and enticing. We resolved, at that time, to do some hiking along a long
distance path on our next trip to Europe or Great Britain.
On one of our trips to England, we happened to come close to Offa's
Dike Path in Wales. This path is one of many Long Distance Paths that wind
their way from village to village in Great Britain. We spent about an hour
walking from our bed & breakfast up onto a plateau, and along the path.
In light drizzling rain, the mood of the countryside was dark, mysterious,
and enticing. We resolved, at that time, to do some hiking along a long
distance path on our next trip to Europe or Great Britain.
A few years later when we were planning a trip to France with friends, we happened to be given a copy of Gourmet Magazine, in which there was a description of a walk in France: "A Walk in the French Countryside", (McGrew, 1991). This "walk" was mostly on one of the long distance paths in France, where they are called the Grand Rondonee. These trails are designated on maps with GR followed by a number. Most of the trek described in Gourmet was on GR 65, with some time on GR 651 and GR 36.
We decided to do a portion of the trip that was described in the magazine; a section that could be accomplished in two weeks total. We were really encouraged by the description in Gourmet, since the author noted many small hotels, and some really great restaurants, along the way. Since Gourmet is a food oriented magazine, the quality of the restaurants is of prime interest.
We decided on a section between the towns of Figeac and Cahors. These
cities are in south central France, in the department of Quercy. The distance
between these cities is about 60 miles total,(100 Kilometers), so we could
easily do the distance in two weeks. If we hike for ten days out of the
fourteen, this makes six miles per day, which is easy, and, if necessary,
we could do a double of 12 miles without serious difficulty. The nearest
big city is Toulouse, and there was easy rail service from there to Figeac.
Cahors, at the other end of our trek, is on a main rail line, so it would
be easy to get from there back to Paris to catch our airplane back to the
USA. Since we did not really know how easy or hard this trek would be,
we decided not to make any advance reservations. If the going got too tough,
we could simply take a bus to Cahors, and enjoy being there until we had
to head back home. Since we were going to be there in mid-October, we reasoned
that there should not be much competition for rooms. (continued)