Pilgrim's Progress – Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK

The wise speak only of what they know.

JRR Tolkien – The Two Towers

I woke at 7am and had checked out of my hotel 15 minutes later. Armed with a couple of pains au chocolat and a chicken bap for lunch, I hoped an early start would let me reach my destination by mid afternoon and enable me to organise the logistics for the rest of my walk.

Despite my early start there were still an abundance of pilgrims out and about, many taking photos of sheep or cows. Quite what the local farmers make of the pilgrim traffic is anybody’s guess. Many probably see it as a good money making opportinity – and why not!

Within a couple of hours, the landscape began to change – there were noticeably fewer trees and much more granite. It felt very much like I was on  Dartmoor but it wasn’t – it was the Aubrac.

The Aubrac plateau, straddles the Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions, and three departments of Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère. Now a National Park, it is a popular French holiday destination, particularly for walkers and mountain bikers.

By midday a steady drizzle had set in making it even more reminiscent of days spent walking on Dartmoor.

I was overtaken by another walker in early afternoon – the first time this had happened in 11 days. For the first time since setting off from Cluny on the walk I had to confess that I felt tired. Maybe the previous day’s schlepp to Aumont-Aubrac had taken its toll on me. In 11 days I would have covered 425km.

At around 3pm I descended into Aubrac, a small settlement dominated by a large tower and the remains of an Abbey  founded in the 12th century.

In the 12th centuey, Aubrac with its hostel (for the healthy), its infirmary (for the sick) and its graveyard (for the dead), catered for pilgrims in all states of health. It also provided a rescue service – lost travellers were summoned by an evening bell and horsemen scoured the surrounding district at dusk to escort wanderers to safety.

Some of the monastic buildings have disappeared but the place still has its traditional atmosphere of welcome and sanctuary.

As I entered Aubrac I saw a sign advertising a gite called ‘The Tower of the English’. This seemed a curious coincidence, as a few days earlier, I had also booked to spend a night in a gite called ‘The Tower of the English’. The only difference was that the English Tower I had booked was located a further 7km on the Chemin de St Jacques at a place called Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac. It seemed a strange coincidence nonetheless!

Rather than heading off to Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac, I decided to pop into a local café for a cup of coffee. I sat down next to a couple of walkers at the adjoining table. It transpired that they had walked as far as Conques but were now on their way bsck to their home in Haute Vienne before setting off on a month’s holiday in Norway.

I mentioned to them the strange coincidence of the two English Towers. They seemed convinced that the English Tower I’d booked at Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac was in fact the one located next to the church in Aubrac. And it seemed as though they were right – it was exactly the same tower as appeared in the photo on the website of the tower which purported to be 7km away!

It was 3.30pm and the gite didn’t open until 4pm. I popped into the church to have a look around.

A group of walkers were inside. One of the group decided to entertain his fellow walkers with various impromptu opera numbers. It may not have been Puccini’s Nessun Dorma with the three tenors, but it was impressive nonetheless. This sort of thing just seems to happen in France!

I was indeed expected at the gite in Aubrac and it was a good thing I had booked ahead. Apparently the gite had been fully booked every night since it had opened on 1 May.

Indeed the gite was everything that I had expected even if all the other (15 ) people staying were women! There was one problem though – this wasn’t the same hilltop tower that I’d stayed in 35 years ago. I would have to continue my search for it in the days to come!

In the meantime, it was high time to head to the restaurant across the way in search of some more aligot!