By 8am we left Lavra and rejoined the board walk along the coast. Blue skies and the sea breeze was still there, making it again pleasant walking.
The Camino was quiet this morning, it wasn’t until we stopped for breakfast, 4km in before we saw any pilgrims.
Red Shirt Today
We had left the industrial outskirts now of Porto swapping them for seaside villages. We made great progress and by 11am we covered 14km to arrive in Vila do Conde. Noticeable by its star shaped sea fort guarding the estuary.
We called in a bar opposite to have lunch and a beer. James was in a quandary as to stick with the coastal route or follow me inland to the central route.
In the end he decided to stick to the coast. It reminded me of my decision to have a rest day in Sarria on my Camino Frances. It was difficult to part ways with your walking buddies.
At 1pm we donned our packs and continued on our own Caminos. I had to back track a kilometre to join the bridging route that connects the two.
The markings were difficult to spot as they had severely faded by the Sun and clearly it had been a while since they last saw a paintbrush. I was constantly scanning the usual places; lampposts, curbs, trees, walls, backs of road signs and barriers, for the paled yellow arrows.
My vigilance paid off as I made it safely to the central route, joining it at Arcos. It was very hot going and all by the road. There were some hairy bits, like crossing a single track bridge, that was quite busy with traffic.
For about 2km of it, the road was being resurfaced and the freshly laid tarmac was radiating the heat up at me, thus it was hot from above and below.
I made it into Arcos at 4pm where I was planning on staying, however I found there only to be hotels here. The next stop was Sao Pedro, where there was only one albergue, a donativo as well!
Thirty minutes later I arrived. Turns out this is the oldest albergue on the Camino Portugués, according to the host. A little bit of Camino magic, had I stopped at Arcos, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of stopping here.
It is good to be back on the Camino. I arrived at Porto Cathedral at 9am to collect my credential and have a look around inside. There was a small queue of pilgrims that quickly moved.
I took my time, to take in the artwork, decorated painted walls, the stone masonry and the elaborate alters. I climbed the tower to get views of the city.
As I exited I met a pilgrim called James from London, who is walking the coastal route. As I would be starting on the same route we walked together.
From the cathedral you descend to the river and follow this to the coast. There was light cloud cover and the sea breeze made it perfect for walking.
We passed under the many bridges that connect Porto to Vila Nova and out to the lighthouse that marks the entrance to the sea break into Porto.
I had a walk out to it, enjoying the cool sea spray. From here I could see down the coast where I spied a bar. Perfect as it was time for lunch.
After fuelling up we continued along the promenade, crossed over a port and joined a wooden board walk. This was the terrain for the remainder of the day.
After stopping for a drink at another beach side bar, we made it to our destination. Turns out it isn’t an albergue, it is a campsite with glamping pods!
After showering and chores we had dinner at a local restaurant before retiring for the night.
Only a few days to go before I take my first steps on the Camino Portugués. I thought I would share my kit list.
Clothing
3x Base Layer T-shirts (I’ve gone for different colours this time so it doesn’t look like I haven’t changed – but now I suspect you will be looking out for how often I do!)
Mid Layer Zipped Fleece
Buttoned Walking Shirt (for the evenings)
Down Jacket (new addition since I had to buy one on route last year)
2x Zip Off Leg Trousers
3x Underwear
3x Pair of Trainer Socks
Pair of Thin Gloves
Walking Gear
33L Backpack
Trail Running Trainers
Walking Sandals
Trail Running Gaiters
Poncho
Snood
2x Walking Poles
1L Water Bottle
Sunglasses
Sun Hat
GPS Watch (to track my route)
Umbrella (new addition, I bought one for the last leg last year and wish I had it from the start)
Albergue Gear
One Season Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Bag Liner (new addition for those nights too hot for a sleeping bag)
Head Torch with Red Light
X-Large Travel Towel (I Learnt my lesson with having medium size from last year)
Spork
Ear Plugs
Toilet Paper
Toiletry Bag
Toothpaste & Toothbrush
Roll on Deodorant
Nail Scissors
Bar of Soap with Lather Bag
Razor
First Aid and Blister Treatment
Iodine
Sun Screen
Imodium
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen Gel
Bandage
Kinesiology Tape
Plasters
Hand sanitiser
Face Mask (just in case some places are still twitchy about covid)
Cork Massage Ball (I had bought one for last year but I forgot to pack it!)
