Had the idea to walk home from Spain today. I’m seriously considering doing this, please if you know anything at all about doing something like this fire any info into the comments…
How long do you think it’d take me ? 6 weeks ?
I walk a bit like I’d usually do about 10K per day but nothing long distance day after day, I’d have zero experience for that tbh…
38 comments
Need to think seriously about route and where to stay.This is banter until you get mugged or keel over dehydrated
You could probably do it in six to eight weeks depending on how much weight you’re carrying and if you get injured. Cycling would be a better option though imho
I’d say temper your expectations. I know someone who is an avid long distance hiker/walker.
The el Camino was a piece of piss to them but they struggled massively doing half the wild Atlantic way.
Your feet will be fucked after a few days if you aren’t used to doing that sorta distance.
Maybe walk a bit, cycle a bit, hitch hike a bit, take a train for some of if. You would be bored shitless for a lot of that route too I’d imagine
Go for it! But make sure to go full Forest Gump on it. Don’t shave or wash or anything. Then sell the story for a movie when you get back. If you get back.
Look up thru-hiking, which is basically what you’re proposing to do here. It’s not easy at all, especially if you’re proposing to camp and carry all the necessary gear with you to facilitate that.
What you’d be doing is not dissimilar to a very long Camino if you’re proposing to stop in guest houses along the way. Doing miles like that day after day takes a toll – and something as simple as shin splints can put you out of commission for a while. You’ll also need “0 days” where you don’t cover any ground in order to rest.
Simple stuff like your shoes are something to consider. You’d be looking at needing to replace them entirely about half way along.
Afaik wild camping is legal in France, so if you had some camping gear, that could cut on costs and open up your route possibilities.
30-40km a day is very achievable if you leave early to avoid the afternoon sun. Your tolerance for long journeys will build very quickly.
Route planning will be a bit of work cause it’s not a predetermined route, but I’m sure there will be routes in between. Make sure to just plan that you’ll be 20-40km till the next town and you should be okay.
I don’t know the lay of the land too well, but you’ll be heading over the Pyrenees mountains early enough and they can be a real struggle.
When you have access to water, drink as much as possible.
Use the couch surfing website.
You can avoid blisters with some good socks, tightly tied shoes, and Vaseline on your feet. If you do get some, take care of them. Bring iodine and plasters.
Pack as light as possible.
Ten days me hole 😄
If anyone walked the Camino let us know the craic ? Is that a better option ?
A fella I knew walked from Hamburg to Nantes (1200km). He was from Nantes living in Hamburg and when it came time to move home he sent his stuff on ahead, gave back his apartment and headed off. He calculated everything out and surprise it took him waaay longer than expected. First of all he started in September and hadn’t factored in the days getting colder and shorter. Might be the same for you as it’s going to be very hot in france in six weeks time. Second he didn’t factor in that you get more and more tired and as you not used to it you get injuries that slow you down. He did make it though and obviously enough was delighted with himself.
Try grab a cheap bike and puncture repair kit. That 9 days would take 3 weeks on foot.
What about hitch hiking, i know someone years ago who hitch hiked from Ireland down to south east France in a couple of days (saying that it was 25 years ago) they hooked up with some truck drivers who organised their drop offs and pick ups along the way. They did it as a bit of an adventure and a link to the ways of old but probably still doable today.
30 years ago in Ireland you’d see hitch hikers all the time I’ve barely seen one the last 10 years.
Double check you’re not in some kind of manic episode first
If you’re passing a shop, would you pick me up a bottle of something & some cheese.
Only if you’re passing a shop. Don’t be going out of your way.
Would you not walk to Bilbao and get the ferry to Rosslare?
Socks! You need good socks! I highly recommend Merino Wool socks in M&S. I do a lot of walking and running. Used to get serious blisters. Did a full 26miler with Merino Wool socks and I didn’t have a single blister. Absolute miracle!
Would you not just walk to Bilbao and get the boat to either rosslare?
Seriously? This shit is as bad as asking Reddit for second opinions on surgeries.
Is there a reason the timescale offered by maps would be scaled by Reddit without your input? Cause I know to fuck you’re on scaling 9 days to 6 weeks in hopes of craic
The Pyrenees are going to be a bastard to cross, I can tell you that much. Have you done much hill climbing before?
My mate cycled from Connemara to Portugal for the craic, with very little prior experience, had the time of his life. Just check your route regularly to make sure you’ll not be going too long without passing through a village. This will be a serious story for your grandkids, go for it!
As a ex-scout leader, buy lots of new socks and talc powder. Keep as much water on you as possible. Lots of people keel over from dehydration because they ration their water unnecessarily when on long hikes..
Pack light but efficiently. Keep to main roads and towns. Buy local maps in case your phone battery runs out or have spare battery banks on you.
Most important, let someone/groups know where you are as frequently as possible.
