Ponte Campaña was a great place to stop, because – as with the previous two nights – it was off-stage and so wasn’t as busy as the stage end places would have been. There was also nothing there other than our hostel, so should have been quiet. And perhaps it would have been had the…

Leaving Las Herrerías this year was a lot nicer than in 2024, mainly because it wasn’t pissing down with rain. It also made us wonder how we managed it back then, because the steep ascent went on for a considerable time – at least 30 minutes for the first part and 20 minutes for the…

We left El Acebo later than usual, as we knew it was a shorter day (just under 16km). It was also great that our accommodation provided coffee in the morning – because we didn’t think there were any options for the next 8km. However, it turned out that a new cafe / bar had opened…

Out first decision after leaving León (other than where to stop for coffee) was whether or not to take the alternative southern route at a split in the way. The benefits? It ran through more countryside and less along the roadside, and was slightly shorter (by 3.2km – around 45m walking time). The drawbacks? It…

Leaving Sahagún behind coincided with a lovely drop in temperature. Gone were the highs of 35°C – 37°C, instead we had a positively chilly high of only 27°C 🥶 😅. It also meant choosing between the biggest detour on the way: stick with the main route, or – as we did in 2024 – take…

There’s not much going on in Boadilla del Camino, but whatever does go on, Eduardo would likely know about it. He’s a fascinating man, is Eduardo. The host of both the En el Camino hotel and En el Camino albergue (we stayed at the latter but dined at the former), he seems to have an…

Burgos is a fun city, especially for foodies… but our feasting there – sadly – had to come to and end. Rather than walk the next two stages totalling 60.2km in two days, we decided to split them into three (21km, 19.7km, and 19.5km) – as we really didn’t fancy a 32km or 28.2km day…

When we left Belorado on our 2024 Camino walk, we decided to take a short day and stop after 12km – mainly because after then was a really steep section. This year – for whatever reason – we decided to push through and deal with it… and it was every bit as steep as we…

When we arrived we in Los Arcos in 2024, you may recall the town’s bull run was taking place and we were met with a brass band and full-on festivities with large crowds to match. This year there was no such festival, and the town was emptier than a spinster’s larder. On the plus side,…

As with last year, we spent the last days sampling the local beers, wines, and meat – and lots of it. Muxía saw us dine at A Lonxa de Álvaro, a restaurant we’d tried several times to book at but never had any response. In the end we turned up as soon as they opened…

What do you do after you’ve finished walking to the end of the world? Walk some more, naturally! The walk from Fisterra to Muxía saw us head north 28.45km, and I’m so glad we have not got any more long walking days after this 😅. We stayed up until midnight watching the sunset from a…

Whether you call it Fisterra (Galician) or Finisterre (Spanish), it means the same: the end of the world. The name comes from the Latin “Finis Terrae” – meaning ”Land’s End”, which stems from the fact that the area is on one of the westernmost and remote peninsulas in Galicia. The Romans believed it to be…

After the rather long and hot walk to Lago-Abeleiroas yesterday, today’s walk to Cee offered some respite – although not much. It also taught us that the place we’ve been pronouncing as “see” for the last few months is actually pronounced “say” (or “thay” if you have a strong Spanish accent) 😄. At almost 26.5km,…

Perhaps it was the 700g wheel of Arzúa-Ulloa cheese, chorizo, baguettes, and several bottles of wine we purchased from the supermarket and ate just before bed. Perhaps it was the gin and tonic, kalimotxo / calimocho, tinto verano, or any of the various wines we drank in a local bar after our arrival last night……

For various reasons – including wanting to get back to the U.K. in time to vote (it worked: we managed to oust the Tories 🎉), last year’s Camino ended for us in Santiago rather than Fisterra. Jeff and I returned to walk the first few stages in October, and Jeff has just spent just over…

Before our walk, wearing a kilt was something I’d done only a handful of times at various events. Jeff, on the other hand, had been wearing various utility kilts for a few years or so – thus it made sense for him to hike in a kilt. However, his Home clan tartan worsted wool kilt…

After 40 days of walking and 5 rest days, we’ve made it to Santiago de Compostela. We’ve each walked more than 1,000,000 steps and have covered more than 800km, and have had an absolutely awesome adventure. How did we celebrate this achievement? With beers, wines, and 2.1kg of very nicely cooked chuletón beef 😋.

Since my post from Foncebadón, we’ve done a lot of walking, and have finally crossed from the Castilla y León region into Galicia. You might think that neighbouring regions of Spain would be similar… but in terms of the trail, the difference was immediately obvious. Gone were the often graffitied metal way markers, replaced with…

Today, roughly 5.6km further than the Cruz de Ferro, and roughly 3.2km further than Manjarín, we traversed the highest point on the Camino de Santiago (on the official route, not off-piste up a farmer’s track or similar) – what3words address ///wrongly.portrayed.scatters. While many people choose to believe that the Cruz de Ferro is the highest…

Today marks the start of our second calendar month: we started our journey from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France on May 12th and we’ve just arrived in Foncebadón, Spain today, June 12th. We’ve – thankfully, I’d say – passed through the mesetas, as the scenery was getting a bit samey and the lack of shade wasn’t the best…

What do the above have in common? Jeff, as it turns out 😄. The Moody Blues On arrival at our accommodation in Villafranca Montes de Oca (day 14), we bumped into Kerri, a lovely Swiss lady we’d first met way back on the trek to Zubiri (day 2), and at a few other points along…

What’s the good of wearing braces? An interesting question, and one this post most definitely won’t answer 😜. Along much of the Roman road we recently walked – a subject covered by Jeff in his recent post – woad plants were present. I find the irony of this quite amusing – something stemming squarely from my…

Sahagún is generally considered to be the halfway point along the Camino, and that’s about right. Ultimately, it depends on whether you’re travelling past Santiago de Compostella and on to Fisterra / Finisterre or not (we hope to, but will see how our feet feel once in SdC). It’s also more definitely on the León…