Date: Sunday, 4 May 2025
Day: 7
From: Saint Come d’Olt To: Estaing
Start Walking: 700am End Walking: 1148am
Time: 3h59m
Distance (Planned): 21.3km Distance (Garmin): 17.2km
Progress: 181.1/765km
Ascent: 163m Descent: 176m
Weather: High cloud and humid. More rain coming?
Stayed At: Airbnb
General Comments:
• The ol’ body was a bit weary this morning when I woke up. Unsurprisingly, I had had the best night’s sleep of my entire time in France. Obviously, up until this point, I simply haven’t been working hard enough to sleep solidly! 😉
• There was no pressure to race off today as it was a relatively short day, but last night’s thunderstorm and stormy forecast for the day ahead was all the encouragement we needed to get moving.
• The French think we are very odd leaving before breakfast and there may be some truth in that. Our strategy is to raid the boulangerie before we leave town and we always seem to find delicious (sometimes still warm) pastries and baguettes. These are the food of champions…or at least hungry pilgrims.
• If the Hiking Gods are smiling on us, there will be an open bar/café in the first village we walk through.
• I would be lying if I tried to tell you we were full of beans today. As mentioned above, the legs were weary and not really looking forward to the multiple climbs shown on today’s terrain profile.
• Luckily for us there was a ‘low level’ deviation which eliminated one big up and over early on in the piece just before entering Espalion. Yes, we missed out on a historic and apparently very beautiful old church up in the hills, but I suspect there will be many more old and equally beautiful churches along the trail ahead of us.
• Espalion appears to be a wonderfully historic place to visit and stay, and I was a bit sad that we would only be walking through. That’s the challenge of planning a hike like this, how to try to average out the distances to be walked each day, balanced against not missing out on the highlights. It doesn’t work out perfectly every time.
• Over a restorative coffee in Espalion, The Husband cranked up Google Maps and declared that we could skip further %$#@ hills if we stuck to the road for the rest of the way into Estaing.
• I know I can be a bit of a purist at times, but not on this trail. We both need to enjoy the walk and we still have a long way to go. Like the churches, there will be plenty more forested hills to climb ahead.
• I am sure we are not the first people to take this option as the local traffic was very considerate of our presence, giving us a wide berth.
• As it turned out, it was a very pretty 8km or so, sticking near the Lot river and through lush farm land. Being a Sunday morning, the traffic was sparse with possibly more cyclists than cars.
• Estaing finally appeared around yet another loop and corner in the Lot River and it is drop dead gorgeous. Yet another picture postcard place. We will definitely enjoy exploring the village tomorrow on our rest day.
Top Tips:
• Walk your own Camino. Judgement free zone.
• Estaing is a wonderful spot, but accommodation can be tricky to find at a remotely reasonable price. Book well ahead. Also there is only a very small supermarket and boulangerie here.
Bon Chemin.
Life...one big adventure 
How come I’ve missed the prequels? WordPress can be very mean at times! I’ll backtrack a bit later. Love the bridge and it all looks good, though maybe not the weather? It’s been extremely unpredictable here so I hope you’ve had better luck xx
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We have been very lucky weather-wise so far. I hope it continues! X
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I was just thinking if you take rest days, the camino looks quite long😊
Glad you enjoy the French pastries along the way, one can’t go wrong with anything from there!!
xx
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Yes, it does make it longer, but the body really appreciates it.😊
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Wow, you are really pumping out the posts, Mel!
A couple of big connections for me here: 1. We played petanque in Laos, and 2. When I read you were in a town on the River Lot, I googled it and it turns out you are/were only 42km (26 miles) from the town of Cassaniouze, where our Belgian friends have hosted us in their hundreds-year-old cottage. Small world!
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So pleased I am bringing back some happy memories for you. It is a gorgeous part of the World. Interestingly, there are lots of Belgians walking this trail. Not sure why.l
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Atonement for all the Belgian chocolate they consume?
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😊 Ahh, people after my own heart!🍫🍫
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Finally caught up after being away, I glance at posts on the phone, but prefer to read them properly on the computer and commenting is easier with a proper keyboard. A lot of the scenery could be pastoral UK, but the architecture is distinctly French. I wish I had explored France, but I couldn’t afford holidays for a long time and then when I could I was usually saving to go to Australia to see my son. Such a shame because it does look lovely and I am quite partial to a croissant or two… 😋
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You are just across the ditch, Jude. What are you waiting for? 😁 And Conques is a must-see.
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I know… sigh! But it is a long way from Cornwall to catch the Eurostar and we’ve sort of giving up flying.
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Dumb question, but can’t you get a boat from Portsmouth or somewhere? Sorry, I realise these things are not as straight forward as they seem.
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If you knew me and boats you wouldn’t ask that question… 🤢
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Oh dear, I’m so sorry. It sounds like your options are limited and you will enjoy staying home in your beautiful garden instead. Have a good day. Mel
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That château looks mighty impressive.
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I think I have fallen in love with every second chateau, farm house and town house. They all have so much character and grace. It makes our architecture in Aus look fairly bland. 🙃
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