Article on the ‘top’ pilgrimage routes in Europe

[jayree]

Moderator note: Two threads discussing this article have been combined.

Europe’s pilgrimage routes are booming – here are 10 of the best

While many embark on these ancient paths for religious reasons, they’ve now become popular among tourists and keen hikers too

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[trecile]

Unfortunately, in the "How to do it" part, the article only mentions how to use tour companies to walk these routes.

 

[gollygolly]

Might be of interest… although behind a paywall, there are ways to read without subscribing.

In the UK the Pilgrims Way and St Cuthbert’s Way are included in this subjective list.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activity-and-adventure/best-pilgrimage-routes-europe/

 

[kelleymac]

The website would't let me comment unless I subscribe. But can someone who is subscribed leave a comment that a touring company isn't necessary? And sometimes not desirable?

 

[chinacat]

The website would't let me comment unless I subscribe. But can someone who is subscribed leave a comment that a touring company isn't necessary? And sometimes not desirable?

You’re lucky … it wouldn’t let me read it unless I subscribed

 

[chinacat]

Unfortunately, in the "How to do it" part, the article only mentions how to use tour companies to walk these routes.

That’s probably something to do with the average Telegraph reader

 

[Tincatinker]

My father, an active Trades Unionist and committed Socialist, always read The Telegraph: “Know what your enemy is thinking”, he said.

He persuaded the Committee of the Reading Room to subscribe to the Torygraph against their inclinations.

I would not encourage anyone to subscribe to a title whose ownership vests somewhere between the Barclay brothers and Lloyd’s Bank - but it is useful to know what the enemy are thinking.

I guess using a Tour Company is a bit like holding onto “the Colonies”. Necessary for one’s comfort

 

[henrythedog]

Barely a month goes by without a mainstream UK paper featuring a Camino route.

 

[Robo]

"How to do it" for the Camino Frances is a link to a tour company

 

[Jeff Crawley]

A (soon to be ex) friend sent me a link to a Pinterest page about the Camino. My feed is now full of things like








I remember starting out from SJPP in 2001 with an A4 list of refugios and a credential - How did I manage?

 

[WalkingMan]

I can't believe someone is charging £720 for a guided walk on the Kerry Camino,it's very easily walked on one's own and accommodation and food cost me maybe €140 over the three days,craziness.

 

[JabbaPapa]

although behind a paywall

Seems not to be -- I have noticed in recent weeks that both the Telegraph and The Times appear to be publishing more free articles than previously.

I find it interesting that the Francigena is characterised as the route described by Sigeric, then Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from Rome.

Number 8, the Way from Winchester, is of course as much to Canterbury as it is to Santiago and Rome, even Jerusalem.

It's an interesting article, though I am somewhat nonplussed by its attempts to divorce "pilgrimage" from the destination Shrines in their specificities and to present "pilgrimage" as being some kind of luxury tourist excursion with costs and bookings and tourist agencies to provide such services.

I very much DO like their FAQ at the end though, except :

Will I get lost?​

YES !!

 

[bullingtonce]

Might be of interest… although behind a paywall, there are ways to read without subscribing.

In the UK the Pilgrims Way and St Cuthbert’s Way are included in this subjective list.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activity-and-adventure/best-pilgrimage-routes-europe/

There is no 'best' pilgrimage route in the world because what is best for one person is the worst for another. 'Following the crowd' in terms of selecting a Camino is a poor way to make a decision as there are times in life, and doing a Camino is one of these, the focus ought to be individually-based. 'Going with the flow' in life is almost always a poor choice. Chuck

 

[peregrino_tom]

A (soon to be ex) friend sent me a link to a Pinterest page about the Camino. My feed is now full of things like

Excellent!
I'm sure our wonderfully creative forum members can add a few?
Like
'Why you should NEVER walk the Camino de Santiago - until you have read this'

 

[gollygolly]

My father, an active Trades Unionist and committed Socialist, always read The Telegraph: “Know what your enemy is thinking”, he said.

He persuaded the Committee of the Reading Room to subscribe to the Torygraph against their inclinations.

