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Del Norte or Frances

ChrisT

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Last 100k of the French Way Nov 2017
Porto to Santiago Sept 2018
Morning All,

I have flights booked to Bilbao this Sunday 16th April returning on 5th May.

My plan was to get a bus to Burgos and walk to Leon - heading back to Bilbao and spend some time there with my other half. I have walked a few sections of the Camino Frances before and last time I finished in Burgos, so this made sense.

Having looked into it further, it seems like it might be a bit of a ball ache getting from Leon back to Bilbao, and my attention has been drawn to the Norte. I haven't booked anything other than my flights, and it would appear to be easier to walk from Bilbao for about 10 days and there looks to be a train that runs along the Northern coast (FEVE Train) to come back to Bilbao.

Has anyone walked from Bilbao and taken the train back and would you recommend it over the Burgos to Leon section of the Frances? I know its a bit subjective but a was just after people preferences / opinions.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Tincatinker said:
I'd walk it just to ride the FEVE back to Bilbao.

Ten days gets you to Llanes, Poo or Ribadasella, all on the FEVE
Click to expand...
I agree about the FEVE journey - a great experience provided you are not in a hurry to be anywhere in particular. I can't be the only Brit to have found this station sign funny enough to take a snapshot in passing. Probably the result of being brought up on a diet of The Two Ronnies and similar sophisticated humour....

 
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Just be aware that the FEVE line, though a peaceful way to travel, is restricted on the number of trains. The journeys are also slow.

To get to Bilbao on 4th May for your return on 5th will require you to leave Poo at 10:15 on 4th. Journey time of about 6 hours.

Timetables

www.renfe.com

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I walked the Norte to Bilbao then decided the weather wasn’t to my liking so I took a bus to Leon and walked to Santiago from there. I finished the Norte from Bilbao to Santiago the following year. The walk from Burgos to Leon, if you’ve never done it, is nice too. Personally I prefer caminos where there are less people, and the Meseta tends to have less pilgrim traffic than other parts of the Camino Frances. The scenery of both routes is beautiful. Of course the meseta has more Camino related infrastructure too.
 
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Thanks @Bradypus that's made the decision an easy one!Had I known there was a train station called Poo I could travel back from I wouldn't have had to ask the question!

Camino Del Norte it is!

Thanks All!
 
Thanks @dbeatriceb

The weather was another factor, I'm no too sure how reliable the long range forecast is but it looks pretty good in Bilbao from Sunday on wards so with that in mind I'm going to give the North a go.

Can I ask, is the terain quite tough from Bilbao in terms of ups and downs? I have had a look at Gronze and it doesn't look to bad. Also - is it well way marked?

Thanks, Chris.
 
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