Via Lemovicensis: And then there was One

25 April 2026 Thom Pilgrim Reports, Via Lemovicensis

Another cold and clear morning. Philip and I left the gîte just before 8 AM – this is getting to be a habit – and headed backwards on the Camino to a place we thought we might be able to get breakfast. Indeed, I was able to get a croissant, but sadly no coffee.

And then it was road walking uphill through the woods and into the open countryside.

As we walked and talked, we passed through the hamlet of Les Rorgues at about 8:25. Shortly after this, caught up in the conversation, we missed a turn and had to find a creative way to get back to the Camino route without backtracking.

As we approached the next village, we saw three or four young deer leaping through the long grass of a fallow field.

We arrived in the village of Arrènes at 8:55. Sadly, the little village church was locked, though we did take this opportunity to remove our fleeces. Across from the church there’s an old sealed-up Renaissance door with the pilgrim shell emblem over it.

About 9:20 we passed through the farming Hamlet of La Ronze. Once again, we had wandered off the track. We passed through the little hamlet of L’Abbaye to regain the Camino route. There was not an abbey here, but there was a friendly donkey.

After that, the Camino struck out on a dirt road uphill through the forest.

By 9:45, it was back to asphalt again. Shortly thereafter, we passed by the hamlet of Champegaud, where the Camino returned to dirt and grass through the trees. This quickly became a long, steep uphill climb on a bed of dry leaves.

It was grueling. For only the second time on this Camino, I had to take the tips off my hiking poles. We reached the top, and the roadway, at about 10:05.

About ten minutes later, we walked into the village of Saint-Goussard, looking for a bit of a break.

The little church here is built over the tomb of the eponymous Saint Goussard, a sixth century hermit whose intercession is sought for healthy cattle and good marriage prospects.

On one of the side altars is an 18th-century wooden statue of the Saint. Beside him is a statue of an ox, which contains a large number of pins from those wishing to marry or become pregnant.

It’s a plain and simple church, but the faith of the people here is obvious.

I prayed here and lit a candle for Francine at the little shrine of Saint Goussaud.

We stopped in a little place for a rest. There was no Orangina, so I got the local equivalent.

Philippe and I left the village going in opposite directions. He is taking an alternate GR route to Les Billanges, about 2 km further on than I am going today. I’m sticking with the traditional route.

We should, however, meet up again tomorrow, as we are booked in the same gîte tomorrow night.

From the village, the Camino stuck to the road for a bit before returning to a path through the woods. This time, it was a relatively gentle down slope. I immediately got lost.

As it turns out, the GPS points follow a path that no longer exists. I had to backtrack and take an alternate path. It just goes to show, that neither the markings on the trail or the GPS points are entirely accurate.

The path took me past a clear cut, and I could see clouds starting to move in to the area. By now, the descent was becoming a little steeper and much rockier, so once again I took the hiking tips off my poles. A far cry from the flat early weeks on this route!

It was sometime past 11:30 when the path emerged from the forest and out into the meadows. The vistas here were absolutely stunning, with wooded hills upon hills in ranges to the horizon.

It wasn’t long before the path merged onto an asphalt road running under the eaves of the forest. By about 11:45, this had once more become a dirt path with forest on the left and a moss-covered, crumbling wall on the right with meadows beyond.

Soon, there were trees growing through the wall, and eventually I was walking through a narrow corridor of trees with meadows on both sides beyond.

This lovely path eventually merged onto a road, but very quickly I was back on a stony dirt path in the forest again. The walk was challenging, but I was really enjoying it.

I followed this path a long way, mostly through the woods, but occasionally through open meadow.

I only emerged out of the woods and onto asphalt at about 12:35, on the road entering the hillside village of Châtelus-le-Marcheix. The name of the village comes from the fact that there used to be a castle here, though no one now is sure exactly where it was. There’s a common theory that the village church used to be the castle chapel, but there isn’t actually any archaeological evidence to back this up.

There’s a sign in the village that claims it’s 1510.9 km to Santiago. That’s way too precise a number for me to trust it.

There was a little bar right at the entrance to town, so I bought a beer and then had lunch out of my food stash. I ended up spending about an hour there. The clouds continued to move in, and the weather was relatively mild.

After lunch I made my way to the church, which was well off the Camino route. I think I understand the castle chapel theory a little better. The church is on a steep hill overlooking the rest of the town. That’s not your usual sort of location for a village church.

Also, you have to walk through the cemetery to get to the church. That very well might explain the lack of archaeology.

In any case, after climbing up to the church I discovered that it was locked. So it was back down and through the village to get back on the Camino route.

After this, it was a long roadwalk on asphalt.

About 2:05, I passed through the hamlet of Le Levadoux, with its immaculately restored stone houses. Shortly after this, the road went into the woods, for which I was extremely grateful. It was starting to get pretty warm in the sunshine.

I had a lot of time today to think about things. In particular, a year ago today the folks at the hospital forced me to go home at night and sleep in my own bed. That was the first time I’d done so since Good Friday, which was what? Four days before? Five days? I don’t know. At the time, it seemed like a betrayal. How could I leave Francine in the hospital alone?

But I eventually saw the wisdom of this. They always tell you on the airplane that you’ve got to put on your own oxygen mask before trying to put on somebody else else’s.

At about 2:20, I passed through the pastoral hamlet of Villemaumy. There were horses in the close-cropped pastures, but I didn’t see any cattle or sheep. I did, however, see a little green lizard scamper away from me as I approached and duck into one of the barns.

The road was now winding its way through open pasture land again, but there was a cool breeze and frequent shady areas kept it bearable. Eventually, those trees grew more in number until I was walking through the forest once again. Lovely.

For a while, somewhere off to my left, down a steep slope, there was a river. I could hear it, but the trees were too thick to let me see it. I believe this was the river Thaurion, which despite its name, has nothing to do with Tolkien.

When the road turned away from the river, it also turned away from the tree cover. I put on sunscreen, but I didn’t bother with the umbrella. There was a nice enough breeze keeping me cool.

And then, I had to leave the Camino. The gîte I had booked was several kilometers down a different road than the one that Camino was taking. The roads would meet back up early tomorrow morning in Les Billanges, but for now I took the road into the forest relying on Google maps in conjunction with my GPS app.

I had a moment of panic when I thought I had lost my way, but it was just my GPS momentarily glitching.

I entered the hamlet of La Besse at about 3:30 PM. Fifteen minutes later, I was resting in my gîte, the only pilgrim registered for tonight.

Showered and washed my clothes. The clouds are moving in, so the line drying may not go well.

The gîte is demi-pension, so I’m getting dinner here. That’s a good thing, since this little hamlet has no shops, cafés, bars, or restaurants.

Date: 25 April 2026