El Camino Ingles

I have just returned from walking to Santiago de Compostela along  the Camino Ingles. If any of you have seen the film 'The Way' with Martin Sheen you will be familiar with El Camino or 'The Way of St James'.
There are numerous routes leading  to the Cathedral of St James in Santiago de Compostela in the North East of Spain. The most famous of these is the French Way and the longest at 780 km. We did the English route which is only 130 km. This is the route the English pilgrims would have taken after landing at the port of Ferrol.


This map shows the route we took from Ferrol. You must walk at least 100km to be awarded a Compostela.

The essentials for the walk. The credential del peregrino (the pilgrim's passport). This document must be stamped along the route to prove that you have walked the whole way. The scallop shell is the sign of St James and is carried by many of the walkers and the yellow arrow and waymarker was invaluable in finding your way along the route.

The completed credential .alongside the Compostela. You can get it stamped at hotels, hostels, bars, restaurants,churches etc..

Over the next few posts I will share some of the photos we took along the way.

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Green Chain Walk

Next week I will be setting off on my next long distant walk with five friends. Each year we get together for a week of walking. This time we are going to Spain for our long hike. To fulfil one of Paul's dreams we are walking El Camino to Santiago de Compostela. We are not walking the very popular French way which is 490 miles long but one of the lesser known routes from Ferrol. It is about 100 miles long which is about our usual distance. I have been doing lots of extra walks and fitness training in the gym so fingers crossed I won't suffer any injuries. A couple of weeks ago I went for a long walk locally. I wanted to walk for at least 6 hours so I decided to just set off from home and to keep going. Many of you who follow my blogs will know I live in London just a 15-20 min journey from the centre. This walk will show you how much green space we have in the suburbs of London. 

I followed the signposts for the Green Chain Walk. This well signposted series of walks stretches for 50 miles from the River Thames and links parks, woodlands and fields across SE London. All the walks are interlinked so it is easy to go from one to the other. I picked the pathway up just at the end of my road and followed it across a park and playing fields into some woodland.

You do have to cross roads and walk down residential streets but those were few and far between.

Many different patches of woodland had been cleverly linked and some

 were new to me I am ashamed to say seeing as I live a short distance from them

Signposting was very informative

Perfect pathways for motorised wheelchairs 

I am now going round another park.

The next section of woodland had these carvings at the side of the path.

I walked past a few ponds with their wonderful reflections.

I needed to walk through Chislehurst Village to the next section of the walk.

This memorial cross was erected in memory of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's husband) in 1880 by the people of Chislehurst.

I walked alongside the railway lines but going back through the woods

He just popped out from the hedgerow to say hello before finding his way back to the pond.

The day was very hot and by mid afternoon I decided to go home. I had walked about 15 miles so I was happy enough with my efforts. I hope when I start the walk next week I am still happy enough with my efforts!

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More on Copenhagen

Here are a few more photos from my visit to Copenhagen last month.

This is the Round Tower or Rundetaarne, a 17th cent tower and observatory. It is still used for astronomy by amateur astronomers and visitors. From the top you get a wonderful panoramic view of Copenhagen. To get to the top their is a wide spiral walk on the inside of the tower. It is so wide you could drive a car up their and I'm sure I read somewhere that that has happened, probably for a film.

I liked this decorative fountain in the middle of the Square.

Inside Christiansen Palace . This was the main residence of the Kings from Denmark and Norway from the 15th Cent to 1794. The Royal family continues to use Christiansen Palace for official engagements. The Queen's Tapestries,  shown here, are a gift from the business industry to Her Majesty  Queen Margrethe II on her 50th birthday in 1990.

 The tapestries relate the History of Denmark and the world.

There is so much happening in the tapestries it would take hours and hours to study them all.

It took 10 years to complete the tapestries and they were presented to the Queen on her 60th birthday. They are hung in the Great Hall which was specially restored for the occasion.

This is Christiana. It was established in 1971 by hippies who occupied some abandoned military barracks and developed their own set of rules, independent of the Danish Government for this small area.

Christiana existed under special conditions for 40 years enduring many clashes with the Danish State. Finally an agreement was reached with the Government in 2011. So on 1st July 2012 the Foundation Freetown Christiana was founded.


Freetown Christiana is a mix of  homemade houses, workshops, music venues and eating places. It is open to the public. One street, named Pusher Street is where the illegal trade of drug dealing takes place. I did have my camera with me and snapped a couple of photos and was immediately asked to put it away as no photography is allowed because of the illegal activities taking place. I didn't need to be asked twice!

Walked back to the hotel via the canal and lots of bridges.