Distance walked: 13.17 miles and moderate
Today we continue making our way through the Rhone Valley which began with an initial steep climb into a forest and then down again into vineyards.
Following a comfortable night we met Russell & Roza for an early breakfast. Each room was allocated to a table and breakfast items such as loaves of fresh seeded crusty bread, pots of bircher, yogurts, fruits, etc were left out for the 7 guests (of which we consisted of 4). The fridge contained 7 plates of cheeses and salami and we enjoyed coffee from the coffee pod machine.
We were left with so much food that we saved our cheese and some of the bread for lunch later in the day.
After breakfast we walked back down the hill into Aigle and located the official start of the walk.
As with the Camino de Santiago, obtaining your Via Francigena stamps is an important part of hiking this ancient trail. Probably more so if you are approaching Rome as in order to obtain your certificate you need to demonstrate you have walked (or cycled) the route.
Having already completed the Lucca to Rome section and as we have our official certificates from Rome, collecting pilgrim stamps is still a rewarding and somewhat addictive way of recording our journey.
Unfortunately we had been unable to get a stamp in Lausanne to mark the start of this trip and the first one found was at the Chillon castle yesterday.
Anyway, with our second passport stamps we were off to a good start today!
The route took us through the underpass of this building.
Then up some stairs where we found ourselves in the historic courtyard of the Chateau d’Aigle.
We walked around the back of the chateau and past the vineyards.
Our destination for the day, Saint Maurice, is not that far away and could be reached via a relatively flat walk. However, the Via likes to keep things interesting and the official route took us on a steep ascent into the forests of Ollon.
Which did give us spectacular panoramic views across the Rhone Valley…
Next we had to make a steep descent down into the village of Ollon…
However, it was spectacular as we traversed through peaceful vineyards towards Ollon.
We looked back at the just-trodden path towards the hill and the woods we had walked through at the top…
There was no reason to run out of water this morning as for some reason, Ollon had at least 6 water fountains! But there was a lack of pilgrim passport stamp from the church.
However Ollon had a pleasant coffee shop for a short break before continuing with the next ascent…
We left Ollon and walked past ancient barns…
Next was a gravel track where we started climbing again up into another forest.
Along a short section of road first…
As we trekked through the woods we found several animal carvings including an otter, a boar and a wolf..
These are common in this part of the Swiss alps and Aosta valley.
The trail suddenly verred off and took us down the side of a hill through more vineyards.
And back onto a quiet road…
Next we had a section where we walked along beside a grassy and shady canal path.
We found a log to sit on to have lunch while overlooking the canal.
From the canal we had a section where we walked next to the River Rhone for 2.4 km.
We then crossed a bridge into a small town called Massongex.
We walked through Massongex but rather than stopping in one of the tempting looking bars, we pushed on towards Saint Maurice.
Similar to yesterday we had over 2 km of hot and never ending path next to the train line.
After a long and hot walk it was a relief to see the sign for ‘Saint Maurice’ 🙂
This small Saint Maurice is different from the famous high end ski resort of St Moritz. Both are named after the same Saint Maurice!
The original basilica was damaged in 1611 by a rockslide and the current structure dates from the 17th century.
A full day of trekking in 26 degrees is thirsty work, so as soon as we had completed the stage, and obtained our pilgrim stamps we set off along the main street in the town in search of refreshments.
We soon found a bar and had a drink to celebrate the end of our long walk today 🍻
From the bar, the hotel was close by and in a good location at the end of the main street.
This evening we had a walk back down the street in search of a restaurant but as our own hotel restaurant seemed popular we returned and had dinner in there.
I had the best vegetable lasagne ever which was cooked with vegetables and feta cheese, together with a glass of chilled local white wine.
After dinner the 4 of us walked down to the bar and had more amber craft beer!
Summary
Another day and another fabulous walk! Tough at times but as always, full of little surprises along the way. Not knowing what you may see, where you will have lunch, what the accommodation will be like, or who you may bump into! For example, early this morning, we had our first surprise wow factor as we exited the courtyard and walked around the outside of Chateau d’Aigle, nestled amidst the vineyards.
We look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings as we trek towards Martigny.
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