Accommodation was a constant problem on my walk in July/August, especially on weekends. Somtimes it took quite a few phone calls to set up accommodation a few days in advance. Sometimes I got a recorded message asking me to leave a message. I never did that, because I could not wait around until I received a reply - which might or might not come. In some cases, gites were closed because the owner was himself on holiday, or closed for annual maintenance or some such reason.
I was not prepared to routinely walk long stsges of 35km or so, and that limited my flexibility. Pilgrims who normally walk 30+km/day will have much greater flexibility, but even so they should book a few days ahead, especially on weekends and public holidays.
Also, allow plenty of schedule flexibility so that you can “wait out” accomodation bottlenecks for a day if required. I did not have that flexibility, so when I ran into multiple accommodation problems between Tergnier and Reims around a busy weekend period I had no option but to take trains to keep on schedule to meet my final flight home. That did give me a few valuable “flex days”, which I needed to use later.
Taxi numbers: If a pilgrim is stuck without accommodation and unable to walk a very long stage (eg 39km), it would be helpful to be able to get a taxi to a gite and return next day to continue walking. On the popular CF and VP routes there is a well-established system of inexpensive taxi transfers for bags and pilgrims, but the demand is far too low for such a service to have developed along the VF.
In my planning, I had intended to use taxis to and from accomodation for two difficult stages, but it quickly became apparent that this would be time-consuming and probably impractical to arrange by a pilgrim with only fair command of French, so I had to make another plan.
The availability of water was another issue. I carried all my water for each day (2litres on hot days) because I was never confident of being able to top up at public water points (virtually non-existent) or at churches that may not have attached cemeteries. The few public fountains I saw (eg in Wisques, Reims) and at lavoirs were all marked as non-potable. Cafes etc actually on the route are relatively sparse. On two occasions, I asked local residents for water, but obviously one can't make a habit of imposing on others like that.
Hotel owners were only aware of the VF in the vaguest sense and were usually unaware of the special needs of pilgrims for quick checkins, early dinners and breakfasts. Their whole business is focussed on normal travellers who arrive, fresh, in their cars. When getting my credencial stamped, I usually took the opportunity to explain the VF in an attempt to raise awareness.
In a few cases I felt reception staff were a little judgmental and disapproving of unkempt pilgrims with packs who did not fit their idea of respectable travellers.
Individually-run gites were far more pilgrim-friendly, and I found they were actually interested in their guests as people. I tried to give those places preference, except for rest days when some “luxury” was desired.
I did not try to use parish accommodation because I thought it would be too time-consuming to arrange, given that phones are not always answered even at conventional accommodation, and parish priests may be absent in other villages etc etc, adding to the usual hassles with making bookings. But maybe it is easier than I had feared.
Actual accommodation costs were probably about 20 Euros higher than the estimates given in the CPR accommodation list.
Phone: While I did see quite a few public phones, I think a mobile phone is much more practical. If I have an accommodation problem to resolve, I don't want to be stuck in some place with a public phone until the problem is resolved. Network coverage with Orange was quite good, although not on the road near Archots. I bought an Orange prepaid SIM card and used 27 Euros to book accommodation.
Traffic: Much of the route is on major roads and some of these were quite dangerous. Motorists do not expect to see walkers on main roads and in general do not give them enough room so that the walker knows he has been seen and that the motorist is taking care. In the best cases, the motorist would use his traffic indicators and move into the other lane if safe to do so. I always gave these drivers a wave to acknowledge their courtesy.
However, that only works for the traffic you can see coming at you - if you walk on the left side of the road. You have no idea what the traffic behind you is doing in the other lane. On busy roads you have to be wary of the danger from overtaking vehicles striking you from behind as they come into your lane to execute their overtaking maneuver.
I was almost struck by an overtaking truck that passed within a metre of me. The driver was probably so intent on overtaking safely and watching for oncoming traffic that he may not have even seen me. There are also many blind bends with very little room to take evasive action if an oncoming vehicle is travelling very close to the edge of the road, as they usually do on sharp bends.
I walked in generally good, sunny conditions. In wet weather and poor visibility the dangers are magnified. Perhaps wearing a high-visibility vest would be going too far, although it is worth remembering that road workers are required to do exactly that for safety reasons.
Walking on busy main roads is risky, and in poor visibility one's clothing must stand out.
It would be useful if local papers could run a small article about pilgrims using the roads in peak walking periods, to build awareness of their growing numbers as the VF becomes more popular. I am sure motorists wonder who these people are and they may even be irritated that pilgrims walk into oncoming traffic and seem unwilling to walk off the tarmac. A driver does not appreciate the problems facing walkers, and may not even know the best way to respond to them. The walker, above all, needs feedback from the driver that he has been seen. I often waved to oncoming drivers to attract their attention, but on one or two occasions that was interpreted as a request for help.
Dogs: Many houses and farms along the VF seem to have very aggressive dogs that can be alarming in the ferocity of their barking and their rushing about inside their fences. One wonders what would happen If one of these dogs got loose. I did not carry a walking pole and had nothing to fend off an attack. I did get a little ankle-nipping from two annoying little terriers that their owner had unleashed as she got out of her car.
Anyway, that's an overview. I will post separate articles on each of my stages, the accomodation I used and navigation.
Bob M