I would not encourage anyone to subscribe to a title whose ownership vests somewhere between the Barclay brothers and Lloyd’s Bank - but it is useful to know what the enemy are thinking.

I guess using a Tour Company is a bit like holding onto “the Colonies”. Necessary for one’s comfort

What a great and worthy heritage and hope that the apple landed close to the tree that it came from ...

 

[Roland49]

Unfortunately, in the "How to do it" part, the article only mentions how to use tour companies to walk these routes.

Sad to say nowadays many editors only get payed, if their texts can be used to generate advertising revenues.

 

[Roland49]

A (soon to be ex) friend sent me a link to a Pinterest page about the Camino. My feed is now full of things like
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I remember starting out from SJPP in 2001 with an A4 list of refugios and a credential - How did I manage?

In 2019 I had only a private (!!!) google-maps listing for some albergues on the CF and my credential. Nothing else, no guidebook or other help. I even dared not to look up the timetable of the trains leaving Bayonne nor booked a place in SJPdP!

 

[Amri]

Unfortunately, in the "How to do it" part, the article only mentions how to use tour companies to walk these routes.

I walked the Camino in April & May of 2009, I did not use a tour company. I planned it all in 2 weeks. I bought some books, studied the online routes and decide where I would start from. The Camino is a place of brother/sisterhood. It is safe and contemplative. I was a 47 year old mother of 3 and out of shape. I took way more than I needed and it was the experience of a lifetime. Pick where you want to start, get a hotel for a few days ahead of your start date, ask other pilgrims at cafes and restaurants or outside the alberges for advice. This is what I did and it was great. You really don't ever need to use a tour guide. But, please be respectful and try your best to learn some Spanish before you go, have a basic command of the language at least, carry a pocket dictionary and use your manners. Also carry your own roll of toilet paper, have good insurance and do not, do not drink out of the fountains no matter what they say. I met 3 people, differernt locals that ended up with parasites and giardia! I carried a camel back in my pack and refilled with bottled water as needed. You don't need half of what they say, you arent traveling in the great wilderness, there is civilization around. Do carry duct tape wrapped around a small pencil, a paracord bracelet and a headlamp.

If you get sick do not rely on the Alberges to help. I had to help several people and the alberges, both the religious and the common were of absolutely no help. The sick and injured I was with were shut out of the alberges even for a single night, we actually ended up sleeping in a neighbors car because there wasn't a hotel arround. That is my only word of caution.

I made a lifelong friend and met people from almost every continent, I started in Roncesvalles and ended in Compostella, with an added trip to Finisterra, it was the right thiing to do. Eat the food, meet the people, take a few days to visit a town or city that calls to you. Don't be a power walker, if you do you just might miss sitting in Hemingways cabin.

Buen Camino,
Amri

 

[trecile]

I walked the Camino in April & May of 2009, I did not use a tour company.

Most pilgrims don't use a tour company. In addition to the advertising revenue from mentioning them in the article, the writer would have had to do a lot more research to tell how to DIY each of the routes that are mentioned in the article.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Excellent!
I'm sure our wonderfully creative forum members can add a few?
Like
'Why you should NEVER walk the Camino de Santiago - until you have read this'

Wow that bug is impressive, almost 3D. I even tried to shoo it away!

 

[Amri]

I walked the Camino in April & May of 2009, I did not use a tour company. I planned it all in 2 weeks. I bought some books, studied the online routes and decide where I would start from. The Camino is a place of brother/sisterhood. It is safe and contemplative. I was a 47 year old mother of 3 and out of shape. I took way more than I needed and it was the experience of a lifetime. Pick where you want to start, get a hotel for a few days ahead of your start date, ask other pilgrims at cafes and restaurants or outside the alberges for advice. This is what I did and it was great. You really don't ever need to use a tour guide. But, please be respectful and try your best to learn some Spanish before you go, have a basic command of the language at least, carry a pocket dictionary and use your manners. Also carry your own roll of toilet paper, have good insurance and do not, do not drink out of the fountains no matter what they say. I met 3 people, differernt locals that ended up with parasites and giardia! I carried a camel back in my pack and refilled with bottled water as needed. You don't need half of what they say, you arent traveling in the great wilderness, there is civilization around. Do carry duct tape wrapped around a small pencil, a paracord bracelet and a headlamp.

