Avoiding Brierley stages?

[Poshlloyd]

Hi there,
With my pace and the rough distance I plan on covering each day, I'm not looking to reach my destination before 4pm each day. With all the posts I've read concerning 'race for beds' and a very busy year on the Camino, should I plan to avoid the Brierley stages altogether?

At present I hit about 60% of them.

Thanks,

Buen Camino

 

[gonedigginaz]

Hello,
I have been walking the Camino Frances since April 19 and have rarely stayed at the final destination of each stage he has listed. If I did, I would have missed some awesome albergues along the way. I see and hear many stories of pilgrims rushing to get to the city of each days destination that have muscle strain, dehydration, tendonitis, blisters and have visited the hospitals and gotten the advice to rest 2-4 days. Listen to your body it will tell you when it has had enough for the day.
Buen Camino

 

[efdoucette]

If you don't do some of the Brierley stops you will also miss out. It's a personal choice, I decided to do a mixture, depending on how I felt and where my travelling family were staying. But I walked in Sept/Oct where there seemed to be a bed anywhere I decided to stay.

 

[Poshlloyd]

That's good news. I'm walking from the start of September.
Thanks

 

[CaminoJohn]

As with any guide there are good and bad points. No need to stick to any particular one! Read them all if you have time and decide what you want to see and experience. ( I personally find it odd that Brierley skips Pamplona!) I found this book to be amazingly interesting and key to seeing what I wanted to see.
http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrimage-Road-S ... 0312254164

 

[Pieces]

no need to plan before you are there unless on a rigid time scheduele, and even then don't be too rigid in the plans...

walk as far or short as you want on each particular day...

 

[KiwiNomad06]

There's nothing 'sacred' about the Brierley stages- or the ones on the very helpful sheets given out by the Pilgrim Office in SJPP. I used those sheets as a guide to where the albergues were, and was then able to make a decision about where I wanted to stop each day. This had as much to do with the temperature/weather as anything, as well as how my body felt.

One of the issues you will face if you finish at 4pm each day is getting your laundry washed and dry again.
Margaret

 

[whariwharangi]

I walked in the off season. Lots of Albergues were closed. Brierley stages tend to have you stop at larger centers where the Albergues remain open all year.

If the race for beds is a concern, there are many sources recommending that you walk Via Plata or Camino Norte in order to take pressure off the Camino Frances.

 

[KinkyOne]

I was walking with Brierley's in my backpack, but wasn't walking by it. Just use it and that's all. Feel yourself and stop wherever you feel to, calculate the distances, use the infos etc. but all the rest is just YOU

Ultreia!

 

[tpmchugh]

Walked from Pamplona to Castrojeriz end of March and seldom completed what I referred to as Brierly days. I stopped where I had to, that is, when the legs were screaming enough is enough. I used the guide to see where the albergues along the route were that I could stop at before the end of his section and to judge the rise of the road at times, I found some of the hills were a bit understated by him. Going back 5th September to Bilbao then on to Castrojeriz via Burgos by bus on the 6th and start walking again on the 7th. Once again, Brierly will stay in the rucksack and only come out at night to help me plan where I can stop when my body says so, not the Brierly guide. Afterall, it is only a good guideline, not a rule book to misquote the Pirates of the Caribbean lol. BTW found a lovely albergue in Viana that is mentioned in neither Brierly or the list of albergues printed out for pilgrims. Its called Ivar and is just as you enter the town

 

[frasert]

Yes everyone raved about that first albergue in Viana!
I heard lots of complaints about the only albergue in Larrasona which is one of his stages as is San Juan de Ortega is fairly grim!

 

[robhay60]

I loved Brierley's book, written with such passion and enthusiasm.. But its just his "take" on the "Camino" Its not Gods word and its not meant to be the final word and guide on how one should complete their Camino.. Its a guide book, a reference guide and certainly for me was a great introduction to the "Camino " before i walked it last July...
As always we are going to make our own personal discoveries along the "way". I dont want to know it all before i go. Thats the beauty of it, thats part of the mystery that is the "Camino". No one book contains the truth of what and how the "Camino"is or should be. Its only when we are out there following the path that all or part there-of will be revealed..Buen Camino :arrow:

 

[Deleted member 12253]

The reason the Vianna albergue is not on list, it only opened in march this year, I was one of their first customers, hated it, again it's your camino and not everybody wants same thing. Loved walking in snow in mountains and meseata was heave n, walked 35 kegs most days, too cold too slow down Buen camino

 

[Poshlloyd]

Sorry for misunderstandings, I am walking my own camino and have had a rough look at possible stages. I am not following any guidebook but my own path and 'guidance system'. I will walk when I wish to walk and stop when m body tells me, or I decide.

