How tough/hard/steep is Camino Ingles?

[wendelart]

Hello,
I walked 2 camino's on my own and am fit as a fiddle, but my partner is not. He got cured from cancer over a year ago and is very quickly regaining his old strength and energy. Things are looking good regarding his health.
We hope to do a camino together next year, but most of the routes are too long and tough for him. Camino Ingles seems like a good alternative, he is strong enough to walk for only a week, so in length this camino seems perfect for him. But how many mountains, steep paths, etc. are there? Is it flat or do we have to climb a lot? If the route is very flat he walks faster than I do (I'm so proud on him!) but if the terrain is humpy-bumpy I doubt if he can manage.

Anyone here got any experience with the difficulty of this route?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can see profiles here:

http://www.mundicamino.com/ingles/r...uees=Trazado / Perfil&ingquees=Line / Outline

 

[wendelart]

Thanx! From what I understand there, the highest peekl is only 140 meter? That sounds very alright, not difficult at all!

 

[patgreen]

I think you might be just looking at stage one. If you look at the top right of the page you can select four stages. One of them up to 450 meters.

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you download Johnnie Walker's guide (CSJ - donativo) then you will get a better idea of the route. There are some steep hills which moved Terry to say that if I could manage the Inglés (Ferrol-Santiago) then I could manage the Primitivo!! The Coruña-Santiago route may be flatter but is too short for the Compostela. The gronze site has good profiles - not too closed up. We found the hill out of Pontedeume harder than the hill after Casa Julia, but we had broken the stage by an overnight stop with transport from and back to the Camino.

Lugo to Santiago is 100+kms and is probably flatter except at the end when on the Francés.
Lugo, San Roman, Casa de Ponti or Ferreira albergue, retrace 200mts approx to go on and join the Francés at Palas de Rei. Going on from Ferreira to Melide via As Seixas may also be OK but I haven't walked that part and Terry didn't notice it as hilly.

Edit:- If you check out our Return to the Camino - Camino Inglés blog (link below this post) you might get some idea of the terrain)
Buen Camino

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hello, ....how many mountains, steep paths, etc. are there? Is it flat or do we have to climb a lot? If the route is very flat he walks faster than I do (I'm so proud on him!) but if the terrain is humpy-bumpy I doubt if he can manage. Anyone here got any experience with the difficulty of this route?

Hi wendelart! Good to see you on the forum.
I can't help you at all ..... BUT .... I am doing both 'branches' of the Ingles starting May 16th, returning to UK June 4th. So if you keep in touch via this forum or direct e-mail, I'll let you know how I got on. I must admit I found the stage out of Ponte de Lima on the Portuguese quite demanding .... but I guess I'm a wimp!
Best wishes to both of you, and ..
Buen camino!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

"How hard is it?" is a bit like asking "How long is a piece of string?". What is hard for me might be easy for you.
The Ingles is not a really tough camino, compared to some of the thrillers I´ve done. But it does have a couple of sharp hills that can really get your attention, especially in bad weather. Slow and steady, though -- almost anyone can do it.
There are plenty of places to stop along this Way, and lots of nice locals, and food and drink of tip-top quality!

 

[Al the optimist]

I agree that the climb out of Pontedueme was very steep but thankfully not too long. I was doing it without poles and found my hands looking for my knees though! (I have never walked bare handed since that trip). I did the Betzanos to Bruma stage in one and found the long climb tiring and that night I had trouble sleeping because my feet were throbbing so much. Splitting the walk at Bar Julia sounds a very civilised solution to me, and I just might try it sometime. All in all though I really liked the Ingles. Compared to the Frances it's quite quiet and there are some lovely parts (apart from the first part in Ferrol and the entry to Santiago through an industrial estate).

 

[sillydoll]

Perhaps he would manage better walking shorter stages? We will be walking the Ingles doing 10km - 12km per day for 11 days from 10th June.
My husband is walking with us and he is not very fit! One lady has post-polio and tires easily but she can walk 10km quite easily. The fittest person in our group is a soon to be 90 year-old.

 

[Catarina Barreiros]

I think the Camino Portugues from Valença would be a great choice! 6 days walking with 20km each day.

 

[fraluchi]

[...] The fittest person in our group is a soon to be 90 year-old.

...and you'll have to watch him, lest he outruns the group (as he did occasionally last year)
Buen camino a todos!