bonjour- walking east - castres to st. gilles - mid sept.

[eleone]

yes, hello. very nice to be here. thank you! as part of a research project on st. gilles i am walking east from castres through mtns to st. gilles, especially interested in pont diable in St. Guilhelm. anyone who has done the same please let me know!

merci, eleone

 

[barbaraj45]

Bonjour Eleone,
Last spring i walked from Arles, via St gilles, to Joncels, most of the time with a friend. i am 60 so my maximum each day was 15 miles. The paradise pilgrim place to stay in joncels is Villa Issiastes. I hope to start from there this spring and walk to Castres. I stayed with nuns in logrono, and in the auberge in St Jean de la blaquiere - NB the facilities in this village are VERY limited. It was a wonderful walk from St Guilhem le Desert to St Jean. the convent auberge in St Guilhem was fantastic. Logs were even supplied so i lit a fire in the huge fireplace! We slept in the village hall in montenaud, courtesy of a very kind priest. the YHA in montellier was useful but dirty. We stayed in a former school in Gallargues - excellent - and i styed in the auberge in St Gilles - also excellent. my worst night was in the village hall in Vauvert - I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. We took buses into Montpelier and out of it, to avoid the suburbs. The FFRP chemin d'Arles book is a good guide. For this year I have also bought detailed maps. I was unimpressed with the Pont du diable as i was tired by that point and it hadn't rained for months so the water level was low. the best part for me was discoveing the garrigue vegetation of Pagnol's books, staying in and walking from St Guilhem, and the friendliness of all the locals. Good luck.
barbara