Is the Ingles Social or Solitary?

[ShoshTrvls]

So far I've walked Sarria to Santiago in the summer, and Porrino to Santiago in the winter. And what I've learned about myself and the Camino is that I like the community/social aspects of the Camino and missed that on my winter Portugues walk. Not that I need the huge crowds of Sarria - Santiago, but definitely more people, more conversations, more stopping for cafe con leche than exists in the winter.

I'm now looking to go back in early summer and thinking about the Ingles (because not only am I a social/community walker, I'm also a one-week walker) but am a bit worried that it will be like my winter camino, with very few people and very few places along the route to stop and take a drink/food break with others. Are my fears warranted, or not? Will I have sufficient company doing the Ingles in early summer?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Rachel from Seattle]

I walked late August last year and was able to make friends pretty quickly. Tended to see the same people along the way and at the albergues.

 

[Sidknee]

So far I've walked Sarria to Santiago in the summer, and Porrino to Santiago in the winter. And what I've learned about myself and the Camino is that I like the community/social aspects of the Camino and missed that on my winter Portugues walk. Not that I need the huge crowds of Sarria - Santiago, but definitely more people, more conversations, more stopping for cafe con leche than exists in the winter.

I'm now looking to go back in early summer and thinking about the Ingles (because not only am I a social/community walker, I'm also a one-week walker) but am a bit worried that it will be like my winter camino, with very few people and very few places along the route to stop and take a drink/food break with others. Are my fears warranted, or not? Will I have sufficient company doing the Ingles in early summer?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi @ShoshTrvls

Like Rachel, I walked the Ingles last year in late August/early September. My observations were that it can be as social as you want to make it. Plenty of people and some of the Municipal Albergues were full (but was always able to find a bed where I wanted to stay).

Making friends and Camino buddies was not dissimilar to the CF. If you make the effort and are flexible you’ll easily find a Group.

Couple of nights I purposely stayed in out of the way Albergues and was the only Pilgrim. Other nights it was party central.

Distances weren’t as far as some CF legs but that didn’t mean there weren’t some challenging sections.

Ingles is a unique experience, hope you have a great time.

Buen Camino

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@ShoshTrvls , a good question. Whilst it's true that the Inglés is a quieter Camino that very much depends on when you're walking. I walked the first week of April last year expecting six to 12 people a day, as per reports here on the forum. What I failed to factor in was Semana Santa! It was crowded. The Inglés, like Saria or Lugo to Santiago is heavily walked during any period around long weekends or short holidays, especially Easter. And, like the Frances everything starts to open from the first of April.

You say early summer so the numbers are significantly higher. Last year around 3,000 walked in June, 3,500 in July. That's around 90 - 100 people per day!

The Inglés has excellent infrastructure, including cafe's. It can be as social or quiet as you want it. It's very easy to meet people even when it's quieter because you tend to congregate at the cafes and albergues at the end of the day, just like everywhere else. Because so much of the infrastructure (except albergues) exists for the 'civilian' population, like on the Frances it is relatively easy to walk either shorter or longer distances, i.e. off stage. Whilst a couple of days can be mildly challenging the standard stages are actually very manageable for the majority of people.

The only pinch point accommodation wise is Bruma. Partly because the leg from A Corona joins the leg from Ferrol there, more because accommodation is very limited. The private Albergue is often full around long weekends, public holidays etc, leaving just the small public one (22 beds). At Easter that had a que outside the door by 11:00 a.m. longer than capacity.
There is a hotel and a pension about 1 1/2 km away, during busy periods they can also be full. 3 x last year to my certain knowledge ( whilst either I or Friends were on the trail) people had to either taxi or walk an additional 10 kilometers to the next accommodation. Booking is something to consider if you are a slower walker or a later riser. But you will have no issues everywhere else.
I loved the Inglès, enjoy!

 

[D74]

So many great and helpful things have been written above about the Ingles. I will add that the Camino spirit and sense of community is very much alive on this short route, it was a welcome surprise when I walked it in early June last year. It's a lovely one week Camino. I added on Finisterre at the end too.

