

We have walked the CF twice - and during October we would like to start about 80k before the Pyrenees - kind of ‘taking a run at them’ if you will? Then we would walk out averages 10-12 miles a day until we run out of time. We are struggling to find a straight forward travel route from UK to Navarrenz - and wondered if Forum members may have some suggestions? Our goal is to see how we get on in France - and avoid having the Pyrenees on day 1 . Also to travel in a cooler month - on both previous CFs we encountered heatwaves which slowed us down - so any thoughts on walking during October also welcomed. Many thanks

 

[Tincatinker]

Might not be quite what you have in mind but you could fly to Bordeaux and walk from there on the Tours. Or take the train from Bordeaux to Dax and walk to Ostabat and join the Le Puy there. You may even find public transport from Dax to Navarrenx, I haven’t delved

 

[mspath]

Shazenalan,
Check out this earlier forum thread for posts with helpful info re walking in October- November.

Happy planning.

 

[David]

I absolutely loved walking in France, so green, so soft, so friendly, so civilised - and the food, don't get me started on the food!!! - my first Camino I started in Moissac - From UK the simplest method is Eurostar to Paris then train south - French trains are marvellous beasts and as is government owned prices are Much cheaper than in the UK! and when you buy a ticket you get a seat reservation too ....
and if you have reached 60 years old you can buy the sncf senior railcard for 49€, you get 30% off tickets! https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/en-en/catalogue/description/carte-avantage-senior

... so, to make it easier would you consider moving your starting town to one that has a train station?

Orthez does .. Paris to Dax and change there. 'man in seat 61' is perfect for train route planning - www.seat61.com
There is a brilliant Michelin for the route from Le Puy which is the route you will jump on (Chemins de Compostelle, Michelin 161 - available on Ebay).

One thing to be aware of on Caminos in France - they are actually hiking trails as well (GR routes) so they often do mad diversions to the tops of hills and then back down again, for French weekend walkers who just want a pretty hike - after day one I ignored these crazy diversions and carried on walking.

You know, you could forget Spain completely as you have already done two and start from further up the Le Puy route and make St Jean or Roncesvalles your Santiago? Any town with a train station - it really is a lovely Camino (as long as you ignore the mad diversions to the tops of hills ).

 

[G_the_D]

The Camino Baztan is also a nice option. Start in Bayonne and join the CF in Pamplona. You cross the Pyrenees over the course of a couple of days with no really strenuous climbs. The route is considered Medium difficulty at most. Beautiful scenery and reasonable access to services en route.
I walked this route in October of 2017 and (apart from getting utterly turned aound trying to find my way out of Bayonne) it is mostly well marked and a beautiful camino.

Best regards and buen camino,

G

 

[Rob Perry]

I walked from Bayonne in march this year, stopping at Cambo les Bains and Helette. Lovely walking but no signs worth trusting. Need good map reading or GPX especially for the second day.

 

[G_the_D]

I walked from Bayonne in march this year, stopping at Cambo les Bains and Helette. Lovely walking but no signs worth trusting. Need good map reading or GPX especially for the second day.

I thoroughly agree. Signage was challenging.
At times the yellow arrows are 3/4" tape on signposts that you can't see until you are nearly on top of them, if you see them at all.
Had I broken out my phone earlier I would have saved myself having to backtrack 6 km. That made for a very long day.

 

[Rob Perry]

Yes, I went at least 5k out of my way because of a yellow cross which I presumed meant "not that way". Best to ignore signs and use phone. A lesson learnt but it was lovely walking. Do it again one day.

 

[Former member 104756]

We have walked the CF twice - and during October we would like to start about 80k before the Pyrenees - kind of ‘taking a run at them’ if you will? Then we would walk out averages 10-12 miles a day until we run out of time. We are struggling to find a straight forward travel route from UK to Navarrenz - and wondered if Forum members may have some suggestions? Our goal is to see how we get on in France - and avoid having the Pyrenees on day 1 . Also to travel in a cooler month - on both previous CFs we encountered heatwaves which slowed us down - so any thoughts on walking during October also welcomed. Many thanks

Hi Shazenalan

Lovely idea. And the path to Navarrenx to SJPP is wonderful with some fabulous gites as well.

@ThomCatStevens did a very similar thing earlier this year. He had the same idea as you to walk for a while before arriving in SJPP to continue on the Frances. As I'm familiar with the Le Puy Way and currently living in France, we had a few conversations about his options.