If you get sick do not rely on the Alberges to help. I had to help several people and the alberges, both the religious and the common were of absolutely no help. The sick and injured I was with were shut out of the alberges even for a single night, we actually ended up sleeping in a neighbors car because there wasn't a hotel arround. That is my only word of caution.

I made a lifelong friend and met people from almost every continent, I started in Roncesvalles and ended in Compostella, with an added trip to Finisterra, it was the right thiing to do. Eat the food, meet the people, take a few days to visit a town or city that calls to you. Don't be a power walker, if you do you just might miss sitting in Hemingways cabin.

Buen Camino,
Amri

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Do, do stay in a church. I met the most incredible people and had such wonderful experiences while we all prepared dinner together. I would have missed a woman from Australia singing an aria in the balcony, she said it was her dream to sing in a renaissance church, her voice was like nothing I had ever heard. It was magical! I would have missed the stories of the 3 old Basque men sitting outside the church or the priest that told us that he was not there to be a guide for the Catholic Church but to be a friend to the people of this Earth. I would have missed the wedding I was invited to attend while I silently ate my pastry and coffee on morning, later learning that my ancestors came from the same village that someof the guests were from, same as mine had emigrated from to Mexico. Then finding out that we were indeed distant family. The Camino calls when you need it.

 

[sinein]

Using a friend's subscription with their permission, I added a comment to the Telegraph article to the effect that tourist packages were not necessary, that many albergues were not bookable in advance, and that many used the time of walking as a pilgrimage rather than a holiday per se ...

 

[chinacat]

Barely a month goes by without a mainstream UK paper featuring a Camino route.

There was an article on the Invierno recently, in The New European.
It was written by someone walking it but there are far more interesting words written about this camino on this site IMHO.

(This is the only newspaper I read regularly, in hard copy. It has some well-researched and interesting articles and quite a large cultural section.)

 

[Camo]

Necessary for one’s comfort

But who's comfort might that be?

 

[Camo]

Moderator note: Two threads discussing this article have been combined.

Europe’s pilgrimage routes are booming – here are 10 of the best

While many embark on these ancient paths for religious reasons, they’ve now become popular among tourists and keen hikers too

www.telegraph.co.uk

This is Sarah Baxter who 2 years ago was with The Guardian and introduced me to the English Camino from Reading

Reading Camino

Which then took me to checking out the "real thing" (pun intended) in Spain

 

[Kathor1]

It is true that the "How to do it" section mentions a tour company for each of the 10 caminos on the Telegraph's list. However, each "How to do it" section also contains a link to a major website with general information. For example:

1. Camino Francés, www.csj.org.uk/camino-frances​

2. Via Francigena, www.viefrancigene.org/en​

3. St Olav's Waterway, www.stolavwaterway.com​

4. St Cuthbert's Way, www.stcuthbertsway.info​

5. Camino Primitivo, www.csj.org.uk/camino-primitvo​

6. St Francis Way, www.viadifrancesco.it/en​

7. Kerry Camino, www.kerrycamino.com​

8. Pilgrim's Way, www.explorekent.org​

9. Camino Portugués Coastal, www.csj.org.uk/camino-portugues​

10. Via Jacobi (Jakobsweg), www.viajacobi4.ch and www.jakobsweg.ch​

And at the end of the article: What makes a pilgrimages different to a walk? Attitude. Pilgrims walk mindfully, with acceptance, humility, and curiosity. Also, a pilgrimage has a sense of history - there's something special in knowing that so many people have walked this way before. Take time to visit churches, bridges, wells, springs and other ancient monuments en route.

And that, I guess, you can also do when you go with a tour company who often do not only offer group travel but also travel for individuals who travel and walk on their own.