 

[LucVdB]

Hello. I just finished walking the Ingles. Started in Ferrol on Jan 3 and finished on Jan 7.
I can tell you it is very, very solitary. Saw nobody on the way. Had the Albergues all to myself, except for one night when 2 pelgrims doing their own version of the Camino arrived very late in Bruma.
Less fun was that almost no cafes or churches where open, so harder to get your credential stamped.
Was it a good idea? It depends, if you want to see some fellow pelgrims from time to time perhaps I should have walked later.

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Hello. I just finished walking the Ingles. Started in Ferrol on Jan 3 and finished on Jan 7.
I can tell you it is very, very solitary. Saw nobody on the way. Had the Albergues all to myself, except for one night when 2 pelgrims doing their own version of the Camino arrived very late in Bruma.
Less fun was that almost no cafes or churches where open, so harder to get your credential stamped.
Was it a good idea? It depends, if you want to see some fellow pelgrims from time to time perhaps I should have walked later.

Yes, this was pretty much my experience on my winter Portugues -- one of the pitfalls or benefits of a winter camino, depending on your nature. I'm glad I did it, but I don't see myself doing another winter camino. If/when (most likely when) I do the Ingles, it will be during the "season" for sure.

 

[Rachel from Seattle]

Hi @ShoshTrvls

Like Rachel, I walked the Ingles last year in late August/early September. My observations were that it can be as social as you want to make it. Plenty of people and some of the Municipal Albergues were full (but was always able to find a bed where I wanted to stay).

Making friends and Camino buddies was not dissimilar to the CF. If you make the effort and are flexible you’ll easily find a Group.

Couple of nights I purposely stayed in out of the way Albergues and was the only Pilgrim. Other nights it was party central.

Distances weren’t as far as some CF legs but that didn’t mean there weren’t some challenging sections.

Ingles is a unique experience, hope you have a great time.

Buen Camino

Sorry I missed you, Sid

 

[Rachel from Seattle]

@ShoshTrvls , a good question. Whilst it's true that the Inglés is a quieter Camino that very much depends on when you're walking. I walked the first week of April last year expecting six to 12 people a day, as per reports here on the forum. What I failed to factor in was Semana Santa! It was crowded. The Inglés, like Saria or Lugo to Santiago is heavily walked during any period around long weekends or short holidays, especially Easter. And, like the Frances everything starts to open from the first of April.

You say early summer so the numbers are significantly higher. Last year around 3,000 walked in June, 3,500 in July. That's around 90 - 100 people per day!

The Inglés has excellent infrastructure, including cafe's. It can be as social or quiet as you want it. It's very easy to meet people even when it's quieter because you tend to congregate at the cafes and albergues at the end of the day, just like everywhere else. Because so much of the infrastructure (except albergues) exists for the 'civilian' population, like on the Frances it is relatively easy to walk either shorter or longer distances, i.e. off stage. Whilst a couple of days can be mildly challenging the standard stages are actually very manageable for the majority of people.

The only pinch point accommodation wise is Bruma. Partly because the leg from A Corona joins the leg from Ferrol there, more because accommodation is very limited. The private Albergue is often full around long weekends, public holidays etc, leaving just the small public one (22 beds). At Easter that had a que outside the door by 11:00 a.m. longer than capacity.
There is a hotel and a pension about 1 1/2 km away, during busy periods they can also be full. 3 x last year to my certain knowledge ( whilst either I or Friends were on the trail) people had to either taxi or walk an additional 10 kilometers to the next accommodation. Booking is something to consider if you are a slower walker or a later riser. But you will have no issues everywhere else.
I loved the Inglès, enjoy!

Good point about Bruma. I’d make a reservation at the very nice private albergue to avoid disappointment. Quite a few upset pilgrims were turned away the day I was there.

 

[Simon B]

So far I've walked Sarria to Santiago in the summer, and Porrino to Santiago in the winter. And what I've learned about myself and the Camino is that I like the community/social aspects of the Camino and missed that on my winter Portugues walk. Not that I need the huge crowds of Sarria - Santiago, but definitely more people, more conversations, more stopping for cafe con leche than exists in the winter.

I'm now looking to go back in early summer and thinking about the Ingles (because not only am I a social/community walker, I'm also a one-week walker) but am a bit worried that it will be like my winter camino, with very few people and very few places along the route to stop and take a drink/food break with others. Are my fears warranted, or not? Will I have sufficient company doing the Ingles in early summer?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I walked in October a few years ago - very solitary - wonderful!!!!!