Miscellaneous
Mobile Phone
Power Bank (another invaluable piece of kit, plug sockets can be scarce in some albergues)
European Multi USB Plug and charging cables (saves on weight not having an adapter)
Selfie Stick
Pocket Knife
Travel Journal
Travel Guide
Travel Documents
Cereal Bars
Rucksack Travel Bag (as my gear will go in the luggage hold, it worked well keeping all together)
It looks like a lot of kit when listed this way, but having them all laid out, it feels like I’m missing something! However it is almost identical to what I took last year.
There was a veteran pilgrim I met on the Camino, who provided me with some great advice along the way. I had some really good and meaningful conversations with him; he even gave me advice on how to cope with life post pilgrimage.
There was one thing he said to me that stuck: “When you return home, the Camino will fade and your life will move on”.
I think there is some truth to this, how often do you recall your last holiday? If I asked you what is your most memorable excursion? How long ago was it? And how much do you think about it? If you can’t answer those in a heartbeat, you may need to book yourself on a new adventure?!
My friend’s statement however doesn’t seem to have applied to me (then again, it’s not been 12 months). There has not been a single day since reaching Fisterra, that I haven’t thought about the Camino. The experience is constantly on my mind, even verging on an obsession!
If only I could have 6 weeks annual leave every year, I would be spending it walking across Spain. For those who haven’t read up or undertaken the Camino, you will think I’m crazy for wanting to take this 500 mile trek on a regular basis.
For those in the know, you will get why I’m dusting off my Salomon Trailsters 2, to walk the 160 mile (260Km) route from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. The guide book reckons 10 days. I have booked 21 off, so I have the option to go to the coast again, or I may take a slow pace and enjoy the scenery. My second pilgrimage will start on the 16th of August, 2022.
This journey will present me with new challenges, the main one being the heat. To fit in with my colleagues leave requests, August was the only time for me to take three weeks off work. I envision plenty of pre-dawn starts to avoid the Portuguese Sun!
The Camino Portugués is the second most popular route to Santiago, however there is a dip in August due to the heat. I am hoping this will be to my advantage, as I preferred the less crowded days on the trail.
I also think I will have to be a little more organised in reserving beds in the albergues, it is unlikely I would be able rock up and find a free bed this time.
The ‘Camino Ninja’ app is a must for every pilgrim. I leaned on this heavily last year, it has all the common routes in Spain and Portugal. A very comprehensive app giving information on albergues and amenities for the location you wish to stop at.
I used it to pick my stage ends, contact the albergues and plan my rest stops for the day. A very valuable app for every pilgrim.
There is not much I need to add to my kit list, only small refinements. One being I’ll be leaving my inflatable camping mat and I will be packing my down jacket. You may think why the jacket? But I didn’t expect to need it last year and there were some very cold mornings!
The Camino Portugués is unique in that there are two routes you can take, the coastal path or the central path. I’m leaning towards the central route but the advantage of the cooler winds from the coast are appealing. I could do a mixture of both routes: I’ll decide closer to the time.
I’ll be blogging the adventure again, so you can follow me as I make my way through Portugal and return to that special city, Santiago de Compostela. It’s safe to say, I’m extremely excited, I feel like a child leading up to Christmas!
During the trek my brother made a video blog of the journey, which he has been inspired from my blog to post on the internet. He has uploaded it to Youtube, so you can view it, it is a little raw, no editing, but sometimes those are the best! Check it out and give him a like!
We set of from Braunston just before 1100h with another overcast sky keeping the temperature down. From the Admiral Nelson, the route follows the Grand Union canal to the bottom lock, where it crosses it and up into the village.
There was plenty of activity on the locks this morning, seemingly the holiday season for narrow boats is in full swing.
The way leaves Braunston along a bridle path and across fields to the little picturesque village of Ashby St. Ledger.
The path leads past the church following a cattle farm track. Either side there are electric fences. We lost sight of the markers and too busy chatting forgetting to check the map, resulting in us unknowingly deviating from the route.
As I carefully unhooked an electric wired gate, the farmer came over and kindly pointed us in the right direction.
Back on the path, we went under the railway line and over the A5 briefly rejoining the Grand Union canal. Spying a picnic bench, we stopped for our lunches.
From here you follow a quick succession of locks before cutting across a field and under the M1 motorway.
Eventually you pass through the little village of Watford, over more fields, under another railway line and through a freshly harvested field with towering wind turbines whirring overhead.
The route then follows a corn field (we have now passed through all the common crop fields on this journey) and up into West Haddon, our halfway point of the day.
We stopped at the ‘Pytchley Inn’ for a cold drink giving our legs a little rest. I checked over the map to see we would be shortly ascending the first, fairly steep hill of the day, ‘Honey Hill’.
There is an alternative route that bypasses it, so I gave Hannah the option, but she thought it would be cheating. We downed our drinks and continued on.
