Paths to Santiago de Compostela
Along The Waterways

Pilgrimages to Pretty Places

Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is home to the burial place of the apostle St James and has attracted pilgrims from all over Europe for more than a thousand years.  Its location in Northwest Spain means that most pilgrimage routes pass through France and the itineraries are lined with ancient and beautiful villages which have grown up over time. If you are enjoying a bike and barge tour on any of the French waterways you are likely to be within striking distance of one of these way stations.

St Guilhem le Desert

From the Canal du Midi, one of our favourites is at St Guilhem le Desert. If you are moored near Beziers it is forty miles drive, or twenty-six from Montpellier, but it is certainly worth the journey. St Guilhem grew up around the Abbey de Gellone and if you like Romanesque architecture this is the place for you.
The Abbey is twelve centuries old – you read that right! – and the clustered houses in the streets surrounding it have barely changed since medieval times.  You won’t know where to start with taking pictures. The village nestles in a cleft in the rocks of the Gorge d’Herault and keep your eyes peeled for a line of parked cars on the winding road which leads to it, as there is a beautiful natural swimming basin in the river, complete with sandy beach, and it is a lovely place to cool off on a hot summer’s day.  The river dominates the landscape and a number of canoe companies offer half day packages – Canoe Rapido (established in 1986) is based in the village itself and does a roaring trade.

If you’ve worn yourself out swimming or canoeing or simply wandering round the shops and galleries, our favourite place for refreshment is the Salon de Thé du Musée.  A small doorway leads up some stairs to a courtyard and you can drink tea in the shade of a leafy tree (but be sure to go inside to see the vaulted stone interior).  The cakes and tarts are homemade and the coffee is so luscious it will leave you with cream on the end of your nose.

Pézenas and Molière

On your way back to your luxury barge accommodation it is worth stopping off in the small town of Pézenas.  The streets were built defensively in the concentric circles familiar in other bastide towns and it is a veritable maze of retail opportunities.  There are potters and woodworkers and artists and jewellers and believe me you should really leave your credit card home.  We love pressing our noses against the windows of the Gilders’ Studio just off the main square – they restore picture frames and mirrors and there is a theatrically baroque feel to the place.

Still in theatrical mode, Pezenas was the birthplace of Molière, considered to be France’s Shakespeare. You can still visit Molière’s barbershop, where he liked to hang out and people watch, on the lookout for characters to put in his plays.

by Kate Dunn

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