'Footnotes': A limited series

Putting a pause on the politics for the next few weeks to reflect on solo-walking 800km

12th April, 2024 - 7:20am

The peaks of a mountain range loom large beneath shades of orange, yellow and pink, the tiny Spanish village of Foncebadón is silent aside from the trudge of pilgrims exiting their hostels.

The click-clack of walking poles. Bleary eyes.

Passing small groups perched on walls to watch the sunrise, I begin the final 2km ascent up the highest point of the Camino de Santiago alone.

It was Day 30. I had spent a month walking ‘The Way’.

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Introducing ‘Footnotes from The Way’, a weekly newsletter compiling journal extracts, photos and recollections from my time on the Camino de Santiago.

I am what some may call a “casual hiker”.

Once every few years, I concoct a physical challenge for which I almost certainly don’t train enough: scaling a Welsh mountain for charity, walking the West Highland Way, climbing Longido (a sibling to Kilimanjaro), organising a group attempt at the Three Peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) in less than 24 hours.

It probably came as no surprise to family and friends that I was setting out again on an adventure with the bare minimum of planning, this time to northern Spain where I would walk the Camino.

The only difference was that I would be going solo.

Now, a year on from an extraordinary physical, emotional and spiritual experience, this newsletter will attempt to put it into words.

From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela via Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León and Sarria

Some housekeeping

For those unfamiliar, the Camino - or Way of St James - is an ancient pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela where the remains of the apostle Saint James are believed to lie.

The body of James was supposedly taken by boat from Jerusalem back to Padrón on the coast of Galicia where he was laid to rest and later found during the reign of King Alfonso II beside a sign: “Here lies James, son of Zebedee and Salome”.

A church was built in his honour (what is now the cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela).

In the centuries since, tens of thousands of pilgrims have travelled to Santiago on foot via a range of nine ‘ways’.

Camino Francés - the French Way - is the most famous, roughly 800km to Santiago from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in south France.

These newsletters will chart my journey and that of fellow pilgrims.

It is the stuff of quests with ∼20km days from town to town, café con leche and beer breaks, communal dinners with fellow walkers, stunning cathedrals, a wine fountain, magic pain cream, a Galician witch and a horse ride up a mountain.

And, it was also painful and lonely and exhausting at times.

All wrapped in 44 days of adventure.

So… see you soon and, in the spirit of The Way, I leave you with the greeting and farewell of those who walked it…

Buen camino.