 

[Silencio Por Favor]

Done the Ingles in August 2018 with my with and daughter. We struck up conversation with a few people.

 

[trecile]

Hello. I just finished walking the Ingles. Started in Ferrol on Jan 3 and finished on Jan 7.
I can tell you it is very, very solitary. Saw nobody on the way. Had the Albergues all to myself, except for one night when 2 pelgrims doing their own version of the Camino arrived very late in Bruma.
Less fun was that almost no cafes or churches where open, so harder to get your credential stamped

I think that all the Camino routes are pretty solitary this time of year.

@ShoshTrvls is planning to go in early sunmer, so it will be a completely different experience to a winter Camino.

 

[HeidiL]

We walked at Easter. No pilgrims, apart from us.

 

[Bradypus]

I think that all the Camino routes are pretty solitary this time of year.

True. Even the last 100km of the Frances can be almost empty in January. I had two nights in Xunta albergues completely alone at Barbadelo and Santa Irene in January last year. And saw no other pilgrims on my final day from Santa Irene into Santiago.

 

[HJPZ]

I walked the Ingles mid-October 2023 and found it very solitary. Some days I didn’t see any other pilgrims. Those I did see were often in groups or wanting to keep to themselves. I also met very few English speakers which added to the isolation as my Spanish is limited. I did enjoy the solitude but would have enjoyed some company and conversation along the way!

 

[jflorez]

So far I've walked Sarria to Santiago in the summer, and Porrino to Santiago in the winter. And what I've learned about myself and the Camino is that I like the community/social aspects of the Camino and missed that on my winter Portugues walk. Not that I need the huge crowds of Sarria - Santiago, but definitely more people, more conversations, more stopping for cafe con leche than exists in the winter.

I'm now looking to go back in early summer and thinking about the Ingles (because not only am I a social/community walker, I'm also a one-week walker) but am a bit worried that it will be like my winter camino, with very few people and very few places along the route to stop and take a drink/food break with others. Are my fears warranted, or not? Will I have sufficient company doing the Ingles in early summer?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I haven't walked the Ingles, but I am also looking at this Camino next for the same factors you have said. Looking at the statistics from last year (source: Pilgrims office (https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/statistics-2/)), we can see that the Ingles saw 24k pilgrims or 5.5% of the total for the year. Less than I thought, but surprisingly (to me) slightly more than the Norte and Primitivo.

Of these 24k, roughly 2600, or just over 10%, were from a native English speaking country (which isn't to imply you couldn't make friends with non-English speakers, but for simplicity sake, I emphasize these here):


And we can further break down this 10% into a monthly distribution, which shows the shoulder months as the most popular for native English speakers.


But, statistics are just guides. I am looking forward to immerse myself in another Camino, and I think the Ingles is perfect. Hopefully you found this information interesting, if nothing else.

Buen Camino!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@jflorez , if you're also planning on walking early summer ( June/July), then your 10% of native English speakers is going to be in the vicinity of eight - ten people per day. But as you say it's just a statistic. On both the Inglès and the Primitivo last year (2023) English was definitely the common language for most. I walked at various times with Germans, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Americans, Canadians, Czechoslovakian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Irish and Italians. Oh, and met one Englishman.
Aside from the guy from Taiwan and quite a few Spanish people ( it was probably 50/50) everybody else spoke English. I hadn't expected to have social caminos but they very much were!

 

[jflorez]

@jflorez , if you're also planning on walking early summer ( June/July), then your 10% of native English speakers is going to be in the vicinity of eight - ten people per day. But as you say it's just a statistic. On both the Inglès and the Primitivo last year (2023) English was most definitely the common language for most. I walked at various times with Germans, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Americans, Canadians, Czechoslovakian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Irish and Italians. Oh, and met one Englishman.
Aside from the guy from Taiwan and quite a few Spanish people ( it was probably 50/50) everybody else spoke English. I hadn't expected to have social caminos but they very much were!

My experience has been the same. In 2021 when I walked the Frances, I was in a bubble of Germans and walked 90% of the time with English speaking Germans from Roncesvalles all the way to Muxia and Finisterre and had a great time. In 2018, I walked with mostly folks from the UK and Australia. You just never know what you'll get on the Camino, and I really like that.