10th Anniversary Edition!
Ten years have passed since I set off on 22 April 2016 to walk the Camino. I’d planned it since 1990 but it was only in early April that I decided the time to walk had come. There was too little time to do much research and the learning curve was steep. I made so many mistakes. My pack was weighed down with ridiculous clutter and I was crippled with blisters before I was halfway to Portsmouth. But I had an absolutely unbreakable conviction to walk every step of the way from my home in Weybridge to Santiago de Compostela.
In 2016 I learned what it means to make a pilgrimage and I’ve repeated the experience every year since. Every single one has been precious in one way or another. So, this year it makes sense to return to Spain but along a different path. Instead of the popular Camino Frances, I’ll take the Camino del Norte which runs close to the coast for much of the way before turning into the mountains for the final week. I can’t wait to order my first cafe con leche and to swap the fancy hotels for the albergues and their dormitories.
However, my first challenge is to walk down to Portsmouth in time for the ferry to Bilbao. I won’t make the same mistake as last time. I’ve changed the route to keep away from roads so it’s slightly longer. I’ll take an extra couple of days, just to be sure those blisters don’t return for a tenth anniversary celebration.
Starts April 2026
Pilgrimage 