The route from West Haddon crosses fields behind the church into the little hamlet of Winwick. As we left, we caught our first glimpse of Honey Hill, which looked daunting to Hannah, prompting the response “are those, those f@£#ing hills?!” (This had me giggling)
As we got closer and began climbing, taking it one step at a time, we found it really wasn’t that bad. Before we knew it, we were on top. Here there is a stone with a plaque commemorating the opening of Honey Hill on the Jurassic Way.
Descending the hill was causing Hannah’s knees to bother her. It was now I taught her the technique of using walking poles. She soon got the hang of the coordination, easing her discomfort.
We descended into Elkington rejoining the Grand Union canal once again. The route follows this for a couple of kilometres before the last hill of the day, ‘Hamplow Hill’
This hill is wooded which thankfully gave shade from the sun as we ascended. Hannah’s energy was running low now, we had already done the distance covered in our last stage; this now is the furtherest she has walked in one session!
Hemplow Hill
Once over the top, we passed through a field of sheep, with one brave enough to approach us to have its head scratched! The route then joins a single track road for 2km into Welford, our stage end.
Much to Hannah’s delight we reached the car and popped to the ‘Wharf Inn’ for a much needed and well deserved pint; After all we did cover over 30km!
It will now be a few weeks before we can tackle the next stage (I think Hannah would be thankful). Likely September will be the next date, due to holidays and myself walking the Camino Portuguese.
It had been 18 days since we did the first stage of the Jurassic Way, as the 21st of July was the next available date, we were both free. Two days prior to this, the UK had experienced the hottest day since records began! But you wouldn’t have thought it as we arrived at Chipping Warden midmorning.
The weather was overcast and a cool breeze made it perfect walking conditions. To our delight, the forecast stated it would remain like that for the remainder of the day. Just after 1030h we set off from where we stopped on the 3rd of July.
The route follows Culworth Road, Eastwards from the village before turning off on to a farm track. We hadn’t walked 5 minutes before hitting our first hurdle of the day. This portion of the route was closed while the HS2 is being built around Chipping Warden. (High Speed 2 – a railway connecting London to Birmingham and the North West).
A diversion had been put in place, however it would not bring us back to the Jurassic Way. Consulting my map, there was another footpath further down Culworth Road, that would rejoin the official Jurassic Way.
Diversion
Once back on the path we tackled our first hill of the day, where from the top, looking behind, you could see the on going works in the distance. I can’t imagine the residents of Chipping Warden were pleased when planning permission was granted for this to be railway in their backyard.
The recent heatwave had left it’s mark on the scenery and farmland. The grasses were yellow and brown, the earth beneath the farmers fields were cracked and parched. A lot of the route passes through the middle of the crop fields and the ground had shallow fissures snaking through it; deep enough to snag our feet resulting in us straddle them and waddle like ducks!
We crossed over disused railway lines with their rusting iron bridges or crumbling brick built ones. It wasn’t long before we reached the village of Woodford Halse.
Parched EarthRusting Bridge
We passed though the village quickly and out through a new housing estate that had been built across the Jurassic Way; the path marked by red tarmac. The estate is so new it wasn’t on my map!
The red path is the Jurassic Way
Soon we were again amongst the fields crossing through wheat, broad beans and barley. By 1pm we’re stopped to eat our lunches on the grounds to the isolated church, of the lost medieval settlement of Church Charwelton.
It was depopulated in the 15th century for sheep farming and the church is all that remains. We tried to look inside, however it was locked and could only view from a grated window in the door.
We ate our sandwiches on a bench in the graveyard, looking out over the fields, only to find were on top of an ants nest; my bright orange water bottle was attracting their attention. Not wanting to become the colony’s lunch, we sharply finished up and moved on to the village of Charwelton, calling at the ‘Fox and Hound’ for a cold drink.
Once refreshed it was through more crop fields (one particularly nasty broad bean field that scratched our shins to shreds) to the little hamlet of Hellidon, then down a gated road, passing Catesby Viaduct and onto Staverton. At this point the Sun had burnt of the cloud cover, bringing the temperature up to an uncomfortable level.
Coming into Staverton we encountered our nemesis, the stinging nettle! This time we had no protection from this devilish plant. With screams at each sting (mostly from me) we painfully made it through, with a our legs barely intact.
Broad Bean JungleCatesby Viaduct
By this point our pace had slowed and Hannah’s knees were sore on the declines. We had surpassed the distance of the first stage and quoting Hannah “This is the longest distance I’ve ever walked!”
However before we knew it, we arrived at the Admiral Nelson. A fantastic little pub sitting on the fourth lock from the Braunston tunnel, on the Grand Union Canal. Signaling the end to the second stage of the Jurassic Way.
