On Day 39 of my walk from Paris to Bordeaux I reached the little town of Pons. There was a restored medieval pilgrim's hospital on the edge of Pons with a covered gateway through which you exited the town if you were on foot like the medieval pilgrims once did. There, in the gateway along one wall was a sign with a pilgrim's map showing the journey from Paris to Santiago in Spain. The sign read 'Vers la Lumiere', Towards the Light', which I liked. That's why I said in my previous video that Pons gave me a little epiphany.
This video is part of a series covering my post COVID project to walk the medieval pilgrim's trail from Paris to Bordeaux. I did it in the Spring of 2023. I have a playlist (introductory video below) which gives the full sequential list of videos for my walk. There are also other, shorter, playlists covering different aspects of the walk such as the best chateaux, the best churches and the best gardens.
The whole walk took 47 days and my route was the GR 655 which recreates the medieval Via Turonensis or Voie de Tours. Today not many pilgrims take this trail and one can walk stretches of it in perfect solitude. However, you do meet other pilgrims, especially in the portion of the walk from Tours to Bordeaux and can experience wonderful fellowship too.
The full route takes you to the Spanish border, crosses the Pyrenees and joins the famous el Camino to Santiago. Ambitious walkers go all the way, a journey of 1800 kms.
I am posting videos explaining, day by day with images, what the walk meant to me and could mean to others who might give it a try.
Here's the link to the introductory video of the series.
• Intro for Walking from...
#GR655
#caminodesantiago
#walkinginfrance
#highbanks.pilgrim
#voiedeTours