The point I was getting at, was actually actively trying to avoid Brierley stages due to the massive volume of pilgrims.

Thanks for all your posts and individual views on the camino, because that what each person's way is, 'individual'.

 

[johnnyman]

Avoiding the Brierley stages is highly recommended! By me, anyway. I stayed in some wonderful little albergues before I landed at the municipal albergue in Logrono. A nice place, but so busy, busy, busy and crowded, so many people rushing around, crammed in like sardines. The next day, my new walking friends and I had no energy, little desire to walk, and we finally figured out that it was all the negative energy from the hot, crowded albergue the night before. After that, we avoided the end stages and either stopped before or after. Almost always, we discovered beautiful, calm, peaceful places that made for most pleasant stays ...

 

[Poshlloyd]

Thanks jonnyman, I've started looking at towns and villages before and after Brierley stages. Not planning a solid day by day plan, but I'm giving myself an idea of the places I'd 'prefer' to stay. Especially, as you said, towards the final approach to Santiago. I really don't want to have to resort to a regime of day/morning before booking ahead!

 

[greggfr]

Hi there, have the Brierly book, looks to be a very good guide.
My Camino will restart/continue in Saintes, France in 2 weeks. I plan on some rough camping through France as hostels and hotels are more expensive than Spain.
I am starting with 20 flat-ish Kilometers per day. I've already started from my house to Aulnay de Saintonge and onto St Jean d'angely.
Should I take the prescribed route marked by white and red stripes or follow my instincts? The route in Charante Maritime is well marked by stone pillars, but it is a little too winding for me. I want to catch the supermarkets and boulangers.
The estuary road to Bordeaux looks interesting as it passes through good regions for wine.
I am planning to collect a horse 100K south of Bordeaux and ride with a friend for 2 weeks, a new experience for me.
I can't wait to escape the bad weather, north of England.
I know I have drifted off posted topic, but there is no Brierly guide 'yet' for the Tours/Paris route and the only guide I can find is 10 years old.

Buen Camino

 

[annakappa]

I think that what many people haven't realized is, that not only the Brierley's guide, but most others use the same formula as regards the famous stages. That also goes for all the web sites. What does that mean? Loads of Pilgrims "go by the book" ( doesn't matter which one - each to his own language). That makes for one great crowd rushing for beds at each of these so-called stages.
Just take it easy, stop when YOU feel like stopping, not what the guide book suggests and you will enjoy some lovely, very special Albergues, run so often, by some very special hospitaleros. Believe me, they are the ones that make your Camino something special. Anne

 

[ausmarko]

Some of my best stays were in Albergues in towns beyond the Brierley recommendations.
Some of the little Albergue's in out of the way places were a lot more communal and group meals were a highlight. A mixture of both was good but would avoid the mega Albergues next time around.

 

[Poshlloyd]

Worked out a rough stage by stage avoiding all Brierley stages after 1/3 way through. As I'll be getting in after 2 each day, I can't face worrying about a room.

 

[Sarahk]

It's much better to not follow the stages in the book. You are on your own walk across Spain and can stay wherever you want. I loved the Brierley book. I'd look through the options of towns to stay in and choose what looked good. There are lots of little gems hiding out in the middle of the stages (Granon, for example.)
I didn't find the Camino to be crowded last summer. I usually walked in solitude. The only times there were numbers of people around were when leaving a large city in the morning because of all the new people starting the Camino.
The worst part of the Camino is from Sarria to Santiago. That part is very crowded and changes the tone of the Camino. If you can avoid school holidays, all the better! However, there are a few beautiful rural alburges right off the Camino that were a highlight of the whole walk.
Buen Camino,
Sarah

 

[efdoucette]

To ignore the Brierley stages you would miss evenings in Puente La Reina, Logrono, Burgos, Leon, Mazarife, Astorga, O'Cebreiro .... That would be a big miss in my opinion. I'd recommend mixing it up between some Brierley stages and some non.

 

[Poshlloyd]

To ignore the Brierley stages you would miss evenings in Puente La Reina, Logrono, Burgos, Leon, Mazarife, Astorga, O'Cebreiro .... That would be a big miss in my opinion. I'd recommend mixing it up between some Brierley stages and some non.

I see your point. I'm thinking that I'll aim to stay anywhere during most of the Camino, then actively avoid Brierley stages after Sarria!