Route ideas from Southampton

[SongKhonGair]

Hello, I was just reading an interesting post in this forum about a walk from Reading to Southampton. Which got me thinking about where one would go from there if the ultimate goal was Santiago de Compostela.

My wife and I are planning to do a Camino Frances in September / October 2024. We are in our early 60s and would go at our own pace, planning 45 but allowing 55 days to complete the CF. Which would still allow us (Schengen zone) time to start from elsewhere in France, possibly from Bordeaux, and walking to Santiago de Compostela via SJPP. Build up the road legs before tackling the Pyrenees.

Reading about, ahem, Reading to Southampton however has me considering other possibilities. Could we take a ferry from Southampton to Spain to continue on the Camino Ingles? We would still have time then to also complete a CF if we subsequently take a week "touristing" across the Spanish Atlantic coast to SJPP.

Or perhaps a ferry from Southampton to somewhere near Bordeaux to hook up with the original plan.

Walk from Southampton to Dover and ferry from there? Bournemouth? Train to somewhere for another interesting walk to a ferry port? Some of the travel shows we see in Australia are from the BBC, and those canals of yours are fascinating. Peaky Blinders was also educational!

I'd be interested to hear route ideas from local pilgrims / hikers. I will have a look at ferry options, but asking here might throw up something I hadn't considered.

Thank you.

 

[Corned Beef]

Ferry port to Spain is in Portsmouth a few miles east from Southampton.

If you go further east there is Newhaven to Dieppe in France for Paris. Then Dover as you have mentioned. Dover gives you the Vois Tours to Santiago or the Via Francigena to Rome. (Peter or James??)

You can walk from Southampton to Canterbury and then to Dover and then to Rome and then ....

No real limits, only time.

 

[OZAJ]

Check "The Old Way" Southampton to Canterbury. There is an online guide and maybe downloadable hard copy for us dinosaurs.

 

[Kathar1na]

As @Corned Beef says, no real limits although the choice of direct ferry connections from England to Spain are limited, and to France restricted to the north. www.directferries.co.uk has good overviews for ferry connections in general.

To Spain:


To France:

 

[Vacajoe]

Reading to Southampton to Portsmouth or just Reading to Portsmouth are both doable routes. The Confraternity of St James in London published a guide for this route, too. Only drawback is that nightly accommodations will run you 50-100£. Lovely route, though, with plenty of cultural and historic points of interest plus plenty of nature.

From Portsmouth you can ferry to Spain, but may want to look into taking it to Jersey Island where you can walk a trail around the island or perhaps to St Malo, France where it’s a short 2-3 days to Mont St Michel. If you are really into walking, there’s a path from there to SJPdP but that’s a long haul!

Finally, you can walk from Bayonne to SJPdP on the Nive Route, a lovely traipse through Pais Basco and the perfect warmup for crossing the Pyrenees.

Please note that England and Jersey are not part of the Schengen Area so it doesn’t count against your time there.

 

[SongKhonGair]

Ferry port to Spain is in Portsmouth a few miles east from Southampton.

If you go further east there is Newhaven to Dieppe in France for Paris. Then Dover as you have mentioned. Dover gives you the Vois Tours to Santiago or the Via Francigena to Rome. (Peter or James??)

You can walk from Southampton to Canterbury and then to Dover and then to Rome and then ....

No real limits, only time.

Thank you, your mention of Vois Tours led me to https://www.chemins-compostelle.com/en/vt
So many possibilities in France if we were not restricted by our 90 Schengen days! The Foothills Way from Montpelier to SJPP for a start...
I shall study that website in depth when I have the time, we are touristing our way around Portugal and Spain atm.

 

[SongKhonGair]

As @Corned Beef says, no real limits although the choice of direct ferry connections from England to Spain are limited, and to France restricted to the north. www.directferries.co.uk has good overviews for ferry connections in general.

To Spain:
View attachment 145210

To France:
View attachment 145216

Ah, those ferry routes to the San Sebastian / Basque Country area are interesting. We could probably forward our travel luggage from there before walking to Bayonne / SJPP for the CF. Worth looking into, thank you.

