Camino Le Puy Way: Stages 3 & 4

Arrive in Conques and settle in to your comfortable hotel. Spend some time looking around this town, a major monument of architectural heritage. It’s Abbey Church of St Foy houses an incomparable treasure of Romanesque sculptures and a large number of relics covered in gold, silver and precious stones.

Today begins with a gradual climb to the Chapel St. Foy, built next to a spring whose natural water was supposed to cure eye complaints. Set out on the next part of the trail to St. Roch Chapel, where the statue of this saint carries a pilgrimage staff and from where, a mile or so later, you reach the village of Noaillhac.

Here the trail levels out and you begin making your descent into Decazeville and onwards into the village of Livinhac, which used to be known as the garden of Aveyron because of its fertile fields next to the River Lot.

En route to Figeac a place full of rich history you will pass through the picturesque hilltop village of Montredon, in which stands the Church of St Michael where you can view 14th century mural paintings. You can also see the 11th century Church of St Felix where there is a tympanum of Adam and Eve with a serpent and a tree.

Continue on through the countryside (you are now in the Lot region) before arriving into the historic town of Figeac, founded in 830 around a Benedictine abbey and for the past 20 years recognised as one of France’s historic towns by the Ministry of Culture.  

You will have to begin walking early today as this is the longest walk of your tour at 30km. Have a big breakfast as sustenance, then begin by taking a path uphill to the L’Aiguille du Cingle. This unusual obelisk-type structure is said to have been built as a beacon guiding pilgrims. However another story relates that they were used as boundaries between abbot’s territories. There is one other structure such as this in France and it is to the west of Figeac.  

Continue walking past Faycelles and into Béduer. It is here where the landscape changes and you will come across many dolmens (megalithic tombs from the Neolithic period), plus dry-stoned walls and stone shepherds huts. The landscape here is quite wild and depending on the season, you will encounter carpets of orchids and the scent of herbs and wild strawberries.

Later arrive into Cajarc, a village that sits on the edge of the River Lot and that rose to fame due to barges that took spices, wine, wood and saffron along the river.

After yesterday’s long walk today is much easier and you enjoy walking at your own pace through this lovely rural area of France. First follow the meandering River Lot before arriving on the lush plain of Gaillac. Today you will cross the Quercy de Limogne. This area becomes very remote, so remember to take plenty of water and a packed lunch with you! After a lovely day of walking past dry stone walls and huts and fields of purple orchids that are grown to produce saffron (these flowers bloom in the autumn) arrive in Limogne-en-Quercy and check in to your welcoming accommodation.

This particular stage of the walk takes us off the GR65 for a while so that we can spend an overnight in Lalbenque. First head through the hamlets of La Plane, Mas de Dégot and Mas de Vers. En route you will also see many more dolmen, dry-stone walls and shepherds huts, which are very typical of this area. Lalbenque itself has a church which was built in 1090 and is famed for its 17th century gilded wooden alterpiece. They also hold has a weekly black truffle market (every Tuesday) and a farmer’s market on a Saturday.

Today begin walking down walled and shady trails, but pay particular attention to the waymarks and signs on this section. Your first destination is  La Marchande you will walk downhill from here into Cahors, which is surrounded on three sides by the River Lot and an important stop on this pilgrimage route.

Take time on arrival to discover the varying sights here such as Cathedral of St-Etienne with its amazing cloisters, several interesting churches and the Pont Valentré, the finest fortified medieval bridge in Europe.

Cross the medieval bridge of Pont Valentré and climb the staircase to the cross of Pech d’Angely from which you can take your last look at Cahors before setting off on the trail to Labastide-Marnhac. Continue along uplands and through woodlands passing the hamlet of Baffalie before arriving in Lascabanes, a prosperous village and today's destination. 

Head towards Rouillac which you pass on your right hand side. Emerge briefly onto an open plateau before arriving in Montlauzen and into the department of Tarn et Garonne. Lauzerte is next, a bastide hill town dating from the 12th century. 

Cross three bridges, then pass a dovecote and the Church of Saint-Sermin-du-Bosc which was restored in 1991 and onwards to Durfort. Along this particular stretch of the route, locals put out big jugs of cold water along the route for travellers and pilgrims, which you can stop and drink when you are thirsty. Then descend to a stream and walk up to a ridge before arriving in Moissac which is dominated by it’s Abbey Church of St Pierre.

This morning the trail takes you along the River Tarn, cross a lockgate and then continues onto Boudou, from which there is a viewpoint over the surrounding countryside. Next walk through the hamlet of Timbrune before arriving in the delightful village of Auvillar which has a charming cobblestone plaza and a medieval circular market. This town overlooks the River Garonne and is classified as one of France’s Most Beautiful Villages.

As you depart from Auvillar walk along the Rue de l’Horloge and under the archway beneath the clock. Entering the Gers region you then walk through the quaint villages of Bardigues, St Antoine, and Flamarens where you can see its 12th century castle, part of which was destroyed by fire in 1945. The undulating countryside in this area consists mainly of cornfields and row upon row of sunflowers. After a picnic lunch and perhaps some refreshments in a local café you arrive into Miradoux, the oldest bastide in the Gers.

Depart from Miradoux this morning and walk past the Chateaux de Fieux and then Castet Arrouy, which means red castle and originally the site of a small fort. Continue past the church and walk along grassy tracks, through farms and past a very large wayside cross before arriving in Lectoure. As today is a relatively short walking day you should have time to explore this town which was once an important stopping point on this pilgrimage route. It sits high above the Gers River and has a 15th century cathedral built after Louis XI destroyed the previous one. It also a striking tower with a round turret attached to the bell-tower.

Bid farewell to the Camino Le Puy today. After breakfast check out of your hotel and make your onward journey.