This Camino is truly unknown to most people, even to most Camino addicts. So its name (forgotten in English) is appropriate. This Camino leaves from Bilbao and heads southwest to Ponferrada, approximately 500 km. It has several wonderful days of mountain walking, a day or two with gorgeous mountain views in the distance, and many Roman, megalithic, romanesque, and gothic monuments. There are gps tracks for the first 7 days, which are available for download on caminosusanna´s trails posted on wikiloc.com. The rest of the stages will be available in the fall, when Susanna returns from walking the rest of the Olvidado. We will also have an English language guide at some point in the not too distant future.
In general, I would say that the Camino Olvidado is very well marked, and that a gps is only really helpful in a few situations, but having it really saved us from some major mistakes when the marking got bad. Our guide will detail those spots, so that even those without a gps shouldn’t worry about striking out on this Camino. Thankfully, the two real mountain stretches (La Velilla to Cistierna and Fasgar to Colinas) are perfectly well marked and are easy to navigate alone and without a gps. The road walking is not as pronounced, at least in my memory, as on the Vadiniense, for instance. There seemed to be a lot more off-road stretches, though some road walking is always inevitable.
In terms of scenery, this is a visually pleasant camino, with a few long boring dull stretches on the side of the road. There are some interesting end-stage towns (like Balmaseda, Espinosa, and Aguilar), but not the long list of great little places to explore that I had last year on the Levante from Valencia. People were exceedingly kind and helpful, with a mayor treating me to a vino and tapas, locals giving me cherries and fresh baked goods, and many helping me find a place to stay, and even in one instance opening their home to me.
This is another one of those routes waiting for the pilgrim craze to hit. The accommodations are still a negative. The only albergues are in Cistierna and La Robla, and those albergues are there primarily for the Vadiniense (Cistierna) and the Salvador (La Robla) – it’s just that the Olvidado crosses those routes. I’ve included some info on lodging so you can see how much it’s likely to cost you to take on this route, but the bottom line is that it will be more expensive than your "average" Camino. As always I am happy to answer questions and give opinions.
In general, I would say that the Camino Olvidado is very well marked, and that a gps is only really helpful in a few situations, but having it really saved us from some major mistakes when the marking got bad. Our guide will detail those spots, so that even those without a gps shouldn’t worry about striking out on this Camino. Thankfully, the two real mountain stretches (La Velilla to Cistierna and Fasgar to Colinas) are perfectly well marked and are easy to navigate alone and without a gps. The road walking is not as pronounced, at least in my memory, as on the Vadiniense, for instance. There seemed to be a lot more off-road stretches, though some road walking is always inevitable.
In terms of scenery, this is a visually pleasant camino, with a few long boring dull stretches on the side of the road. There are some interesting end-stage towns (like Balmaseda, Espinosa, and Aguilar), but not the long list of great little places to explore that I had last year on the Levante from Valencia. People were exceedingly kind and helpful, with a mayor treating me to a vino and tapas, locals giving me cherries and fresh baked goods, and many helping me find a place to stay, and even in one instance opening their home to me.
This is another one of those routes waiting for the pilgrim craze to hit. The accommodations are still a negative. The only albergues are in Cistierna and La Robla, and those albergues are there primarily for the Vadiniense (Cistierna) and the Salvador (La Robla) – it’s just that the Olvidado crosses those routes. I’ve included some info on lodging so you can see how much it’s likely to cost you to take on this route, but the bottom line is that it will be more expensive than your "average" Camino. As always I am happy to answer questions and give opinions.
currently waiting for cataract operations and bloody arthritis has me climbing the walls! however, being of a stubborn and cunning disposition i usually get there in the end!my comfort zone is approx 20 kms per day which seems to be out of the question for this route BUT providing water is not a problem,could it be camped/tented? i have my heart set on a terra nova l/wt that i used before for distance n i have done the cf, the portuguese, and started vdlp from malaga so am not exactly a novice (plus forces experience ). I am sure you will be simpatico to an old celt who for many unfathomable reaqsons likes lonely places in Spain 
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