We celebrated the day’s 15 mile hike with a well deserved beer!
Leaving Prakding I felt a little gloomy as this would be the last day walking on this most amazing adventure. At 0800hrs we slowly made our way to Lukla, taking in the scenery and enjoying last of the trek.
On approaching Lukla we came across Steve, Neil and Leon sitting on a wall having a break. While chatting with them the ground started to rumble, and looking up, loose rocks were tumbling down from the mountain, dislodged by grazing Yaks above. They rolled over the path in front of us, a close shave!
Not wanting to wait for the next thundering rock fall, we all continued on to our teahouse where we ordered some food. We opted for spicy chicken wings, which were on the hot side, but delicious. Unfortunately my dining companions found them too spicy; fortunately for me they were perfect, so I finished them all off!
The dreaded stomach bug that had been plaguing the group had reached Pete, so he spent the day and evening in bed. I brought up some plain toast and orange juice for him, but he struggled to eat it. I managed to evade this bug completely, the only one who did!
Happy Hour
I spent the day in the bar drinking and playing pool with the group until dinner time. The entire group, guides and Sherpas, all had a meal together on us. We presented gifts and tips to our guides and Sherpas.
We all then went back to the bar for happy hour and played killer pool with another walking group. It was my turn to be inebriated! It was a shame Pete wasn’t feeling well enough to join in, however it was good for him that he got the bug on the last day, where there were proper en-suite toilet facilities.
Pool Shark
I staggered back to my room around 2300hrs to sort my bag out for tomorrows flight to Kathmandu. In the morning I thought I would treat myself to a shower, however it was the biggest mistake I had made on the entire adventure. I was all now nice, clean and fresh, but I could now smell my clothes.
They absolutely stunk and to think this is what I had smelt like for two weeks! As we were all stinking together we hadn’t noticed it. It was uncomfortable putting back on my walking gear. At breakfast we got the bill from last night’s festivities and it seemed there were a few drinks that were unaccounted for, looked like they had added some extra rounds!
Check In
The airport was busy, packed full of walkers. I couldn’t believe how many, as we hardly saw any on the route yesterday heading to Lukla. Getting through security was another experience. I put my bag on the counter, he asked me “Any knives, cigarettes, bombs or guns?” I said “no” at which point he frisked me then waved me through. He didn’t even check my bag!
The flight back to Kathmandu was hairy. There was a lot of turbulence and it felt like the small plane was being blown around like a leaf. At one point I swore we were moving sideways! I was so relieved once the wheels hit the tarmac and on the bus back to our hotel.
Homeward Bound
After a shower and changing into the clothes we had left at the hotel two weeks earlier, we went to the Rum Doodle bar for dinner with the group. This is a famous bar in Kathmandu, where everyone who has summited Everest, draws a sketch on a wooden plaque, that are then hung up on the walls. I spotted Hillary’s and Alan Hinkes’.
Rajesh presented us with certificates for reaching EBC and we all made our own plaque. We called our group ‘The Very Dangerous Team’, an ongoing joke we had with the guides from crossing the Ngzumba Glacier and all the silly antics we got up to along the way.
Hustle and Bustle of Kathmandu
The following day me and Pete just spent the day pottering around Kathmandu, doing a bit of shopping and relaxing at the hotel. We were exhausted and didn’t feel like doing anything else. We sorted our bags out ready for the flight back to blighty.
In the evening we went to a steakhouse we had eaten at on our first night in Kathmandu with the group. Our last meal together, a very poignant moment, saying goodbye to people who were strangers two weeks ago, but are now dear friends.
We have kept touch over Facebook and we all got together to climb Snowdon in the winter a year later. Me and Peter met up with Colin and Linda in Keswick in 2018, as we randomly ended up holidaying in the Lake District at the same time.
Keswick 2018
I would highly recommend this trip if you ever get the opportunity to undertake it. Don’t put it off or doubt yourself whether you would be able to do it. Don’t let fear of altitude sickness deter you or the cold and the difficult moments I have described in this blog series. The guides are very professional and well trained, they will look after you. Even if you don’t make it to EBC, the experience of the journey will stay with you. Honestly, getting to EBC wasn’t the highlight for me, crossing the Ngzumba Glacier, the Cho La Pass and the friends I met along the way, were the memorable moments for me.
We had breakfast at a bakery in the middle of Namche Bazaar before we continued down the valley. Again the weather was perfect and the walking so much easier than two weeks ago. The steep descent out of Namche being the biggest challenge for the day.
