Day 3 St Chely - Espalion, 22 km/13.75 miles

October 1st 2009

After breakfast we walked down through St Chely to the bridge where we took some photos and then up the road festooned with signs and from where we could look back towards the town slowly being enveloped in the morning sunlight. We were now on both the GR65 and GR6 as they share the same route as far as Figeac.


The road walking didn’t last too long and then we were into woodland mainly of chestnut trees this time, their fruit littering the paths. As the photos show, we had some beech woods too and lovely fungi.

On this particular day the walking was sublime and although there were a few hamlets, we didn't pass through anywhere of note and were able to walk through the best of wonderful rural french countryside more or less on our own and undisturbed. How lucky were we as how often in life do you get the time and space that allows this. I know that's why my time on the Camino is so important and why I come back feeling so good.

One of the many taps/fountains provided for walkers, a godsend.

We stopped among the shade of the trees for lunch but in a position also ensuring us a wonderful out look and ate the quiches we’d bought the day previously but that we’d been too full for after our tart.  When walking we do try to leave time not just to eat but also to relax and it's an opportunity to check the guidebook and see where we've been and where we are heading next. As we sat, some of the large group passed us here and as usual nods of camaraderie were exchanged, there is a real feel of being part of a community doing this walk.

Confusion on the Camino is very rare but here we did get a little lost as it was unclear where we should be going and in some places there were obstacles across the path. After a bit of tooing and froing, we decided to press on and we came out on a lane where a house on the side of the road clearly welcomed walkers.

We joined some others already there and ordered cool drinks enjoying the exquisite views. The loo had one of the best views, see the next photo, even though you had to pay to use it. I remember Teresa getting involved in a discussion here about the film Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep.

Our goal for today was Espalion but one of the places I remember with most fondness is Saint Come d’Olt (Olt is the old name for the River Lot, one of France’s best known rivers). This town looked wonderful as we approached and I remembered bypassing it on our journey from the airport because of the twisted spire of the church of St Come and St Damien.

This beautiful medieval town has few modern buildings and the church is 16th century. There is also the 10th century Chapelle des Penitents, formerly a pilgrim hospital dedicated to St James.

The Hotel de Ville was once a 14th century chateaux and there's a wonderful gothic bridge over which we had to walk.

As you will see from the photos I was rather bowled over by this place so please excuse the number of photos I've included. I do have to tell you that there were loads that I left out.

The next few are taken around the church, starting with this one of me outside the church door, just look at the wonderful carvings and the craftmanship. No longer do we get that.

Inside, and I'll include at least one of these later, were some wonderful modern stained glass windows.

I have been amazed at the number of very ancient churches we've visited that have very modern windows, much more so than in the United Kingdom.

One of the photos shows clearly the twist in the spire and I've done a little research into this wondering what the story was. Nothing too exciting I'm afraid this was a deliberate design just like that of the church in Chesterfield in England although there is a story told of that one.

Outside the church made up of the cobbles is a wonderful depiction of the scallop shell.

And would you mess with this woman?

This is the wonderful view of St Come d'Olt as you stand on the bridge over the River Lot It was on this bridge that we met one of the large walking group we'd met before, this time the lovely gentleman who'd had the blisters. His feet were much better now and we talked about the route we'd take next. He was staying in St Come d'Olt but we figured that we'd probably meet again.

After a bit of deliberation, Teresa and I decided to forgo the high route and instead follow the route along the river. The Lot rises in the Cevennes and flows through Quercy joining the Garonne near Aiguillon. It's  481 kilometres (299 mi) long and gives  its name to the Lot department.

I love this photo of it as it slowly flows through the countryside and the colours, especially of the plants in the foreground is beautiful.

As we walked along the river I took the sweet corn stored and this wonderful gate into a garden.

As we approached Espalion along the river one of the first things we saw was the sight of the two bridges. The Pilgrim Bridge also called the Pont Vieux is one of the most unusual medieval bridges in France and has UNESCO World Heritage status.

In the middle of the 10th century, because of an increase in traffic, probably because of the Compostela pilgrimage, the de Calmontsbarbican.  Then between 1841 and 1846, a second bridge was built known as the Pont Neuf. It was listed in 1888.

On one bank of the bridge these wonderful medieval houses can be seen.

It was all quite a site and Teresa and I quite tired by now wandered through Espalion looking for our hotel. Thankfully I'd had a look for it on the web so had some idea of it's direction and it's look. We were shown to our room and then, as is customary, went in search of that sunny spot to celebrate the day's walk with a beer. It wasn't the prettiest spot as it was right on roadside and we both agreed that in London there's no way we would have done this but when in Rome.... and the beer was great.

It was a lovely hotel with wonderful food and I remember vividly the choice of about 10 deserts and this is a 2 star hotel!

Look out Camino, here we come.

The next section is now booked, how exciting is that? Teresa and I head out (from Gatwick this time) to fly to Toulouse on May 5th to walk the next part of this fabulous trail.

Our trip sees us start with an overnight in Toulouse and much of the next day there too due to plane and train times but this gives us a chance to relax and explore a new city for both of us. No doubt wine, food and coffee will play it's part as we wander the streets of this Southern French city. Then in the late afternoon of the 6th we catch the train to Cahors.

This is one of Cahors iconic sights, the amazing Valentre Bridge spans the Lot River and was built in the 1300's. It is considered an exceptional example of medieval defense architecture.

As we walked down into Cahors at the end of the last walk we could see it clearly from some distance away and it was, in fact, the only thing I knew about Cahors at that time.

It is one of the most photographed sites in France and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.



The foundations of the Pont Valentre bridge were laid in 1308, but it was not completed until 1378 and legend has it that the bridge took so long to build that the architect got frustrated and sought the devil's help in completing it, promising his soul in return.

When the bridge was nearing completion the architect had second thoughts and bet the devil that he could not bring water for the last batch of mortar in a container of the architect’s choice. The devil accepted the challenge but the architect chose a sieve so the devil lost the bet. The devil was so annoyed that once the bridge was completed he broke off one of the stones from the central tower every night forcing the townspeople to constantly repair it. That's a way of getting your own back!!

When restoration work was carried out the architect (Paul Gout) heard of the legend and replaced the missing stone with a sculpture of the devil which is still visible today.

After checking into our hotel and having that cooling beer, we headed off to have a look at it and discovered that our walk in May will take us across the bridge and up a steep climb just after we come off it on the other side.

The sight to our right will be what we'll see as we look back from the other side of the bridge. A few worth savouring as we make sure we are composed for the climb up. Somehow on this walk, we always start off climbing out of a valley, guess it's because most settlements are down there. I'm sure regular stops on the climb up will be needed so we ensure we get a great view of this wonderful bridge at all stages..... Well, at least that's my excuse.


On the left, a beautiful scallop shell crafted into the stone to indicate the Via Podiensis which is the route travelled by pilgrims starting in or passing through Le Puy-en-Velay which is where we started in Sept 2008.

It's also the GR65, the first French route to be created, and is currently by far the most used.

Walking trails like this does give you a taste for doing even more of them. The GR20 has always appealed, that's the one
that traverses Corsica diagonally from north to south. It's 180km long with variation in height of about 10 000 metres and can be walked in 15 days.  It's known as the toughest long distance trail in Europe so perhaps some more intense training may be needed!!