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Derby (UK) to Santiago Help!!!

Greenpanda

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2016 Camino Frances
Having walked several caminos now I'm seriously thinking of 'the ultimate' Camino by foot from my house in Derby to Santiago. So my question is....has anyone done anything similar before from their house in the UK and if so, can we talk please?
Obviously the Spain bits fine and no doubt I could work out a route in the UK but France seems a bit daunting?. I know there are some official routes starting Paris way which I could pick up but how and where?
Any thoughts from anyone most gratefully received. I'm looking at April 2021 as I've got the Nord to do next autumn.
 
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Hi Greenpanda,

check out the la voi de tours route (also known as the Paris or Tours route) on the forum here

I understand that there is a French national cycle route between Calais and Paris that is walkable too.

I am considering walking from my home in Brighton one day, but I would be taking the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe.

Happy planning
Davey
 
Hi,

It seems you're a bit worried that the route through France might be daunting. It doesn't have to be. There are lot of ways that lead to Santiago. See the map below. If you choose to walk one of the more eastern routes through France, you don't have to cross a lot of mountains. Especially if you take the 'coastal' route through Nantes and Bordeaux (nice wines).

Hope this helps.

1565704464624.png
 
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A few years ago I walked from my home in west Wales almost to SJPDP in two stages and then returned to walk from SJPDP to Santiago as my third stage. I made up my own route from my home near Swansea to Cardiff, Wales Coast Path to Chepstow, footpaths through Bristol to Bath then the Kennet and Avon canal to Pewsey before heading south mostly on very minor roads to Portsmouth. Ferry to St Malo. Canal and river towpaths to Saint Nazaire. Mostly minor roads south to Soulac. Then the Voie Littorale along the Aquitaine coast to Bayonne.

If that all sounds rather complicated that is probably because I pieced the route together to allow me to pass through the small French coastal town of Pornic where my grandfather is buried in a military cemetery. I do not find walking on tarmac a problem and many of the rural roads in France were virtually traffic free. France has a large network of long distance walking routes - Grandes Randonnees - which might be useful for you. There is also an official mapping agency similar to the UK's Ordnance Survey with excellent online maps showing the GR routes if you choose the appropriate layers and zoom level.


 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Having walked several caminos now I'm seriously thinking of 'the ultimate' Camino by foot from my house in Derby to Santiago. So my question is....has anyone done anything similar before from their house in the UK and if so, can we talk please?
Obviously the Spain bits fine and no doubt I could work out a route in the UK but France seems a bit daunting?. I know there are some official routes starting Paris way which I could pick up but how and where?
Any thoughts from anyone most gratefully received. I'm looking at April 2021 as I've got the Nord to do next autumn.
A variant would be to walk from Derby to Plymouth. Plymouth was one of the few ports licenced for pilgrims and there is a memorial and shell on the wall near the old harbour. From Plymouth you could then travel as a foot passenger to Santander and walk to Santiago. Several choices of route as it links from the Norte to the Primitivo through Oviedo.
@TerryB walked from home (started in Exeter at the cathedral) to Santiago via Plymouth so it can be done via that route
Buen Camino
 
A variant would be to walk from Derby to Plymouth. Plymouth was one of the few ports licenced for pilgrims and there is a memorial and shell on the wall near the old harbour. From Plymouth you could then travel as a foot passenger to Santander and walk to Santiago. Several choices of route as it links from the Norte to the Primitivo through Oviedo.
@TerryB walked from home (started in Exeter at the cathedral) to Santiago via Plymouth so it can be done via that route
Buen Camino

I chose to come back by the Santanter to Plymouth and then to Roscoff ferry after having made my own way from home on the North coast of Brittany along the French coast and the Norte to Santiago.

I do not know about the UK, but if you take the ferry to St. Malo, there is now a marked official way from the Mont St Michel which takes you to Tours I think. You should be able to find something on the website of the Association Bretonne des Amis de St Jacques.
 
Hi,

It seems you're a bit worried that the route through France might be daunting. It doesn't have to be. There are lot of ways that lead to Santiago. See the map below. If you choose to walk one of the more eastern routes through France, you don't have to cross a lot of mountains. Especially if you take the 'coastal' route through Nantes and Bordeaux (nice wines).

Hope this helps.

View attachment 62420
Do you not mean "more western" routes?
 
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I chose to come back by the Santanter to Plymouth and then to Roscoff ferry after having made my own way from home on the North coast of Brittany along the French coast and the Norte to Santiago.

I do not know about the UK, but if you take the ferry to St. Malo, there is now a marked official way from the Mont St Michel which takes you to Tours I think. You should be able to find something on the website of the Association Bretonne des Amis de St Jacques.
Thank you Tia, I am coming to the conclusion slowly that this may be my best route and I am researching this. I want to walk a lot in France but not from Calais to Paris. I think I can get a ferry from Portsmouth to Saint Marlow.

Peter

Peter
 
A few years ago I walked from my home in west Wales almost to SJPDP in two stages and then returned to walk from SJPDP to Santiago as my third stage. I made up my own route from my home near Swansea to Cardiff, Wales Coast Path to Chepstow, footpaths through Bristol to Bath then the Kennet and Avon canal to Pewsey before heading south mostly on very minor roads to Portsmouth. Ferry to St Malo. Canal and river towpaths to Saint Nazaire. Mostly minor roads south to Soulac. Then the Voie Littorale along the Aquitaine coast to Bayonne.

If that all sounds rather complicated that is probably because I pieced the route together to allow me to pass through the small French coastal town of Pornic where my grandfather is buried in a military cemetery. I do not find walking on tarmac a problem and many of the rural roads in France were virtually traffic free. France has a large network of long distance walking routes - Grandes Randonnees - which might be useful for you. There is also an official mapping agency similar to the UK's Ordnance Survey with excellent online maps showing the GR routes if you choose the appropriate layers and zoom level.


This is brilliant information Bradypus and I applaud you for the walk you did. It must have been a brilliant experiance and one I want when I do it. How long did it take you overall?

Peter
 
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Hi Greenpanda,

check out the la voi de tours route (also known as the Paris or Tours route) on the forum here

I understand that there is a French national cycle route between Calais and Paris that is walkable too.

I am considering walking from my home in Brighton one day, but I would be taking the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe.

Happy planning
Davey
Thanks Davey.

It's looking more and more like Portsmouth to St Marlow now. But it's early days and plenty more investigation.

Peter
 
A variant would be to walk from Derby to Plymouth. Plymouth was one of the few ports licenced for pilgrims and there is a memorial and shell on the wall near the old harbour. From Plymouth you could then travel as a foot passenger to Santander and walk to Santiago. Several choices of route as it links from the Norte to the Primitivo through Oviedo.
@TerryB walked from home (started in Exeter at the cathedral) to Santiago via Plymouth so it can be done via that route
Buen Camino
In a similar way, you could take the Plymouth to Roscoff ferry and follow the western routes through France. Just depends how much walking you want to do.
 
How long did it take you overall?

Can't remember exactly. Roughly 10 weeks in total but spread over a couple of years. It took about three weeks in autumn to get as far as Redon. By that point the weather was turning chilly and windy and I went home for the winter. I returned the next spring and took another three weeks from Redon to Bidarray (about 20km from SJPDP) where I slipped a spinal disc 🤬🤬🤬 That put an end to things for a few months until I used a couple of spare days on an Interrail pass to return and walk the final 20km to SJPDP. Then a year or so later I came back and walked from SJPDP to Santiago over 28 days.
 
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I strongly recommend the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo.
 
@Bradypuss I too love the geoportail link. Thank you so much. I've been looking for something like this for ages.
 
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