Camino de Santiago Walk

• A coveted linear walk along one of the most ancient pilgrimage routes in the world!
• The very best accommodation available: converted water mills, hilltop monasteries, stylish farmhouses
• Soaring cathedrals, Roman bridges, country chapels and thatched Galician villages
• Poppy sprinkled wheat fields, orchid rich water meadows, pine scented woodland
• Share in a 1000 year old sense of achievement that will take your breath away!

The Spanish Camino de Santiago - The Way of St James - is one of the most ancient walking routes in the world. Ever since the C9, the 'French Road' has led thousands of pilgrims on an 800km journey across northern Spain, winding from the Pyrenees across the wheat fields of old Castile to pass through Leon - the seat of Spanish kings, full of soaring cathedrals and hushed convents. From Leon, the Camino leads over pine ridges and through oak woods, between lush vineyards and across rushing rivers below castles of the Knights Templar before entering Galicia. The route then builds to a spectacular finale at Santiago de Compostela's majestic Baroque cathedral, the last resting place of the Apostle St James.

Walking the Camino is an amazing way to meet people from all over the world. You walk begins in Leon and, in keeping with the theme of a pilgrimage, you walk daily along farm tracks, paths and country lanes, enjoying sociable lunches in restaurants en route. In the evenings, you'll stay in an astonishingly diverse range of properties including hilltop monasteries, converted water mills and stylish farmhouses, all of them packed with period features. We have included transfers after breakfast on the first three walking days, after which you'll walk all the way to Santiago. The rush of achievement on arrival is immense, and sharing in this experience is incredibly rewarding.

Everyone on the Camino has a 'Pilgrim Passport' that can be stamped in bars, hotels and churches along the way to qualify for a certificate from the official Pilgrim Office in Santiago. Along with your passport, you'll notice a profound and heart warming camaraderie with other walkers, as day by day you fall in and out of step with people from all over the world, some of whom have been walking for months covering hundreds of miles! You'll also find complete strangers cheering you on and wishing you 'Buen Camino!' ('Enjoy your walk!').