Hi, Jo,
Unfortunately I won't be on the Vdlp when you are, but I just wanted to say buen camino -- and also, don't worry too much about not making connections with people ahead of time. I walked alone last May from Sevilla (single English speaking female, aged 60) and though I didn't run into a lot of people, I was never alone unless I wanted to be. I think that maybe last year the numbers were really low because people wanted to avoid the Holy Year crowds, but whatever it was, I rarely found huge groups in the albergues at the end of the day.
Though speaking Spanish helps (some of the closest friendships I developed were with Spaniards, who, ironically, frequently found themselves alone with no one to talk to in their own country), many of the non-Spaniards will speak English. I found lots and lots of German speakers (or "close-to-German-speakers" like Dutch, Belgian, Swiss, etc) and there were usually several English speakers in that group.
I wish you a wonderful walk, I think you will love it, it's pretty spectacular! Laurie