I have mixed feelings about the
Brierly guide. The elevation charts can be, to put it mildly, misleading. To put it severely, sometimes they are just plain wrong. Mileage between towns and landmarks is hit and miss, but due to Spanish Kilometers, I can't really blame
Brierly if he's off by a km or 2 here or there. But orientation and the sun compass thing of his maps... asinine. If you're out on the trail, no big deal. But they are useless when it comes to navigating in larger cities.
Also, the guide is severely lacking when it comes to albergue information. Other guides has info about what facilities were available, such as laundry, kitchen, wifi, etc.
Brierley's info wasn't nearly as detailed. Aslo, other guides had more information about what services were available each town along the way. (I should note that none of the these guides were in English.)
Mr. Brielry should be commended for his efforts to bring more people to the Camino. However, I think he is probably to blame for the bad reputation that some of the paths get, the Valcarlos route in particular. He said this route is "not recommended." Not recommended by who? Him? To illustrate his point, he puts a picture of a congested highway as a representation of the route. Yes, most of the route is on the road and you do need to be aware of traffic, especially after Valcarlos, but the views are still spectacular. And Valcarlos... what a beautiful little town. It is totally worth spending the night, especially if you want to start out slow. Also, I wonder how many towns have suffered because of pilgrims taking his stages as gospel instead of polite recommendations?