Maybe he will chime in to this thread but, in case he doesn't, from memory, he took a train from Bayonne to Orthez (little more than an hour train ride) and then he walked 15 kms on a quiet country road to Arthez de Bearn for his first night, staying at the fabulous La Boulangerie gite. You could do similar but walk to Navarrenx, though it's a little further. Or stay the night in Othez and make the walk to Navarrenx your first stage. The other option is a taxi from Orthez to Navarrenx.

Just by the way, we will be walking from Lectoure (further back on the Le Puy Way) to Santiago, leaving Lectoure on 1 October. So maybe we will see you somewhere in France or Spain depending on your start date and your / our progress.

I have walked both the Frances and Primitivo in October. The last time we walked the Frances was 10 years ago. This year, we could have walked earlier, but we chose Oct/Nov due to the smaller numbers and it's typically great walking weather.

Hope that helps. Bon Chemin, then Buen Camino.

 

[SongKhonGair]

Lourdes?

It is a bit further than your 80km, but not outrageously so. And Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen passes thru there, ending at SJPP.

You can take a left at Oloron-Saint-Marie onto yet another Way, the Chemin du Arles, and cross into Spain via the Somport Pass, eventually joining the Frances just past Pamplona.

Skip France alltogether and start at Somport? By all accounts the scenery on the Camino Aragones is quite special.

I'm on my phone, sorry, excuse the scant detail. Gronze has it all covered though.

 

[David]

I SO wish they would put part of the remains of St James in the little church on the old cobbled street in St Jean ... would lessen the numbers in Spain, increase the numbers in France and would mean I could walk in France. France!!!

 

[Kiwi-family]

I can't find a simple way to Navarrenx without using a taxi for the last stage. Would you consider starting in Sarrance on the Camino Arles - first night in a monastery

Accueil Pèlerin Communauté des Prémontrés | Albergue de Peregrinos en Sarrance | Gronze.com

Información del albergue de peregrinos Accueil Pèlerin Communauté des Prémontrés, en Sarrance: Precio, plazas, características, etc...

www.gronze.com

Sarrance is easily accessed by bus and train from various places (Pamplona, Bilbao, Bayonne, Barcelona, for example)

Then 20.6km walk to Oloron-Sainte-Marie also on the Arles, which joins with the Camino del Piamonte and you can choose your stages from there to Saint Jean. https://www.gronze.com/camino-piamonte

That would solve the difficulty of getting to your start point!

 

[BillW]

Lovely idea. And the path to Navarrenx to SJPP is wonderful with some fabulous gites as well.

I'm starting in September and will be starting in Navarrenx. I walked these stages when I did the GR65 last year, and enjoyed them. Three days of walking before SJPDP.

 

[Former member 104756]

@BillW - for intérest, how are you making your way to Navarrenx, which is what @Shazenalan is struggling with? I’ve suggested train to Orthez and then walk or taxi from there. And you could do the same from Oloron Saint Marie I imagine.

@Shazenalan - Others have suggested alternatives to the plan you posted about. I’ve walked all the alternatives mentioned and enjoyed them very much but as you want to try walking in France and to go to Spain via SJPP, I think your plan is an excellent one. The Le Puy Way from Navarrenx or earlier, is a beautiful section with opportunities for wonderful hospitality and communal dinners in some excellent gites.

While the Piemont route from Oloron Saint Maire to SJPP is not far to the south and shares the last few kms with the Le Puy - there are fewer accommodation options (as of April 2022 when we were there) and quite a few steep ascents and descents, which can only be avoided by road walking. It would not be the gentle ease in to the Pyrenees that you are looking for.

All the best whatever you decide

 

[BillW]

for intérest, how are you making your way to Navarrenx, which is what @Shazenalan is struggling with?

As you suggest, we're taking a train from Paris to Orthez, and a taxi from Orthez to Navarrenx. (I found a taxi in Orthez online, and the driver told me to contact him a day ahead of time to arrange the ride.)

@Shazenalan FWIW... Here are our specific walking plans...

19km - Navarrenx to Aroue (then bus to Saint-Palais). Navarrenx is a lovely walled city. After a night there, we'll walk to Aroue. Aroue is very small with just one gite, so we'll take a 15 minute bus ride to Saint-Palais. I really like Saint-Palais. It has a nice town square, restaurants, lodgings, etc..A variant of the GR65 goes through Saint-Palais, so you can continue walking right from there. It's also possible to walk from Aroue to Saint-Palais but it makes for a long day on day one.

17km - Saint-Palais to Larceveau. This stage has some significant hills which are a nice warm up for the Pyerenees. Some people stop in Ostabat-Asme instead, which is a cute town a few kilometers befor Larceveau.

