After much gnashing of teeth and soul searching, cancelled flights (to Madrid), train journeys (Madrid to Burgos) and hotel accommodation, Dorothy and I have finally decided that we really did need some time out of the country and are flying out to Santiago de Compostela on Friday next (30th). We’ve booked bus tickets from Santiago to the start of the short Camino Inglés, leaving Santiago on Saturday 31st at 9:30. We’ll grab some lunch in Ferol and then head east and south on the return journey. We’ve allocated a gentle five days to the trip before heading west out of Santiago to Finisterre and Muxia on the coast before returning to Santiago in time to pick up the flight home on 11th August.

Fingers crossed, this time we’ll make it out there. The weather looks good, (cool with rain), we’ve not walked this camino before and we’ve not made it out to Finisterre before, so all new and hopefully a thoroughly pleasant, though short experience.

Ok, so all change again.

We left Oxford as planned but in the rain.

Thanks to Menna for dropping us off.

There were only eight of us on the bus, four of whom got off in Heathrow. The journey took longer than expected but check in was quick and painless in a relatively empty Gatwick airport. Masks were obligatory throughout which was definitely reassuring.

It’s 10:25 local time and we’re heading out from Ferrol. We were met at Santiago airport by a really nice guy who drove us north for 100+ km to the gran hotel in Ferrol where we spent the night.

Breakfast was great; bacon and egg with orange juice and coffee. We left the hotel around 7:30

and had to walk some 2-3km to the information centre which marks the start of the Camino Inglés.

We stopped at the café opposite the tourist information office for a quick decaffeinato with croissant (constant refuelling is essential)

Before following our first Camino arrow this year.

We retraced our steps for the first km or so

there are always sad buildings

We soon came across our first way marker

And our first metallic shell guiding us to Santiago …

The map below shows just how far we have to go. We started at the purple marker at top left, walked west to the start of the meandering orange line indicating the route of the Camino ingles and all being well, we’ll finish at the middle purple marker some 30km later. The bottom purple marker shows is where we’re starting tomorrow night.

The journey out of Ferrol took us past what appears to be a still thriving port. Apparently, the Navantia group is still a major shipbuilding company operating in Ferrol though I have no idea why worker’s overalls are impaled on the railings outside the main entrance.