English route query

[Leon7]

Hi, I'd like to walk from Ferrol to SDC in 4 days with my 14 year old son at the end of June. My plan would be to take a bus to Ferrol from SDC on the evening that we arrive from Ireland, stay overnight in Ferrol before we start the pilgrimmage. Is this a realistic goal?

 

[miguel_gp]

Hi Leon7,
I have walked before in 4 days and it is certainly doable but there are some long days, especially if you walk Bruma/Meson Do Vento to Santiago in one hit as this is 40+ kms. There are other options if you are not concerned about only staying in Municipal Albergues. It has some steep gradients in places so need to think about that as well as the point to point distance. Do you have a rough plan for overnight stops yet?

 

[miguel_gp]

Last bus is at 20:30 to Ferrol from SDC if that affects your plans. First one in the morning is 9:15/9:30 depending on day.

 

[Leon7]

Hi Miguel,
Our flight arrives in the afternoon so we should make that bus. I was thinking of booking accommodation in Ferrol in advance for the night before we start. I dont have a plan for the overnight stops yet. Is it possible to find a place to stop each day after roughly 30km walk?

 

[miguel_gp]

Hi Leon,

I think roughly it is. Are you happy to stay in hotels/casa rurals as well as or instead of Albergues because that may be the best option to fitting a 30km per day plan. How long do you plan for in Santiago as it may also be possible to stop a little way short on your fourth day (there is a hotel about 10km from SDC) and then walk in early the next morning. I will dig out a list of accommodation and rough distances and post up later this evening so that you have some options and assuming that they all have availabilty for your dates.

For Ferrol, Hotel Almendra is quite cheap and very close to the bus station. You can reserve a room (with option to cancel) through Booking.com. I'm sure there are many other alternatives as well.

Regards
Mig

 

[miguel_gp]

BTW, welcome to the forum. I just noticed that you joined today.

 

[miguel_gp]

Here is the bus timetable for Fri 30th June. You can get timetable for your exact dates from http://www.monbus.es

 

[Leon7]

That's great Miguel, thanks for all the advice.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - welcome to the Forum. To be honest unless both you and your 14 son are well prepared, seasoned walkers I think doing this route in this timescale will be a significant challenge. 30 kms is a considerable distance and the Camino Ingles has a number of quite stiff elevations. There are different ways of cutting the stages down nut all of them require more time. Please be careful.

John

 

[daesdaemar]

I have done the Ingles twice in the standard five day time frame. Four days is doable but will be some hard work in there... good luck!

 

[Leon7]

Thanks for those replies. We might just start walking back to SDC from a closer distance so that it wont be so hard. I know we will not be entitled to a Compostela but we dont really care about that.
Does anybody know if the Albergues will still admit us if we dont have documented stages completed or does that matter to them?

 

[kelleymac]

I agree that 30k per day is pretty ambitious. I walked with my 15yo son, and he was fine with the day with 32, but I was not. We usually walked about 22-26km day. -- We didn't get a compostela the last time we walked (from SJPP to Burgos, then took the train), and staying at the albergues was fine. You do need a credential and a passport.

 

[hecate105]

Can you not add a day..?

 

[Mike Savage]

You could start in A Coruña and walk to Santiago. I believe it is about 75 km. Should be a good 4 day camino.

 

[miguel_gp]

I understand that the route from Coruna is more authentic than that from Ferrol. Although it does have a steepish climb at around the 25km mark, it is not as undulating as the first stages of the Ferrol route and the last 40 or so kms are identical. Coruna is also a lovely city to spend an evening in. If you are not worried about the Compostela then this is definitely worth considering although you are unlikely to see many other pilgrims on the route between Coruna and Bruma where the two arms of the Ingles join.

 

[Leon7]

Cheers lads thanks for all the suggestions. We'll just take a shorter route so. I cant add another day as the flight's booked and I didn't want to put too much walking on my son anyhow.

 

[miguel_gp]

Buen Camino.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Leon - FWIW the Cathedral now issues Compostelas for people who've walked from A Coruna when they can show in their pilgrim record that they've completed the other 25km elsewhere, like in their home country. If you are in the UK (which I'm guessing you might be from the 'cheers lads' reference..) you could do a part of a pilgrimage route over here and collect some stamps for the required distance before you leave. It might also be a good warm-up routine for you both as well. If you're in the UK then phone or e-mail the CSJ (details at www.csj.org.uk ) who will be able to give you more details about how all this works and routes in the UK that issue stamps etc.
Cheers, tom

 

[Leon7]

Thanks Tom, we might try that so.

 

[Deleted member 29041]

For Ferrol, Hotel Almendra is quite cheap and very close to the bus station.

I'll second that recommendation. Very convenient, clean and not expensive. Close to the bus, close to the harbor.

