4. Andrew's Camino Walk - The French Way 780 Km

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Mitchell

I am embarking on the ancient pilgrimage of the Camino Frances on 24 April. Starting my walk from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and finishing in the historic city of Santiago de Compostela, I am hoping the journey will take me approximately 35 days based on an average of 15.5 miles per day.

Standish Consort was founded in December 2022 by OUS Gloucestershire members to encourage those in the area with a passion for singing to advance their musical knowledge and singing virtuosity in a chamber choir environment, lead by our young, enthusiastic conductor Mark Wilson . The choir has grown in strength with alumni from Oxford University, Cambridge University, and friends.

Since the choir’s formation we have had sell-out concerts, with recent performances including Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Barber’s Agnus Dei, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Monteverdi’s Vespers. Most recently we performed Zelenka’s Missa Votiva, with Ensemble la Notte, the YouTube video of which garnered over 15,000 views in its first month. We have also sung evensongs at Pembroke College, Merton College, Worcester Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral.

Our conductor Mark Wilson, Director of Music at Pembroke College Oxford, leads the choir with soloists drawn from members of the choir. We are often accompanied by George Charman, Organ Scholar at Pembroke College Oxford.

I am raising money for a Bursary to encourage young musicians from Oxford, and Cambridge Universities and others to join. Donations of any size are welcome.

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Harry and Sarah M-G

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Alan Singleton

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Margaret

Go Andrew! Band Aid to the ready! See you in June - lean and mean!

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Andrew Page

Andrew good luck with the walk.

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Sarah Athey

A journey of a lifetime to support our talented young musicians. You can do this Andrew.

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Anonymous

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This page is part of an event:

Andrew's Camino 780 km Walk - for 4 very different causes

4 fundraisers

£1,469.00

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Oxford University Society of Gloucestershire

.... I walked out beyond the lighthouse to the very tip of the peninsula where there is only the Atlantic Ocean between me and the North Eastern coast of America. A perfect end to a perfect day.

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.... I scattered a very small amount of my father's ashes in a sheltered spot knowing that he had been with me for the whole journey but that he would appreciate a bit of him being left in this iconic place.

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.... Fisterra. The name of the village comes from the Romans who saw it as ‘the end of the world.' It is pretty and is set in a cove with beautiful beaches, sheltered from the gales which sweep in from the Atlantic. Today, Fisterra is, for many pilgrims, the real end of their camino, but I missed the first part due to poor weather. I am going from here back to Pamplona to walk that route in the reverse direction, going over the Pyrennees and completing my camino in France. I will be walking with others who encountered the same problem with snow and gales in the mountains at the end of April.

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Fisterra is Galician for Finisterre picture

.... This was a very fitting place for me to stay in Santiago, in a cell in a former monastery, within the sound of the Cathedral bells. The comforts however were not monastic and I had a very warm and comfortable stay there.

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.... What a magnificent and impressive building. There is said to have been a church on the site since 829 and construction of the present cathedral began in 1075. Building was interrupted several times and it was not consecrated until 1211 It has been a place of pilgrimage since the early Middle Ages and is the reputed burial place of the apostle James who is alleged to have brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. Since that time, as the importance of the cathedral developed, the building was embellished with construction continuing up until the 18th century. It is a Romanesque structure, with later Gothic and Baroque additions and is now called 'The Santiago de Compostela Arch cathedral Basilica.'

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.... After several weeks of walking the Camino Frances, I reached Santiago de Compostela in time for morning Mass. In the days since, I have walked another 90km to Finisterre, known to the pilgrims in Roman times as the 'End of the World,' which is now a symbolic finish to the pilgrimage. Tomorrow morning I will take some of my Dad's ashes to the Finisterre lighthouse to leave in the Atlantic Ocean. I have carried my Dad with me as I wanted him close on this journey - a journey he would have enjoyed and been happy to know I had undertaken. On Tuesday day night, I will be back in Pamplona to walk the Napoleonic part of the Camino through the Pyrenees. The weather there is better than a month ago when snow and strong winds prevented me from starting here. When I arrive back in the UK on the 11th of June, I will have walked nearly a thousand kms. If you would like to sponsor the four charities that I am raising money for, please see below: https://givewheel.com/.../carmino-frances-route-jean.../

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.... This hostel was on an 'Education Farm' with a Forest Nature Reserve and a Yoga Retreat and was not specifically for pilgrims. There were various species of animals and birds housed in enclosures and a number of residential buildings scattered in the woods. It was an interesting change from the usual hostels.

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.... Have today walked from Sarria to Portomarin. The number of pilgrims joining the Camino has increased five fold today because we are down to the last 100 km. There are also many more buses and taxes ferrying people and luggage about. Those who have been walking for weeks with full rucksacks now represent less than 10%! Today I saw the biggest gekco I have ever seen. With tail it was nearly 2 feet long. I have named it the Camino Dragon! Attached are assorted photographs from today's walk. The first one being the Camino Dragon if you can spot it.

