Day 9 - Saint Come d’Olt - Estaing - 10 May

Time Departed: 8.10am

Time Arrived: 1.30pm

Distance: 21

Cumulative Distance: 172 kms

Percentage Completed: 22% (274,800 steps) 

Weather: Cloudy then cool and sunny 

Accommodation: Hotel Aux Armes d’Estaing 

Feelings: Neil - Happy, Henk - Good,  Di - Good

We had a beautiful day of walking through the Lot River Valley which is recognised on the UNESCO World Heritage list.  

We decided to avoid the steep and rocky climb from Saint Come d’Olt to the summit where there is the statue of the Notre-Dame-de-Vermus. The views over Espalion and the Lot River would have been terrific but given the rain on the previous day we weren’t keen on walking through wooded, steep areas where it would be very wet underfoot. John also emailed us to say that many walkers on the previous day had taken the shorter route via the river. We had also read Anne’s blog and it sounded a tough climb. We walked on the flat route into Espalion and we could see the huge statue of the Notre-Dame-de-Vermus look down upon us. 

It only took us forty-five minutes to arrive at the small town of Espalion (population approx 4500) where we crossed the beautiful Lot River with good views of the town and it’s old red-stone bridge, called Old Bridge (le Point Vieux) dating back to the 14th century and is also a World Heritage Site.

From the bridge we could see the old historic riverside tanneries where we could see the wide stone ledges for washing the hides. 

The town is also dominated by a large old medieval fortress, Castle of Calmont d’Ote, on a nearby hill. As we looked around the town we met Dutch Berte who was having a rest day with his wife. He said he had met John and he had left about an hour earlier. We visited the old church and walked to the small town centre to have a coffee before setting off. 

We knew we had time so we stayed in the town for nearly an hour finally picking up lunch supplies from a Boulanger. The cakes and breads are all so tempting. 

After passing many well-established, old country houses and beautiful fields we reached the red-stoned church, Saint-Pierre de Bessuejouls which was entirely rebuilt in the 16th century. 

Unfortunately, it was locked and we moved on bypassing a busy cafe and bar at Saint-Pierre de Bessuejouls to tackle a steep, long and muddy climb. The soil was a very slippery red clay. From here the walk was quite a flat one until we reached Estaing. 

When we were about four kilometres from Estaing we were joined by two walkers, Brent, a Canadian and Alesh from the Czech Republic. Alesh was walking about 35 to 40 kms a day and was experiencing sore feet and shins! 

There are very pretty tiny clusters of stone houses and barns with lovely gardens of irises and other spring flowers. It’s hard not to take a photo.

When Estaing came into view we could see why it is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France. Sitting in the middle of the village is the 15th century Estaing Castle. We thought we had arrived at Disneyland (but the real one!) and sang “When You Wish Upon a Star” (which was ironic!). We crossed the 15th century Gothic bridge over the Lot River and walked directly to our hotel which sits at the corner of the bridge. 

As we were early we thought we might not be able to get into the hotel until later but a jovial French woman with good English greeted us and gave us the keys to our room. Our baggage had also arrived and we quickly showered and washed our clothes. It was a good afternoon for drying clothes on the terrace beside our room. 

We toured the old town going up and down little, old allies and visiting the church walking around the Estaing Castle. The castle is associated with the former president of France, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, when the Castle was purchased by the family in the early 20th century and they took on the d’Estaing name.

It was a cool, sunny afternoon and there were many walkers still arriving and many relaxing at the cafes. Dinner wasn’t until 7.30pm so we had plenty of time to relax. The wifi in the Annexe to the hotel where we are staying was very weak so we had to go to the main hotel to get a stronger signal. 

The dinner was amazing. I will let the photos speak for themselves!