"Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the LORD.
            Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
                        and to the quarry from which you were dug."
Isaiah 51:1 (NRSV)

When I asked a man in Berchères-les Pierres how to get to the quarry (les carrières), he looked at me as if I were crazy. "But there is nothing there!" he told me.

"I just want to look." I responded.

He was basically right, there isn't much there to see, but if you just want to look, I hope the information provided here helps.

In 2009 the minister of culture accompanied our group an older quarry (the original is now a motocross area).

Walking There

We decided to walk. It was a great journey, mostly through the fields. In France it is legal to walk on the dividers between crops. You are obviously not allowed to enter any planted areas.

On the way to Berchères-les-Pierres from Chartres.
Walking between fields.

We used two IGN maps to determine our route.(They each cost 8 Euros in 2008.) You can buy these "cartes bleu" at any bookstore. Most useful is the one for Sours (2117 0). You may also want the one for Chartres (2116 0). They are available at Librarie Legue (bookstore) in Chartres. The tourist office can help you locate the bookstore.

In 2008 we decided to take the "route des pierres" (the way of the stones which was used in the middle ages) which is a field road out of Bechères to Gellainville. From there we walked along the road D-339-7 to Le Coudray where we picked up the walking path that is beside the Eure River. This is part of the Chemin St. Jacques which leads between Chartres and Compostela, Spain. There are shell markers which indicate this connection. We walked on it all the way into town and then took city streets past Eglise St. Pierre up the hill to the cathedral.

Busses to Berchères-les-Pierres

You can take a bus from Chartres to Berchères-les-Pierres on Mondays through Saturdays. There are no busses on Sundays. You can check on schedules and buy tickets at the bus station in Chartres. It is next to the train station (on the left if you are facing the station). If you take the bus to Berchères-les-Pierres, it is about a fifteen minute walk from the bus station to the quarry.

Maybe you will want to walk one way and take the bus the other.

Ritual of Blessing Before Walking from Berchères-les-Pierres to the Chartres Cathedral

Stand with one other pilgrim. Bend down and make a cross on each of her/his feet, saying, "May you walk toward God, may you walk with God.

Then, receive the same blessing from the other pilgrim.

Imagining, Reflecting, Praying...

As you return to Chartres from the quarry, imagine yourself as a stone, stone-carrier, or someone or something else involved in transporting the large stones to the cathedral site. Allow you imagination and prayer to carry you into a deeper relationship with the cathedral and those who built it.

After your pilgrimage to the quarry, meditate on the scriptural passage found in 1 Peter 2:4-7a (NRSV)

"Come to [Christ], a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 To you then who believe, he is precious..."

Suggestions for Future Pilgrims

If you go to the quarry and think of any information that would be helpful to future pilgrims, please email me. I would like to make this as easy as possible for anyone who wants to go. Thanks!