I'm a day behind, so apologies to those who read the post with their Wheaties. It was a nice cool and misty morning for leaving Besançon, which was good, as the first order of the day was to climb up and beyond the Citadel. Not long after achieving altitude I executed one of my more … Continue reading Day thirty-four: Besançon to Ornans →

Also includes day 33, a rest day in Besançon! For the most part a pleasant day hiking up and down the hills to Besançon. A very cool and Misty start, but that was ok as the first couple of hours was the bulk of the up part. Lots of nice forests and livestock farming - … Continue reading Day 32: Bucey-les-Gy to Besançon →

While yesterday was frustratingly 5k further than anticipated, today was the polar opposite, being 5k shorter than I anticipated. The official route was 32k, but starting from a slightly advanced location, and an obvious short cut including a section of an "Anc. voie romaine" as indicated on my map (meaning an ancient Roman road and … Continue reading Day thirty-one: Savoyeux to Bucey-lès-Gy →

For some reason - perhaps complacency - short days are harder than long ones. The prescribed day was to Dampierre-sur-Salon, but due to a lack of accommodation options, I booked a B&B a few km further on in Savoyeux. It was a day of wandering near rivers, firstly the Salon, then the Saône, which even … Continue reading Day thirty: Champlitte to Savoyeux →

I managed to move between two towns without hyphens. That makes typing a blog post on the phone a whole lot easier. I also took the direct route between the towns as the vf/GR145 does a big two day loop, which is not very enticing. It did make for a big day, but by following … Continue reading Day twenty-nine: Langres to Champlitte →

This should be a post of Bar-sur-Aube to Chateauvillain, but it didn't work out that way. I followed the signed route to start the day - a gruelling climb above BsA to the Roman encampment. The climb was aided by having found a coffee and a pain chocolat at 0700! When I next have WiFi … Continue reading Day 26 & 27: combo deal – 3 days of vf in one post →

After two days plodding through the industrialized farming landscape, it was a pleasant change to have scenery again. Even some vineyards, and apparently still in Champagne country, which came as a surprise to me. Once again I went rougue on route planning, and instead of following the GR145, I spent most of the morning walking … Continue reading Day twenty-five: B le C to Bar-sur-Aube →

A peaceful night's sleep at ESAT, not like the previous night where my roommate at the youth hostel snored in a way befitting a cartoon character. For the first time on a Camino I had to unearth my ear plugs. Last year he did the Camino Frances, no doubt leaving an incredulous and exhausted trail … Continue reading Day twenty-four: Le Meix Tiercelin to Brienne Le Chateau →

The signed GR145 takes a scenic route alongside the river Marne and its tributaries, and is significantly longer: 129km versus about 75km for the straight variant (I'll know the exact number when I get to Brienne tomorrow). There is also a new alternate route published by the Champagne regional tourism office, but after studying the … Continue reading Day twenty-four: Châlons to Le Meix Tiercelin, via Via Agrippa (aka the straight road) →

Actually, it was Condé-sur-Marne to Chalôns-en-Champagne to use the full names. Chalôns changed from sur-Marne to en-Champagne back in 1998. Clearly being associated with bubbly had a better marketing angle than the murky waters of the river Marne. The guidebook from the tourist office in Reims had icons of a coffee cup, supermarket trolley and … Continue reading Day twenty-three: Conde to Chalons →