A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino Inglés: The English Way Also Known as the Celtic Camino: Ferrol & Coruña -- Santiago

Camino Inglés: This ancient route was popular with pilgrims arriving by sea from England, Ireland and Northern Europe in the medieval period. It all but faded from memory but is quietly coming back to life and now ready to welcome pilgrims seeking a more solitary way along the rugged rías of Northern Galicia. It was previously combined with the route to Finisterre which was described as the road less travelled but that acclaim has now passed to the English way (or Celtic way) that starts in Ferrol or A Coruña and now fully merits its own edition.

Few pilgrims walking the Camino Inglés commence in A Coruña which, at less than 100 km, does not entitle the pilgrim to a compostela unless they have walked an extra 25 km in their own country or combine it with the route from Ferrol. This provides an opportunity to visit the only site in Galicia directly linked with the life of Jesus - his first miracle in Cana of Galilee. By combining two distinct starting points we also come to understand the variety of pathways that the caminos de Santiago offer us, inviting further exploration.

This guidebook also seeks to find a balance between the outer and inner journey, between the practical and spiritual, which is why it is subtitled A Practical & Mystical Manual - that we might find a place to eat and sleep at the end of a hard day’s walk but also, and crucially, that we might find the courage to dive into the mystery of our own soul awakening.

John Brierley was a former charter surveyor who promotes business sabbaticals and pilgrimages as a way to reappraise life’s purpose. He is the author of several collections of maps and guides to different Camino de Santiago routes.