Improvised Scouts motto: “always be prepared.. shit can quickly hit the fan”
I would very strongly recommend cycling instead.
I cycled most of this route through France years back. It was amazing. Look up cycle tourist routes (like the vélodyssée ), as there are a lot of good camp sites every few kms. I mean cheap; just electricity, shower and spot to set up a tent. Would you consider cycling rather than walking?
I can offer you a place to stay around 300 miles from Roscoff
People have done long walks in the past and lived to tell the tale. In the mid 30’s Patrick leigh Fermor, an Anglo-Irish guy walked from the hook of Holland to Greece and later wrote books about it. Laurie Lee set off from England and walked around Spain, busking as He went. He wrote the book, “As I walked out one midsummers morning”. So start thinking of book titles now.
A buddy of mine walked from Dublin to Istanbul a few years ago (except for the really wet bit). It took two or three pairs of boots as far as I recall.
I walked the a stretch of the beara breifne way during COVID. Most difficult part is finding a place to stay especially on a budget. A lot of the time there ends up being a long stretch between towns where you have no shops, accomodation etc so you need to plan that all out meticulously. A small stretch on the road may be over an hours walk and if you’re out of food water or want to sleep thats a long way.
You need different shoes for different surfaces or youll injure yourself. Hiking boots are no good for the road.
You also should invest in some ultralight gear if you’re planning on camping.
Definitely doable but it’s no fun hiking next to a motorway, you may as well just hitchhike then, which would also be great craic.
You would want to rethink your route. The ferry from Roscoff to Cork only goes once a week seasonally. Even then most of the Continental ferrys aren’t particularly hot on taking foot passengers. The longer walk to Cherbourg will give you more options.
You dont walk to ireland, you walk in ireland
If you do go for it,
Can you post updates here? Would love to follow your progress.
Don’t do this without experience and proper gear and proper preparation. Friend of mine walked from Galway to Dublin once for charity and it almost killed him. His feet were destroyed
There’s a ferry from Cantabria (in north Spain) to Rosslare, so that might be an option if you did half the Camino de Santiago
If you wanted to walk a camino there is a route from Barcelona (Cami Catalán) which brings you up to near Jaca in Aragon where you can join the route to go west to Santiago de Compostela OR try to walk a reverse from there up to Somport. But that could be quite challenging in terms of route finding.
For most main camino routes, finding your way of simple as you just follow the arrows and there is good accommodation infraestructuras along the way.
I’ve not done the Cami Catalán though so can’t tell you if it is well signed etc but it is a defined route. You should find info on the English language forum http://www.caminodesantiago.me and i imagine there is a local amigos association (spanish groups supporting the Camino) who could give you more on the ground info.
Buen camino!
P. S. My honest take is that if you haven’t walked long distance before then just walk a camino, it’s an easy way in with good support and infrastructure and then you can see if you like it. You might be setting yourself up for failure heading off to walk through France without any experience (there are routes that folk walk through France to join the Camino in Spanish but the focus on guiding would be southward i think.
Would probably take way more than 9 days to cycle that not to mind walk it . Google maps is not taking sleeping into consideration. Thats 234 hours of walking.
Edit: Sorry you said 6 weeks which is about right if you walked 8 hours 5 days a week
You’d do well to get passed Andora to be honest. That’s a whole lotta mountain. It’s a cool idea, though.
It’ll take a lot longer than 10 days, Google assume you’ll be walking 24 hours a day…..at about 30km a day which is a pretty fast pace you’ll be looking at about 37 days
https://youtube.com/@LiamBrown
This lad has a decent channel. Hikes and wild camps. Has done a lot of long distances.
I cycled France and Spain. I crossed on the west side and I don’t remember it being overly arduous but it was a long time ago. Having said that I’d probably suggest tempering your route accordingly. That path you currently have looks like it’s sending you through serious elevation. You’ll be leaving when Spain is still roasting hot, you’ll tear through water. This was always fine in a bike as you can cover distance but I’d be a little more nervous walking.
I don’t know your personal situation in terms of how much Spanish you can speak or how acquainted you are with Spain but just in case I’ll mention it that rural Spain seems very remote at times, everything always seemed to be closed until late and if you don’t speak the lingo it can be a hassle getting food unless you got big supermarkets. Once you’re in France I think you’ll do better for general surviving. Wild camping in both countries is amazing, I carry the memories of some of the places to this day that were so nice but France also topped the list for number of paid camp sites to enable having a shower etc
Long story short… Put some consideration into the first leg of your journey. Consider taking public transport to skip getting out of Spain? Remember it’s the journey for you to enjoy and not put arbitrary conditions like ..I must walk the entire thing etc
Go for it. My son is walking across the USA east to west on the American Discovery trail. He is about 500 miles in and loving it. He is backpacking and getting the occasional bed.