Even better, store it in Basque Country then collect it on the way home, travelling back "across the top" of Spain on the narrow-gauge railways.

A difficult part of planning all this is the travel luggage - we cannot check in our hiking packs for the long-haul flights, they are too delicate. The beauty of this forum is that the information we need re luggage storage etc. is out there somewhere!

 

[Ma1ko1urko]

Hi, I’m actually doing this trip early May and I’m planning to find a way in Southampton by simply asking around and then as a last option use ferry. My whole idea is to complete whole pilgrimage from UK via north France and whole France to Santiago oldest natural way as possible. Good luck with your planning.

 

[Corned Beef]

Hi, I’m actually doing this trip early May and I’m planning to find a way in Southampton by simply asking around and then as a last option use ferry. My whole idea is to complete whole pilgrimage from UK via north France and whole France to Santiago oldest natural way as possible. Good luck with your planning.

As I recall, the last pilgrims to leave Southampton by ship (from the Mayflower terminal) ended up in the US. Make sure you check where the ships are going.

 

[Vacajoe]

You’ll find plenty of ferries from Portsmouth to France, so consider walking to there after Southampton. It took us two days, but worth it.

 

[Ma1ko1urko]

As I recall, the last pilgrims to leave Southampton by ship (from the Mayflower terminal) ended up in the US. Make sure you check where the ships are going.

And wouldn't it be exciting but you're right, I will be definitely careful.

 

[SongKhonGair]

Reading to Southampton to Portsmouth or just Reading to Portsmouth are both doable routes. The Confraternity of St James in London published a guide for this route, too. Only drawback is that nightly accommodations will run you 50-100£. Lovely route, though, with plenty of cultural and historic points of interest plus plenty of nature.

From Portsmouth you can ferry to Spain, but may want to look into taking it to Jersey Island where you can walk a trail around the island or perhaps to St Malo, France where it’s a short 2-3 days to Mont St Michel. If you are really into walking, there’s a path from there to SJPdP but that’s a long haul!

Finally, you can walk from Bayonne to SJPdP on the Nive Route, a lovely traipse through Pais Basco and the perfect warmup for crossing the Pyrenees.

Please note that England and Jersey are not part of the Schengen Area so it doesn’t count against your time there.

This is a brilliant post, thank you @Vacajoe. I would not have thought of Jersey myself, and the Nive route does indeed seem a perfect warmup. With a bit of touristing in the NW of France in between.

I found a thread on the Nives route: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-voie-de-la-nive-aka-camino-roncesvalles.37872/ , and there are many other similar threads.

You are also from across the ocean @Vacajoe, albeit a different one! Do you travel from home with just your hiking gear? If not, how would / did you manage your travel luggage during these types of warm-up hikes? Reading to Southampton - Portsmouth and the "Jersey loop" should be easy enough, so I suppose my specific question is: Do you know if we can forward luggage from Bayonne to SdC?

Thanks again.

 

[Steven B]

Hi on 08 July I am catching the ferry from Poole to Jersey a few hours there then the Ferry to St Malo very late night arrival. Walking to Mont Saint Michel. Then train to Vezelay to start walking the Vezelay route to SJPdP. Not sure after that maybe the tunnel route to Santo Domingo still working on it.

 

[Vacajoe]

I love Jersey, St Malo, and MSM! Try to spend at least some time in each as a tourist - so much fascinating history! Did you secure a pilgrims room on MSM?

 

[Steven B]

I love Jersey, St Malo, and MSM! Try to spend at least some time in each as a tourist - so much fascinating history! Did you secure a pilgrims room on MSM?

Yes, have a secured a pilgrims room and very much looking forward to spending a night there. Never been to Jersey or MSM. Have been to St Malo before so will head out walking in the morning to Saint-Marcan overnight then to MSM.

 

[Vacajoe]

Definitely try to attempt mid-day Mass at the Abbye church - it’s free if you want to attend, no need to pay the entry price (though you’ll likely want to see the entire place which DOES require a ticket). During the day, MSM is just packed with tourists, but at night when they are all gone, it’s truly magical.