Ideas please on where to start further back in France, before SJPP

[Maple Leaf Walker]

Planning my fifth Camino (this one would be CF) and I’d like to start further back from SJPdP. Since much of the joy I get from these travels is about connecting with food and the people who make it, I’m thinking 4 days in France would be a good idea. Anyhow have some experiences to share? Thanks!

 

[lovingkindness]

Hello @Maple Leaf Walker
Here are a few suggestions from another conversation. You may need a little longer than 4 days though, depending on finding transport to a starting point...

Post in thread 'Starting the camino from the end of le Puy/Arles

Buen camino!

 

[trecile]

You might consider starting on the Arles route, then the Camino Aragonés which connects with the Francés at Puente la Reina. That's what I plan to do this year starting at Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Not sure how far you walk in 4 days or so, but places like Lourdes, Mont-de-Marsan, and Bayonne are good starting points.

 

[Vacajoe]

Bayonne to SJPdP is a beautiful 3-4 day walk through Basque Country. The food is exceptional, the path mostly well marked, and you are likely to be the only pilgrim on the route. Sadly, there are few pilgrim-specific accommodations, so the cost will be a bit higher.

 

[David]

I have walked from Moissac (has a mainline train station).
I absolutely delight in walking in France, the people are smiling and friendly. the terrain is beautiful, everything well cared for - almost zero rubbish, and there are plenty of small family owned restaurants, each displays their menus and (cheap!) set meals outside - a delight. (I SO wish the remains of St James were located in St Jean!).

You could start at Navarrenx on the Le Puys but I don't know how you would get there as it doesn't have a train station anywhere close.

So I would suggest starting at Dax, on the Tours route that goes down through Bordeaux - there is a train station in Dax so very easy to get to.

 

[good_old_shoes]

If you maybe can imagine to walk a few more days in France than only four, you could also start in Air sur l'Adour on the via podiensis/GR 65. It is easy to get to:

There's a train from Bayonne to Pau, and then a bus between Pau and Air sur l'Adour.

From there it is about one week of walking towards the pyrenees.

If you enjoy food and the people who make it, you probably will like the demi pension in the french gites. The GR 65 usually has enough pilgrims to not be lonely, but no crowds, and excellent food.

Bon chemin and buen Camino!

 

[Maple Leaf Walker]

Thank you everyone. These are some excellent options.

 

[Kevin Considine]

Planning my fifth Camino (this one would be CF) and I’d like to start further back from SJPdP. Since much of the joy I get from these travels is about connecting with food and the people who make it, I’m thinking 4 days in France would be a good idea. Anyhow have some experiences to share? Thanks!

Saint Palais where the Camino Tours, Vezelay, and Podiensis meet up is a good option but hard to beat magical Lourdes and it’s nightly candle procession. Though you will be 6 days from SJPP. Also you have the option of picking up the Camino Aragones route into Spain which is a beautiful Camino. You then connect with Camino Frances at Puente de Reina. For more info here is my blog post on “starting from Lourdes”: https://globalpilgrim.net/starting-... in Lourdes allows for,the joy of reaching St.

 

[kayagee66]

If you would like some company then i second Aire-sur-l’adour to St Jean.
It is a great walk with great food.
Definitely go Demi-Pensión.
I recommend the Chapelle des Ursulines for a unique experience, or La Maison des Pelerins. Both in Aire sur l’Adour. To start you off.
If you’ve not walked on the GR65 or in France before, you’ll realise what you’ve been missing.
For a much more solitary experience, Bayonne to St Jean, is very nice.

 

[Tandem Graham]

In late August 2019 I walked from Dax, a fascinating town founded by the Romans, with impressively hot natural thermal baths (there is a pilgrim Gite, not far from the railway station, though you have to give advanced warning to the local association, so a volunteer can meet you with the key). From there to Sorde l'Abbaye (another pilgrim facility, staffed by volunteers) is 25kms. Dinner is usually available, if you let them know you're coming. Sorde to Saint Palais (with its buoyant hostel, with single and double rooms) is a rolling 34kms, with an option of splitting the stage at Bergouey (there are accomodation options there but I'm not clear what). Finally, Saint Palais to Saint Jean PdP is 34km, with the option of dividing the stage at Ostabat (11kms), which has a range of accomodation options.
By the time I arrived in SJPdP, my legs felt fully warmed up and the climb up to the Col felt comparitively easy!
As other have said, Aire sur l'Adour is another start place option, if you can spare a few more days. You would have more fully catered Gite d'Etapes to enjoy on that last section of the Voie du Puy.
Enjoy! Bon Chemin!

 

[JabbaPapa]

If you would like some company then i second Aire-sur-l’adour to St Jean.
It is a great walk with great food.

The advantage of either Aire-sur-l'Adour or Mont-de-Marsan to SJPP compared to the other options is that those stretches are on major routes of the Camino.

Of course, there are more pilgrims on the Aire-sur-l'Adour / Le Puy Way option than on the Mont-de-Marsan / Vézelay Way one, as well as more Albergues/Gîtes. Though the Mont-de-Marsan has significantly more options as far as food is concerned (but it would be great either Way).

Another distinction is that the Aire-sur-l'Adour option is mainly village to village, whereas the Mont-de-Marsan one is bourg to bourg (bourg means small town/large village).

 

[ndecosson]

You might consider starting on the Arles route, then the Camino Aragonés which connects with the Francés at Puente la Reina. That's what I plan to do this year starting at Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

This is what I am doing this year, starting in Toulouse. A bit more than 4 days extra though

 

[Suzanne H]

Whilst walking the Le Puy route, I met several who walked from Saint Palais and joined the Le Puy route into SJPdP.
I walked the Baztan (Bayonne to Pamplona, therefore not going thru SJPdP — lovely option. I was the only pilgrim — walked thru some sweet towns with great ambience and food, and some pretty empty villages.)
A walk from Bayonne to SJPdP sounds lovely…
Others have walked from Lourdes…

Here’s a link to view the route options from St Palais or Lordes, etc. You can zoom into SJPDP then backtrack to see the options
https://www.gr-infos.com/gr-en.htm
Buen Camino!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

This is what I am doing this year, starting in Toulouse. A bit more than 4 days extra though

Toulouse is known as a beautiful "pink" city, due to the color of the bricks, which were used extensively in building at the time. It would be a great place to start a Camino although I did not know about pilgrimages when I was there; same with Vezelay when I visited its cathedral in 2014.

 

[MaryLynn]

You might consider starting on the Arles route, then the Camino Aragonés which connects with the Francés at Puente la Reina. That's what I plan to do this year starting at Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

A friend and I did this several years ago - we walked from Arles to Puente la Reina. It is more expensive, of course, with fewer municipal albergues, as I remember, but it was a good trail and interesting terrain. I love the Camino Frances, but I am glad that I had the Arles/Aragones experience.