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Walking from Gijón to Oviedo: First Stage of Primitivo Route

DJO Camino 2022

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I am planning to walk the Primitivo in 2024 and thought I would start at Gijón as it is easily accessed from
Madrid. I would fly into Madrid from Canada. Has anyone had experience walking a route from Gijón to Oviedo (27 km) as a first stage to The Primitivo rather than beginning in Villaviciosa?
 
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The only real problem with that is that the waymarks will all be pointing the other way. However, you could easily find a GPS app such as Wikiloc to help you. The other problem, of course, is hearing exactly the same ´wrong way!´ joke from every pilgrim you meet coming the other direction off the Salvador.

But Oviedo is also easy to get to. There is a new AVE connection from Madrid, so just as easy to get to as Gijón (and a rather nicer city too).. Oviedo is also the ´official´ starting point of the Primitivo. The walk from Villaviciosa is just a branch off the Norte.
 
Thank you for this information. Some Primitivo books suggest starting from Villaviciosa. I initially was planning this as my start of my camino adding two more days to the front end but transport there seemed more of a challenge than Gijón. In light of your advice it appears Oviedo can be easily accessed from Madrid airport. Is this also true of Villaviciosa?
 
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Dick's advice would be true if you were following a Camino, and that's what I thought you were getting at initially, too. Following a Camino would require you to backtrack to Villaviciosa or push onto Avilés, and then connect inland to Oviedo. But I saw the distance you mentioned, and this made me wonder if there's a more direct route for Gijón to Oviedo, and it looks like there is--the GR100.

When I look that up on Wikiloc, though, it still shows up as 40km: https://eu.wikiloc.com/ibilbide-ciclismo/oviedo-a-gijon-por-gr100-1-xixon-puertu-payares-17909305

More direct for sure than either of the Camino options, and I would guess like most GRs the red/whites are workable in either direction, but not 27km. Are you just thinking of following the highway?
 
Initially I used a distance app which did follow the highway from Gijón to Oviedo which is not what I would want to do. It appears that either Villaviciosa to Oviedo is the better way. From Madrid to Villaviciosa via public transport poses a bit of multiple transferring.
 
Villaviciosa is on the Camino del Norte. A lot of people follow the Norte as far as Villaviciosa then hive off to switch to the Primitivo which traditionally starts at Oviedo. But if you are not following the Norte there is no particular reason to go to either Villaviciosa or Gijon. I think it might make life simpler to go directly to Oviedo and start from there. This is widely recognised as the first camino. Oviedo is a historic town, capital of the Asturians, and an interesting place to visit.
 
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I'm a big fan of the map app mapy.cz, and used it when I did some alternatives on the Camino del Norte this year because they have good directions for walking. According to mapy, it's 36 km between Gijón and Oviedo. I did find that mapy overestimated the time that I would need to walk.


 
If you want to go to Gijon - it's a pleasant city - you can also take a train to Oviedo. There are 3 trains an hour almost all day as Oviedo is the hub of the Cercanias (Commuter) trains in the Asturias.

But for cost and practicality purposes, going through Madrid is the better option. It's just the way Spain has developed.
 
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I would second heading straight to Oviedo, it's a beautiful city to spend a bit of time in if you can.

I have this dream of one day starting the Primitivo from the top of Monte Naranco under the sunrise and the Christ the Redeemer statue thing overlooking this beautiful city. If you do have time to go up there you definitely should!
 
I third that. As a Canadian I just discovered that often we go via Lufthansa via Frankfurt to Madrid, and there is actually a direct flight from Frankfurt to the Oviedo airport which is then 45 minutes bus ride to Oviedo proper. But also if you choose to do the walking that is good too!
 
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I cannot resist recommending that if you have an extra week, consider starting in Leon (easy to get to from Madrid) and walking to Oviedo from there. It was one of my favourite parts of my Camino this past summer (where I just started walking from Madrid).
 
DJO Camino 2022 said:
From Madrid to Villaviciosa via public transport poses a bit of multiple transferring.
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Certainly does, and pointless as Villaviciosa is just the point where a side path breaks off from the Norte to get to Oviedo which is where the Primitivo begins.
David Tallan said:
consider starting in Leon (easy to get to from Madrid) and walking to Oviedo from there
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Which I consider to be an excellent suggestion, i.e. the Salvador. A stunning walk.
 
dick bird said:
Certainly does, and pointless as Villaviciosa is just the point where a side path breaks off from the Norte to get to Oviedo which is where the Primitivo begins.

Which I consider to be an excellent suggestion, i.e. the Salvador. A stunning walk.
Click to expand...
Thanks guys for this. This poses an interesting and enticing option. I will look up the details regarding the San Salvador Camino. Due to time restrictions I may have to trade off the Finisterre-Muxía segment for this extension to happen and simply close at Santiago as I did in 2022.
 
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I plan to start in Oviedo this April. But I will be heading to Gijon beforehand. I visited in 2006 and really want to see if a cake shop specialising in marzipan cakes is still there. I still think of these cakes 18 years later (I love marzipan!). After looking in to it, I am training it from Gijon to Oviedo.
I would love to walk the Salvador as I have heard it is excellent, but I have some time restrictions. Buen Camino
 
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