The Camino runs through Gascony
Most people picture the Camino as the Spanish part, the last hundred kilometres into Santiago with a rucksack and a stamped credential. The route is much longer than that. One of its old French arms runs through Gascony, past villages that have been feeding and watering walkers for something like a thousand years.
You can walk a day of it. You do not need to be doing the whole thing, you do not need a rucksack and you do not need to have any spiritual intentions about it at all.
One guided day, thirteen kilometres
Our stretch is thirteen kilometres and guided. It takes about three hours. It is farmland and woodland and long views rather than mountains, which is what makes it walkable for people who are not in training for anything.
It is the one long walk of the week. There is one slight hill at the start and after that it is about distance, not climbing. If you are comfortable walking for three hours, you will be fine. Jo would rather tell you that plainly now than have you find out at kilometre eight. Shoes you have already broken in and water.
What it actually feels like
What people remember is not the distance. It is how quiet it is and the particular feeling of walking a path that is not a leisure route but a road that has been going somewhere specific for a very long time, in company, with nobody checking a watch.
Optional, like everything else
And it is optional, like everything else here. Roughly half the group does it and the other half has a slow morning by the pool and meets everyone at dinner to hear about it.
Questions women ask about this
Do I need to be fit?
Nothing is compulsory. There is a faster group on the walks and Jo usually takes up the rear herself for anyone who wants a slower stroll.
The one she is always straight about is the Camino walk. It is thirteen kilometres and takes about three hours. There is one slight hill at the start and after that it is about distance, not climbing. If you are comfortable walking for three hours, you will be fine. Once it starts there is no turning back halfway, so decide beforehand. If it is not for you, you can stay at the château, use the pool or simply sit in the sun with a book. Not everybody does everything.
What does a typical day look like?
Each day has a gentle rhythm of countryside walks, wonderful food, exploring the local area, spa time and plenty of space to simply do your own thing. It is not a timetable.
Do I have to join in with everything?
Absolutely not. One of the most important parts of the week is having time to yourself. You can sit by the pool, read, nap, have a treatment or do absolutely nothing at all. That is not wasted time, it is part of the retreat.
Where is the retreat?
We are in Gascony, in south west France, near the village of Condom in the Gers. Most guests fly into Toulouse, about an hour and twenty minutes away.
We keep the château itself a little bit under wraps. It is a quiet corner of France and we rather like keeping it that way. The full address goes out with your booking confirmation.