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Since my last post some days ago I have been unable to post as my phone got wet and would not let me charge it. This made navigation and paying for accommodation difficult! I have also had to deal with heavy rain and strong winds. Foncebadom to Campo de Ponferrada: 23.62 Km Campo de Ponferrado to Villafranca de Bierzon 27.83 Km Villafrancca de Bierzon to O Cebreiro 28.7 Km O Cebreiro to Trinamstela 20.83 Km Trinamstela to Sarria 24.23 Km The end is in sight and hope to be in Santiago by Monday. Assorted photos from the last few days. If you would like to sponsor me the charities I am raising money for please click on the link below: https://givewheel.com/.../carmino-frances-route-jean…/

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This was found in the entrance to a hostel where I arrived early one afternoon. The owners turned up later and everything on the programme, except the late meeting in the Church, which was after my Camino bedtime, took place. I usually set off very early in the mornings, mostly without breakfast, arriving at the next stop in the early afternoon when beds are still available. On finding a place, the first thing to do is unroll the sleeping bag on a bed or bunk and the next is to shower. Following this is the search for a washing machine but these are rather few and far between. The final task is to find a decent early evening meal. Bedtime for me is about 9 and even, though there is still activity all around, I drop off to sleep within minutes.

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Many pilgrims leave their overnight accommodation, mostly without any breakfast, as early as 5.30am when it is just becoming light. This is so as to reach their destinations while there are still beds/bunks available in the very many hostels and hotels along the route. Since I left Pamplona the number of walkers increases as we pass through each town and village and the overnight price also gradually increases. This photo was taken after I had been walking for long enough to warm up and for it to be fully light. The castle on the hill deserved a diversion but I resisted the temptation as the need to secure a comfortable bed was too great.

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Route Marking Following the Camino route is easy as it is clearly marked in various ways but this way mark is among the more picturesque. The route is also well used and one is rarely alone for long either by catching up with someone or being overtaken. We walk as fast as we are able as places in hostels are booked up very quickly.

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17th May, Astorga to Foncebardon picture

My Camino journey continues at a pace even though I am suffering from a nasty cold. Today I was able to wear my boots again now the blisters have healed which is fortunate as this area is rather bleak and the road hard on the feet. The weather has started to turn cold and at Astorga it was possible to see snow on the next mountain range where I am headed. With strong winds and temperatures just above freezing I have invested in some warmer clothing for which I am very grateful. Tonight I am staying at Foncebadon at 1430m in cold windy weather with snow/sleet on the way. The last few days travel: Leon toVillar de Mazarife 20.95 Km Villar de Mazarife to Astorga 29.65 Km Astorga to Foncebadon 25.19 Km

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The accommodation varies tremendously from the mats on the floor at the monastery where our clothing and belongings were soaked when the nearby stream flooded through the building and those spartan blue mats on a shelf, to comfortable bunks like these. A Convent even provided a washing machine and tumble dryer as well as edible food in sufficient quantities. Sleeping is not really a problem as all the pilgrims have been exercising outdoors in all weathers to the limit of their endurance. Snoring there may be but everyone is too tired to notice.

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Last night I met two elderly Germans who told us they were doing about 75km a day to my amazement. This morning it transpired as they passed me they were doing the Camino on electric bikes! My 20 - 30km a day average now feels more reasonable than it did last night! Companions of the day trying out the local Rioja in Navarette.

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Arrived at Leon yesterday after several hours and 23 miles of walking in high temperatures. Today I caught up on laundry which meant that it was fairly bracing for me, outdoors this morning, at less than 10C in shorts and a tee shirt. León Cathedral is a masterpiece of early gothic architecture with more stained glass and light than I've ever seen in a European ecclesiastical building. Spectacular and definitely worth a visit. Tomorrow I walk to Hospital de Orbigo and Puente de Obigo.

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Progress Check: Since my last post I have had problems with blisters which has meant I have been forced to walk in my sandals; rather like a Roman in my imagination; perhaps like Russell Crowe in Gladiator but without the backpack! Yesterday on top of a high plateau I was hit by a great thunder storm. With no trees or anything higher than my knee I took shelter in a dry drainage ditch whilst being pelted with hail stones, almost the size of golf balls. Whilst under some stress I was able to put my Camino poncho to good use and rigged a make shift shelter. Today was a better day than expected, as to my relief, I managed to find an open chemist on a Sunday. I was then able to stock up on medical supplies giving my feet much pain relief. In the last few days I have completed the following Camino stages: 1. Boadilla des Camino to Carrión de los Condes 24.26 km 2. Carrion de los Condes to Terradillias de los Templarios 26.13 km 3. Terradillias de los Templarios to El Burga Ranero 30.44 km Tomorrow I walk to Leon, 39 kms and look forward to a whole days rest before I start the next stage. Overnight El Burgo Ranero

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Rushing in the dark this morning I covered my face in Scholl cracked heel cream and my feet with factor 50. It's done wonders for my face as the advert says, it's an effective cream for the relief of cracked dry skin and a quick fix! I will be using it daily henceforth. On the Camino yesterday I walked a total of 18 miles between Hotanas and Boadilla del Camino.

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San Juan de Ortega to Burgos 25.97km picture

Yesterday woke up in the Monastery at San Juan de Ortega to find the floor wet along with all my kit from an overnight thunderstorm. Left at 5.30am and trekked through several kms of pine forest in the dark. Saw wild boar and several wild horses! Leaving the forest then found myself moving into dense fog on mountainous terrain. Arrived at the beautiful city of Burgos where I intend to stay for an extra day and dry my equipment and do some essential foot maintenance.

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