Walking in the Cele Valley

We are back in Lectoure now - a final post with a few thoughts on our Cele Valley sejour.

The Cele Valley is an area of fascinating history and geography intertwined - but my account is short on those aspects. I tend to write about how our days unfold and the sights that captured us. I figure those who are interested in the area, walking or otherwise, will find all they need on the www.

The French and I enjoyed this walk immensely - tough at times, with spectacular scenery, charming villages, and opportunities to see unusual sights from the chateaux des anglais and troglodyte dwellings carved into towering cliffs, to the grotte du Pech-Merle and the chemin de halage towpath between Bouzies and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.

Difficulty: As you make your way up and down to steep ridges either side of the valley, there are some long climbs and a few sharp descents, tricky at times thanks to rocky paths and loose stones. We were lucky with dry weather, so these sections were generally not slippery. Relatively short distances meant the days were strenuous in parts but not difficult overall.

Waymarking: The waymarking on the path is excellent, with the red and white GR signs and a sprinkling of camino shells and arrows. As long as you are paying moderate attention, it would be difficult to get lost.

Guidebook: I had an e-copy of the English Cicerone Guide for the Chemin du Puy (including Cele Valley and Rocamadour variants). We didn't need the book for navigation but it was useful for history, geography, elevation profiles, accommodation and other services. And for notes on fun diversions such as scrambling up to the old railway bridge near Bouziès.

We were also lucky to have tips from my friend Bronwen who has walked the Le Puy Way and Cele Valley variant many times. Anytime we stayed somewhere Bronwen recommended, the hosts were delighted. She counts them as friends, and they her. Merci BP.

Accommodation: We had no trouble finding accommodation, but we booked ahead a week or so before we began, because it was July so there were holidaymakers and in some places not a lot of choice. We stayed in gites municipale, chambre d'hotes and a small hotel.

How many days: We walked from Figeac to Cahors in 5 days, but the last day we walked only half the 38 km distance, then took a bus. In terms of accommodation, you could stage this walk anywhere from 5-8 days. We met two English guys walking from Figeac to Cahors in 4 days - for us that would have been too rushed to enjoy our surroundings, especially having to walk too long in the afternoon heat.

Luggage / pack transport: We like to carry our packs so we didn't use this service, but it's available. We saw many people walking with daypacks and both La Malle Postale and Transport Claudine collecting bags and backpacks.

C'est tout! Thank you for taking an interest in our walk. Merci.

A la prochaine fois ... until next time. ❤️Read more