To get to the harbor (starting point), turn right out of the hotel entrance and left when you run out of street: As you reach the "square", turn right on Ruá Igrexa, and it is more or less straight on to the harbor. There are several cafés on the harbor front, where you can get your first stamps. I got the best cafe leche of the entire trip at café Sarga.

From the square towards the harbor you'll (just after the next intersection) pass a church on your left. The building after that is the market (Mercada da Magdalena), where you can forage for the day. It opens relatively early.

 

[Leon7]

Hi all, I have another question. Its about the route from Bruma to SDC. Is there a quiet walking route, or is it necessary to walk along main roads?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola Leon7 - From Bruma to Sigueiro the route is on quiet country roads and leafy forest paths and tracks. Vigilance is required after Sigueiro - the route used to be along a stretch of main highway but was rerouted to a quiet country way some years ago. However a local restaurant realising they would lose business have falsified yellow arrows and moved the Camino signs. The route passes under the main road and shortly goes left on a track at the end of which do not follow the false arrows to the main road, rather turn Right then first Left - following the directions in the guidebook and all will be well.
I'm on the route at the moment and there is a diversion due to works before Pontedeume but it is clearly marked.

Buen Camino

John

 

[Leon7]

That's helpful to know John, thanks. Enjoy the rest of your Camino.

 

[Avigail]

Hi Leon,

I think roughly it is. Are you happy to stay in hotels/casa rurals as well as or instead of Albergues because that may be the best option to fitting a 30km per day plan. How long do you plan for in Santiago as it may also be possible to stop a little way short on your fourth day (there is a hotel about 10km from SDC) and then walk in early the next morning. I will dig out a list of accommodation and rough distances and post up later this evening so that you have some options and assuming that they all have availabilty for your dates.

For Ferrol, Hotel Almendra is quite cheap and very close to the bus station. You can reserve a room (with option to cancel) through Booking.com. I'm sure there are many other alternatives as well.

Regards
Mig

I am planning on doing this route in 9 days. It would be terrific if you could definitely post

Hi Leon,

I think roughly it is. Are you happy to stay in hotels/casa rurals as well as or instead of Albergues because that may be the best option to fitting a 30km per day plan. How long do you plan for in Santiago as it may also be possible to stop a little way short on your fourth day (there is a hotel about 10km from SDC) and then walk in early the next morning. I will dig out a list of accommodation and rough distances and post up later this evening so that you have some options and assuming that they all have availabilty for your dates.

For Ferrol, Hotel Almendra is quite cheap and very close to the bus station. You can reserve a room (with option to cancel) through Booking.com. I'm sure there are many other alternatives as well.

Regards
Mig

Mig,
This is terrific information. Might you post any and all Albergues, casas rurales and hotels. I'm planning for 9 days of travel to do this route. I'm not in any hurry. Thanks so much for your postings!
Regards,
Avigail

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - the Hotel San Vicente http://www.hotelsanvicente.com/ is 12 kms from Santiago and 4.5 kms beyond Sigueiro. In I was in Segueiro yesterday and there are now a number of accommodation options. All listed here with distances: https://www.csj.org.uk/product/the-camino-ingles/ also available for Kindle.

 

[Avigail]

Hola - the Hotel San Vicente http://www.hotelsanvicente.com/ is 12 kms from Santiago and 4.5 kms beyond Sigueiro. In I was in Segueiro yesterday and there are now a number of accommodation options. All listed here with distances: https://www.csj.org.uk/product/the-camino-ingles/ also available for Kindle.

Super, thank you for the information!

 

[miguel_gp]

Hi. Apologies for the delay in posting this up. The link below shows the route from Coruna and Ferrol and also all the accommodation that I am aware of with embedded link to websites.

Johhnie's guide to the Ingles has a comprehehsive list of accommodation, together with contact telephone numbers.

Camino Ingles Map

 

[Cindyrella]

I'll second that recommendation. Very convenient, clean and not expensive. Close to the bus, close to the harbor.

To get to the harbor (starting point), turn right out of the hotel entrance and left when you run out of street: As you reach the "square", turn right on Ruá Igrexa, and it is more or less straight on to the harbor. There are several cafés on the harbor front, where you can get your first stamps. I got the best cafe leche of the entire trip at café Sarga.

From the square towards the harbor you'll (just after the next intersection) pass a church on your left. The building after that is the market (Mercada da Magdalena), where you can forage for the day. It opens relatively early.

Any suggestions for luggage transfers

 

[Deleted member 29041]

Any suggestions for luggage transfers

Well, you could carry it on your back - the service I usually use

Correros has a transfer service - at least on on some routes. The office is on the square I mentioned above. Try correros.es for more information.

 

[Tincatinker]

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