We reached the viewing platform where we now get our last look at Everest. It hit home at this point, that my adventure was drawing to a close. Two more nights would remain before catching the plane back to Kathmandu.
The route now had more activity with fellow walkers setting out on their own adventures; all clean and shiny! Yak trains were more frequent and Sherpas carrying their wares on their backs towards Namche.
Super Human
Criss-crossing the river in the low autumn sunlight was blissful. We passed the tiny single storey buildings with their small veg gardens, that again reminded me of the Shire. The day’s walk was over far too quick as we reached Prakding, the small village we stopped after our first day of walking. This time our rooms were an upgrade from our first visit, it had en-suite toilets!
After dinner and a pub quiz, most of the group retired for the night. Myself, Andre, Brydon and Nigel went to another teahouse in the village for a couple of drinks. The whole group has now wound down from the adventure and are looking forward to returning to the comforts of our hotel back in Kathmandu.
All but me. Passing through the small homesteads, I truly appreciated the slow pace of life here. No electrical gadgets or motor vehicles, no pollution or the hustle and bustle of life back home. I felt so relaxed with the simplicity and basicness of life here. No office politics or annoying bosses on your back. Everyone you meet has a smile on their face.
The Sherpa people are friendly and welcoming, good humoured and laugh a lot. I do miss being amongst them and hope to return one day.
Hannah and I arrived in Banbury around 1030h, after leaving a car at Chipping Warden. The weather had forecasted rain, however it held off typically until we started our walk. There is no official starting plaque for The Jurassic Way, so we decided to begin the walk at a sculpture of a pirate by the canal side.
The route follows the Oxford Canal south out of Banbury for a mile and a half. It is a while before you first see a Jurassic Way marker; identifiable by a shell. In fact, unless you have a keen eye, it is easily missed. The over hanging trees covering the towpath, thankfully provided shelter from the brief rain showers.
We continued along the canal, waving at the people on the narrowboats until we reached bridge 172. At this point the route leaves the towpath crossing open fields, over a wooden bridge and into a small wooded area. Here the footpath cuts through tall stinging nettles, that seemed to purposely want to inflict pain on us. With our arms raised in the air to avoid these pests, we passed through this stinging jungle as quickly as possible. This wouldn’t be our last nor our worst encounter with these hellish plants today.
Bridge 172Nettle Hell
We eventually crossed under the M40 and left this behind as we walked through small hamlets. At about 3 miles we reached the hamlet of ‘Overthorpe’, that gave views back towards Banbury; we could roughly see our starting point. It gave Hannah a confidence boost, having been able to see how far we had already traveled.
The route passes by farms and through fields of flax. The blue flowers of this crop were interspersed with bright red poppies, making it picturesque as we reached Middleton Cheney, our halfway point for the day.
Flax and Poppy
We called into ‘The Dolphin Inn’ for a drink, a snack and a quick rest before moving on. Dodging more brief rain showers, crossing fields of wheat and through overgrown hedgerows that resembled the triffids, we made it to another little village called Chacombe.
There were smallholdings with alpacas and fields of cattle that quizzically watched us walk by, probably thinking “what are these pair of idiots are doing walking in the rain?” We Climbed over countless styles to reach the village of Wardington at the 9 mile mark.
Hannah Fighting the TriffidsAlpacas
As we entered Wardington, the map shows the route veers to the left, over fields that skirt around to the other side of the village and rejoins the road. I had contemplated skipping this little part to continue along the road, but thought that would be cheating!
We followed the route, but soon came to realise that it was a mistake. The markers were a little confusing and when I finally found the correct path, a heavy rain shower hit us. I pulled out my brolly and pushed on ahead, only to reach a narrow path between the boundary to a farm and a house. It was just a sea of stinging nettles. We had no choice, but to pass through them.
Our legs and arms were red and blotchy by the time we came out the other side. We ducked under a bus shelter where I put on my waterproof trousers and waited out the rain. Once it subsided we continued on.
Leading out of Wardington was really our only challenge for the day. We ascended the only hill of the stage, that got our blood pumping. Looking back, we were presented with views over the village below.
From here it was a straight run for about 2 miles into Chipping Warden. Just passing the hamlet of Edgcote, there was a field full of grazing horses that were intrigued by us. They followed us right the way to the end of the field, but were not brave enough to come up to us and say hello, despite us calling them over.
From here, it was a short shallow hill into Chipping Warden. The first stage of The Jurassic Way done. Hannah, pleased to have completed a longer walk and not aching too much was smiling like the Cheshire cat. We called into ‘The Griffin Inn’ for a pint and a bite to eat, before heading back to our respective homes.
Stu's Camino 