Overview: The Camino Inglés

Sometimes called in Spanish the Antiguo Camino Real, a term which still appears occasionally on waymarks, the Camino inglés provided a short, direct route from Ferrol or A Coruña to Santiago and was therefore used by pilgrims of various nationalities from northern Europe, who had travelled to Galicia by sea.

The tomb of Sir John Moore at la Coruņa

The tomb of Sir John Moore at la Coruña

The Route.  The modern pilgrim can start either from the old landing-steps at Ferrol (just below the parador) or from the royal sea-gate in A Coruña now, following land reclamation, left high and dry in a car park below the church of Santiago.  The church is also a recognised starting-point for the Camino inglés.

Length.  From Ferrol it is 110 km to Santiago, and from A Coruña about 75 (too short to earn the compostela).  These two possible starting points mean that the route is Y-shaped, the two tracks meeting near the atmospheric village of Hospital de Bruma.  The Ferrol route can be walked in five days, and the A Coruña one in three.

Waymarking.  A mixture of yellow arrows and, since 2000, shell tiles and marker stones bearing shells.  Some of these, especially in towns, have been defaced or destroyed, so vigilance, the Confraternity guide (see below), maps (although these are often out of date and not easy to read) and a compass are still needed.  This part of Spain is suffering from motorway construction and there are places, eg embankments and cuttings, where the waymarks have disappeared and have not always been replaced.

Terrain.  This is Galicia and the countryside is reminiscent of Brittany, Cornwall and other Celtic regions.  The hardest and steepest day is day 2 of the Coruña route, from Sarandones to Calle de Poulo (or Ordenes).  There is considerable road walking near towns.

Weather.  An Atlantic climate - just like Wales and Ireland. Essential to carry a waterproof but you might just be lucky and have sun.  Some paths can be extremely muddy.

When to go.  Walkable throughout the year, although winter (late November to late February) is not really recommended.

Getting there. FEVE trains run from Oviedo to Ferrol, via Pravia, Ribadeo and Ortigueira:

Dep. Oviedo 0747, Arr. Ferrol 1409
Dep. Oviedo 1447, Arr. Ferrol 2109 see www.feve.es

Iberia are no longer (Feb 2006) flying into Santiago, but will fly to A Coruña

What to see.  The A Coruña arm: in the city, the Tower of Hercules (Roman lighthouse), churches, especially that of Santiago, and museums. Culleredo: Romanesque church of Santiago de Burgo.  Cambre: Romanesque churches, Santa Maria del Temple and Santa Maria de Cambre.  Hospital de Bruma: medieval chapel of San Lourenzo, remains of medieval hospital next door.  Ferrol arm: Xubia: the monastery church.  Neda: 14th c church of San Nicolis and fine calvary (cruceiro).  Pontedeume: bridge, church of Santiago, Andrade tower, 12th c church of San Miguel de Breamo (a detour).  Lambre: medieval bridge.  Betanzos: churches of Santiago, Santa Maria, San Francisco.

Where to stay.  Variety of cheap and medium-priced hotel accommodation in A Corurña, Ferrol, Pontedeume, Betanzos, Ordenes and Sigueiro.  Three albergues which may or may not be open, at Neda, Miño and Bruma.  On the Coruña arm and south of Mesón do Vento hotels can be found on the N550 road to Santiago, which runs parallel to the camino.

Distinctive features of the route.  More suitable for walkers than cyclists.  Not crowded and not too expensive.  In rural Galicia local people often speak Galician rather than (Castilian) Spanish.  Roadworks and/or motorway construction can interrupt the route, which is worth doing despite the problems.  Easy to reach: ferries to Santander (from Plymouth) or Bilbao (from Portsmouth), and FEVE (interesting narrow-gauge railway along northern Spanish coast) or bus to Ferrol.  Bus to A Coruña.  Long days can be avoided by 'shuttling' in taxi/bus from the day's end-point and then back to the start point next morning.

Guide books.

Language. While it is not impossible to take this route without any command of Spanish prospective pilgrims are strongly urged to learn as much as possible before they set out. We recommend the BBC's Get By In Spanish - a small slim book in 5 chapters, with a single cassette, or Talk Spanish, an expanded version of the above, with 2 cassettes or 2 CDs.

See also. Piers Nicholson has created a picture gallery of views of the Camino Inglés.
 

Thanks to Pat Quaife & Francis Davey, November 2002, Marion & Laurie Clegg, January 2006

Other useful websites: www.santiago-today.com which has in English recent accounts and updated information

www.caminosantiago.org see 'Nuestros caminos'

Useful contact in A Coruña: Barry McGinley Jones bmcginley*terra.es [To reduce the risk of spam, we're removing direct e-mail links from this site. To use this address, copy it into your normal e-mail program, but replace the '*' with the conventional '@', before sending your message.]

Return to Routes page.