19km - Larceveau to SJPDP. A fairly flat stage. I find it fun to walk into the bustling town after the three quiet days on the trail. You enter the town from the gate at the top of the street above the Pilgrims' Office.

(My distances might not be exact.)

 

[Former member 104756]

@Shazenalan

When we leave Lectoure on 1 October, we will be walking leisurely stages to SJPP as we don't want to arrive in SJPP too early in October. From Navarrenx, we will likely walk these stages because, like @BillW , we also want to visit Saint Palais, so will 'detour' there on foot.

Tuesday 10 October	Navarrenx	Aroue	20	Gîte à la Ferme Bohoteguia
Wednesday 11 October	Aroue	Saint Palais	19	?
Thursday 12 October	Saint Palais	Larceveau	15	Maison Hego Alde
Friday 13 October	Larceveau	SJPP	19	?

If you decide to stay in Aroue, I recommend the farm gite. I qualify that by saying that I last stayed there in 2014 - but as recently as two months ago have heard it is still very good. Same lovely family still operating the gite.

Bohoteguia farmhouse-Gîte d'étape the ideal resting place for pilgrims in Aroue

My family has offered accommodation for pilgrims on their way towards Santiago de Compostela since 1996. At that time they were received at our family home. When my father passed away in 2002, my mother continued the activity and I succeed her in 2013. Today I welcome you to a completely...

www.ferme-bohoteguia.com

 

[Natique2]

I thoroughly agree. Signage was challenging.
At times the yellow arrows are 3/4" tape on signposts that you can't see until you are nearly on top of them, if you see them at all.
Had I broken out my phone earlier I would have saved myself having to backtrack 6 km. That made for a very long day.

What GPS app do you suggest to keep on track ? Are they offline maps that place you on the trail so that if you lose cell service you can still track your way?

 

[Former member 104756]

What GPS app do you suggest to keep on track ? Are they offline maps that place you on the trail so that if you lose cell service you can still track your way?

Hi @Natique2 I know, from the other thread that we've been communicating on regarding your trains, that you are walking the Camino Frances starting in SJPP. The comments above regarding shortage of signage relate to a path between Bayonne and SJPP, likely the Voie de la Nive, where signage can be challenging. There is also mention of the Camino Baztan, which goes from Bayonne to Pamplona. Both these routes have very few walkers but you will not encounter either route starting from SJPP.

You will have no shortage of yellow arrows, other camino signs or other walkers to follow on the Camino Frances from SJPP. Enjoy.

 

[jdpiguet]

Another possibility would be to start from Orthez, on the Voie de Vézelay.
It is around 70 km before St-Jean-Pied-de-Port and has a train station.
Buen Camino, Jacques-D.

 

[Shazenalan]

Good morning - after a hectic few days with family visits we are looking forward to sitting down this morning to consider all your suggestions -

 

[G_the_D]

What GPS app do you suggest to keep on track ? Are they offline maps that place you on the trail so that if you lose cell service you can still track your way?

I used the Buen Camino app while walking and Gronze for research. There are others that are highly rated too.

 

[Natique2]

Hi @Natique2 I know, from the other thread that we've been communicating on regarding your trains, that you are walking the Camino Frances starting in SJPP. The comments above regarding shortage of signage relate to a path between Bayonne and SJPP, likely the Voie de la Nive, where signage can be challenging. There is also mention of the Camino Baztan, which goes from Bayonne to Pamplona. Both these routes have very few walkers but you will not encounter either route starting from SJPP.

You will have no shortage of yellow arrows, other camino signs or other walkers to follow on the Camino Frances from SJPP. Enjoy.

Oh that’s good! Thank you for taking my anxiety down a notch! Haha! My packing and repacking , continuing to scouring the forum etc has put me on high alert!

 

[Former member 104756]

Oh that’s good! Thank you for taking my anxiety down a notch! Haha! My packing and repacking , continuing to scouring the forum etc has put me on high alert!

Once you get walking you’ll be fine

PS. Remember. THE FORUM IS NOT THE CAMINO. My advice - not that you asked. - stay away from the forum while you are walking your camino.

 

[Shazenalan]

After talking and thinking, sleeping and pondering …… the decision has been made! It’s going to be the Camino Baztan. This ticks our boxes of ‘some time in France’ and a ‘run up’ to the Pyranees - we love the idea of an alternative route - many many thanks for the suggestion. . We also liked the options for walking from Orthez and Navarranx - and particularly starting further back on Le Puy - making SJPdP our Santiago (no remains required ) and have decided to put this on next years list.

We have the Buen Camino app for the French part of the route - has anyone used that or would recommend a better one for navigation when arrows disappear? Also - I see we will need to carry food due to limited services - does that include water or is there a good supply?

