Camino Ingles: the Camino for everyone

Mancomb Seepgood

Myself and the wife are just back from doing the Camino Ingles (English Way) to Santiago de Compostela and I thought I’d stick something up here as the route is not very well known.Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any questions.

The route starts in Ferrol, on the north coast of Galicia and is a total of 113 km which makes it ideal for someone who only has a week or so, and likes the idea of doing a route from start to finish. It can be done in 5 days, but we decided to split the first day in two. We flew with Aer Lingus to Santiago and took a bus to Ferrol, where we stayed at the Parador for a night. The stages were:

Ferrol – Naron (13km) – stayed at the Hotel Kensington
Naron – Pontedeume (16km) – stayed at Pension Casa Apilladeira
Pontedeume – Betanzos (20km) - stayed at Hotel Ville de Betanzos
Betanzos – Meson do Vento (26km) – stayed at Pension O Meson Nova
Meson do Vento – Sigueiro (26km) – stayed at Albergue Camino Real
Sigueiro – Santiago de Compostela(16km) – stayed at Hotel Rua Villar

Distances above are approximate. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of the above for accommodation, and all were good value, but do bear in mind we could have done this on a lot less staying in public albergues. We didn’t do this as we both turned 40 this year and wanted to treat ourselves, and getting a bunk in an albergue can leave you rather rushed to beat the crowds. That said, the traffic on this route is quiet which was a definite selling point.

We arranged to have a suitcase moved from place to place by Correos (Spanish post office) Paq Mochila service (see https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/rucksack-transfer). This is a great service which only cost 20 euro for the trip – given we needed two new rucksacks if we’d been carrying our own stuff this made since financially and made the walk much more enjoyable!

The route covers a very different part of Spain than many Irish people would be familiar with. The countryside was green and lush, with woods and fields, as well as plantations of eucalyptus trees. With the exception of the first short day which went through some industrial areas of Ferrol, birdsong was a constant companion through the trip. Little houses with people growing their own plants, keeping their own chickens,goats and pigs were frequently encountered. Foxglove and other flowering plants were everywhere. There were frequent hills, some very steep, particularly on day 4, but nothing you could describe as a mountain, just rolling countryside. The food and drink was abundant and affordable – even a vegetarian like myself was able to cope. I would particularly recommend the delicious Betanzos tortilla when in that city! Others recommended "Pulpo a feira" octopus.

Weatherwise, Galicia gets a good bit of rain so bring a poncho or other rain gear. We were extremely lucky and managed to avoid it apart from some mist one morning.

Overall I would recommend this to someone who wanted to do the Camino, but has limited time to do it in. If you want to avoid the groups and crowds that throng the last stretch of the Camino Frances from Sarria this is a great option. Bear in mind that the cathedral in Santiago is being renovated currently for 2021 (which is a holy year) so the pilgrim Mass has been moved to the nearby church of San Francisco. This means that the famous Botofumeiro incense burner can’t be seen.

For myself, it has given me a taste of the Camino and I think another, longer trip is not out of the question – possibly the northern route from San Sebastian!

Spanish Eyes

Mancomb Seepgood wrote: »

Myself and the wife are just back from doing the Camino Ingles (English Way) to Santiago de Compostela and I thought I’d stick something up here as the route is not very well known.Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any questions.

The route starts in Ferrol, on the north coast of Galicia and is a total of 113 km which makes it ideal for someone who only has a week or so, and likes the idea of doing a route from start to finish. It can be done in 5 days, but we decided to split the first day in two. We flew with Aer Lingus to Santiago and took a bus to Ferrol, where we stayed at the Parador for a night. The stages were:

Ferrol – Naron (13km) – stayed at the Hotel Kensington
Naron – Pontedeume (16km) – stayed at Pension Casa Apilladeira
Pontedeume – Betanzos (20km) - stayed at Hotel Ville de Betanzos
Betanzos – Meson do Vento (26km) – stayed at Pension O Meson Nova
Meson do Vento – Sigueiro (26km) – stayed at Albergue Camino Real
Sigueiro – Santiago de Compostela(16km) – stayed at Hotel Rua Villar

Distances above are approximate. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of the above for accommodation, and all were good value, but do bear in mind we could have done this on a lot less staying in public albergues. We didn’t do this as we both turned 40 this year and wanted to treat ourselves, and getting a bunk in an albergue can leave you rather rushed to beat the crowds. That said, the traffic on this route is quiet which was a definite selling point.

We arranged to have a suitcase moved from place to place by Correos (Spanish post office) Paq Mochila service (see https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/rucksack-transfer). This is a great service which only cost 20 euro for the trip – given we needed two new rucksacks if we’d been carrying our own stuff this made since financially and made the walk much more enjoyable!

The route covers a very different part of Spain than many Irish people would be familiar with. The countryside was green and lush, with woods and fields, as well as plantations of eucalyptus trees. With the exception of the first short day which went through some industrial areas of Ferrol, birdsong was a constant companion through the trip. Little houses with people growing their own plants, keeping their own chickens,goats and pigs were frequently encountered. Foxglove and other flowering plants were everywhere. There were frequent hills, some very steep, particularly on day 4, but nothing you could describe as a mountain, just rolling countryside. The food and drink was abundant and affordable – even a vegetarian like myself was able to cope. I would particularly recommend the delicious Betanzos tortilla when in that city! Others recommended "Pulpo a feira" octopus.

Weatherwise, Galicia gets a good bit of rain so bring a poncho or other rain gear. We were extremely lucky and managed to avoid it apart from some mist one morning.

Overall I would recommend this to someone who wanted to do the Camino, but has limited time to do it in. If you want to avoid the groups and crowds that throng the last stretch of the Camino Frances from Sarria this is a great option. Bear in mind that the cathedral in Santiago is being renovated currently for 2021 (which is a holy year) so the pilgrim Mass has been moved to the nearby church of San Francisco. This means that the famous Botofumeiro incense burner can’t be seen.

For myself, it has given me a taste of the Camino and I think another, longer trip is not out of the question – possibly the northern route from San Sebastian!

Glad you enjoyed it. It really is a wonderful journey.

We have been doing it in stages. But having a break now. Last stop was Burgos.

The Frances route is choc a bloc, and that does not appeal to me much anymore now.

So the roads less travelled are looking good, before they become thronged!