Trabadelo->San Fiz de Seo->La Faba

[Liina]

Hi again!
It's two days before my plane departs (happy-as-I-can-be!) and I'm planning my walking a little bit around so I could see the ocean also. Got my Brierley book finally and here I came across two walking ways I don't want to miss - scenic route from Villafranca del Bierzo to Trabadelo and in the other side remote route (Dragonte, Villasinde).
I wouldn't trust myself to Dragonte because as little as I have read about it, it doesn't sound easy. But! How about if I start from Trabadelo and turn left to San Fiz de Seo and from there to Villasinde and finally to La Faba - is that doable?
Google maps says that it's about 20 km, but I don't know how hard is the route to Villasinde and from there back to main route.

I love mountains and even though it's just a km, I would love to see and walk it (if my knee approves it).

 

[whariwharangi]

Hi again!
It's two days before my plane departs (happy-as-I-can-be!) and I'm planning my walking a little bit around so I could see the ocean also. Got my Brierley book finally and here I came across two walking ways I don't want to miss - scenic route from Villafranca del Bierzo to Trabadelo and in the other side remote route (Dragonte, Villasinde).
I wouldn't trust myself to Dragonte because as little as I have read about it, it doesn't sound easy. But! How about if I start from Trabadelo and turn left to San Fiz de Seo and from there to Villasinde and finally to La Faba - is that doable?
Google maps says that it's about 20 km, but I don't know how hard is the route to Villasinde and from there back to main route.

I love mountains and even though it's just a km, I would love to see and walk it (if my knee approves it).

If you are going to take the high road then perhaps it would be best to take it from Villafranca.

There is nothing scenic about the camino from Villafranca to Trabadelo. The camino is yellow painted road shoulder separated from the old highway by a concrete barrier. It follows the bottom of a steep and narrow valley. The ambiance of the villages recalls the movie 'Deliverance' (okay, well, maybe not). the The new highway passes overhead in a couple of places.

I met someone at O'Cebreiro who had gone the high road. He said it had been a long day. (that may have been because we had snow)

 

[Liina]

There is nothing scenic about the camino from Villafranca to Trabadelo.

In Brierley's 2015 edition book there shows three ways to get from Villafranca to Trabadelo: on the left there is Dragonte, going straight ahead is the main route and on the right the so-called scenic route with more nature. That last one I'd like to see with my own eye - I've googled some pictures about it and it looks something I wouldn't want to miss.

Did you wrote about the main route - that it goes next to the old highway?

 

[GettingThere]

There is nothing scenic about the camino from Villafranca to Trabadelo

That may depend on the time of year and weather. We walked that route in mid-May on a warm Spring morning and thought Brierley's description did it a great disservice! There was hardly any traffic on the road, and all the way we walked alongside the river, burbling away to us, with beautiful shady trees overhead and the sun filtering through once it rose over the hills. We found it was a lovely walk, different from the hilly paths ahead but still very enjoyable (at least until my mother fell and hurt her leg, but that's another story! We were grateful for the flat terrain after that of course! )

I'm sure the higher routes are beautiful, but I wouldn't dismiss the valley. It has its own beauty.

Buen Camino!

 

[whariwharangi]

In Brierley's 2015 edition book there shows three ways to get from Villafranca to Trabadelo: on the left there is Dragonte, going straight ahead is the main route and on the right the so-called scenic route with more nature. That last one I'd like to see with my own eye - I've googled some pictures about it and it looks something I wouldn't want to miss.

Did you wrote about the main route - that it goes next to the old highway?

Brierley describes it as the alternate road route via N-VI.

 

[mspath]

After Vega de Valcarce which is west of Trabadelo the route is very pleasant leading up to O Cebreiro; I have walked it 10 times in all types of weather including heavy snow. At Ruitelan the simple Pequeno Potala is a GREAT overnight stop; Carlos and Luis are most gracious hosts. Follow the CV 125/1 to to Las Herrerias, and the CV125/15 to Laguna de Castilla where there is a marked junction with the walking path (left) and biking path (straight). Both arrive at the mythic/mystic village O Cebreiro but the wider biking path is easier and safer to follow in bad weather