I am excited and apprehensive - which sounds about right I am also grateful to you all for giving your thoughts, time, and advice - my thanks to you all.

 

[Former member 104756]

We walked the Baztan in May. It’s a solitary route. Not for everyone but we are used to walking quieter routes with limited services. It’s very different from the Frances or the Le Puy for that matter. This might be useful - i copied it from a post I made on another thread.

We stayed in a mixture of accommodation as suited the stages - we decided as we went along. We relied on Gronze for information There are a few ways to cut it - we walked in 5 days.

Day 0 - Bayonne - Refuge Saint Jacques (14 places, modern, clean, lovely welcome from volunteers, you can reserve)
Day 1 - Espelette - Hotel Euzkadi (a splurge - and fabulous dinner)
Day 2 - Urdax - Monastery albergue - we decided on this short day to make the most of our hotel and Espelette, stay at the Monastery, and have the steep climb that follows in the morning rather than the afternoon. Happy with that decision.
Day 3 - Ziga - Posada de Ziga - lovely host, demi pension
Day 4 - Lantz albergue municipal - we were going to continue to Olague, but we’d had a long tough day (not due to kms, but wet weather and lots of water flowing down the mountain).
Day 5 - Pamplona.

We rang on the day / day before for the Monastery, Ziga and Lantz. For the Monastery and Lantz, to make sure someone was available to come with the key and to find out what options we had for dinner. We were the only two in both Albergues.

We saw one pilgrim on the first day who was walking on to Urdax so we didn’t see him again. We saw three other pilgrims later, walking in reverse from Pamplona.

Hope you have better weather than we did. Lots of rain for 4 days out of 5 - but we loved the Baztan anyway

 

[Shazenalan]

We walked the Baztan in May. It’s a solitary route. Not for everyone but we are used to walking quieter routes with limited services. It’s very different from the Frances or the Le Puy for that matter. This might be useful - i copied it from a post I made on another thread.

We stayed in a mixture of accommodation as suited the stages - we decided as we went along. We relied on Gronze for information There are a few ways to cut it - we walked in 5 days.

Day 0 - Bayonne - Refuge Saint Jacques (14 places, modern, clean, lovely welcome from volunteers, you can reserve)
Day 1 - Espelette - Hotel Euzkadi (a splurge - and fabulous dinner)
Day 2 - Urdax - Monastery albergue - we decided on this short day to make the most of our hotel and Espelette, stay at the Monastery, and have the steep climb that follows in the morning rather than the afternoon. Happy with that decision.
Day 3 - Ziga - Posada de Ziga - lovely host, demi pension
Day 4 - Lantz albergue municipal - we were going to continue to Olague, but we’d had a long tough day (not due to kms, but wet weather and lots of water flowing down the mountain).
Day 5 - Pamplona.

We rang on the day / day before for the Monastery, Ziga and Lantz. For the Monastery and Lantz, to make sure someone was available to come with the key and to find out what options we had for dinner. We were the only two in both Albergues.

We saw one pilgrim on the first day who was walking on to Urdax so we didn’t see him again. We saw three other pilgrims later, walking in reverse from Pamplona.

Hope you have better weather than we did. Lots of rain for 4 days out of 5 - but we loved the Baztan anyway

This is very useful - and thank you for sharing - we have been looking at the stages and considering terrain, weather etc. Your route has given us some great ideas to explore and we will copy your strategy of ‘uphill in the morning’ for sure This will be our first quiet route - and we look forward to that but the scarcity of places to eat is unnerving - can I ask how you got along in that regard? Did you need to carry a lot of food & water?

 

[Former member 104756]

This will be our first quiet route - and we look forward to that but the scarcity of places to eat is unnerving - can I ask how you got along in that regard? Did you need to carry a lot of food & water?

It was fine, but we always had some snacks in our backpacks. I can give you a bit more detail tomorrow.

In the meantime, you could look at the forum section relating to the Baztan for some other threads. A forum member named Bad Pilgrim walked the Baztan quite recently. I recall he had quite a few problems with signage but we found the path well marked - our only challenge was on Day 2 leaving Espelette to get back on the Camino - because Espelette is a detour.

Also, in usual circumstances, we would have walked on to Olague on Day 4 (rather than Lantz) - to make Day 5 in to Pamplona a little shorter. But weather and some local flooding played a part in our decision.

If you're interested I can send you a link to my Find Penguins blog from the Baztan. I can send it by Private Message.

 

[Shazenalan]

Thank you for the pointers - and I will definitely follow them up and await your pm link. Many thanks for your hrlp.