For anyone interested...
So glad I did this. I found paradise and I'm going to rent a place there for the winter. 6 months of wet seascape paintings
Plenty of footpaths of varying states. They were either neglected to the point of non-existing, or incredibly well maintained. Fair bit of Tarmac walking also. Found it difficult to find footpaths in some places. In one village the locals were so darn proud of their new road they were insisting I didn't want to walk the footpath because the road was much better.
Anyone wanting to know where the most beautiful short hike I have yet to come across in Spain, try Googling Laxe to Camelle. PR-G 114 route. Absolutely lump in the throat beautiful at every turn. Incredibly diverse for such a short walk (about 14KM). Along with sweet juicy blackberries I was picking apricots, peaches and apples staright from the tree. Sweetcorn, pumpkin and green stuff (with farmers permission). Fish from sea and river.
Hardcore pilgrimiging and the true spirit of camino is fun when you know you have cash in your pocket for a daily menu and bed when you need it. When you wake on a beach with an almighty hangover from an almighty, through the night fiesta, cashless and with just 2 cigarettes left it doesn't quite have the same appeal. So, I walked the shortes possible route to Santiago to make a bit of cash.
Should be a proper camino route IMO. It's got all the stone crosses and crazy barking dogs and stuff. Does a proper camino need anything else? Am I missing the point?
Possibly also worth mentioning that I have found Camino Norte and my off-route excursion to be the most revealing about the real history of caminos.