4 minute read
Walking to Santiago
On foot for selected sections of the pilgrims’ way
2–13 September 2023 (mj 852)
12 days • £3,790 – flights not included Lecturer: Dr Rose Walker
The last great pilgrimage route in Christendom which still attracts walkers; scenically wonderful with much fine architecture.
Selected sections from the Pyrenees through northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Walking in comfort: good hotels; luggage transferred separately.
Still one of the most splendid walking routes in Europe, the Camino de Santiago runs almost 500 miles across northern Spain to the supposed tomb of St James, Sant Iago. Normally, the journey takes a month on foot. We are setting out to walk the highlights in 12 days, taking in the most historically charged and beautiful sections. We are like pilgrims, rather than tourists, visiting monuments along the route and what time and tiredness allow at the end of the day. There will be commentary by the lecturer and an introduction to the major buildings. But the experience of walking the camino is what is essentially on offer, along a route which has for centuries compelled the imagination.
Itinerary
Day 1: Biarritz to Roncesvalles. Depart Biarritz Airport following the 4.15pm recommended flight from London Gatwick. Drive to Roncesvalles.
Day 2: Roncesvalles to Lintzoaín/Erro: 14.7km, c. 4 hours. Start at the summit of the pass and drop down to Roncesvalles, with its fine collegiate church. Continue through gentle sub-Pyrenean landscape and stately stone-built villages.
Day 3: Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada: 21km, c. 5 hours. Drive to Nájera and climb up and out into rolling country. Continue to Santo Domingo de la Calzada where there is time to visit the cathedral. Overnight here.
Day 4: Villafranca Montes de Oca to Agés: 16km, c. 4 hours. Up into mildly mountainous country, passing a monument to victims of Civil War assassination. Cross a plateau to the monastery of San Juan de Ortega and the village of Agés. Drive to Burgos; two nights here.
Day 5: Burgos, rest day. Rest in this Castilian city rich in memories of El Cid and medieval pilgrimage, Wellington and Franco. Time to see the magnificent cathedral and other sites.
Day 6: Rabé de las Calzadas to Hontanas: 19km, c. 4 hours. A strenuous walk through hills with three manageable climbs. Drive to León for the night. The royal pantheon of San Isidoro is one of the first Romanesque buildings in Spain.
Day 7: Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga: 13km, c. 3 hours. Climb through countryside and fields, finishing outside Astorga. Drive into Astorga, whose bishop’s palace was designed by Gaudí. Overnight here.
Day 8: Foncebadón to Acebo: 11km, c. 4 hours. Climb to the highest point of the camino. Lunch in a pilgrim’s restaurant in Acebo. Drive from here to Villafranca del Bierzo for the night.
Day 9: Triacastela to Sarriá: c. 18.5km, c. 5 hours. Drive to Triacastela via O Cebreiro, with Celtic buildings and ancient church. Climb through Galician-green valley and into country of tiny hamlets. After lunch, a slow descent to Sarriá. Drive to Monforte de Lemos. Overnight here.
Day 10. Sarriá to Ferreiros: c. 13km, c. 4 hours. Monte del Gozo to Santiago de Compostela: c. 4km, c. 2 hours. Drive to Sarriá and walk to Ferreiros. After lunch, drive to Monte del Gozo and walk 4 km into the ancient city centre of Santiago de Compostela. First of two nights here.
Day 11: Santiago. Visit the cathedral, a Romanesque masterpiece with time to attend Pilgrim’s mass. The rest of the day is free.
Day 12. Drive to Santiago Airport for the recommended 9.40am flight to London Gatwick.
Season
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The venues are of architectural and historical significance: St Margaret Lothbury, St Lawrence Jewry, All Saints Margaret Street, and St George’s Hanover Square.
Contact
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4–10 SEPTEMBER 2023
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AKADEMIE FÜR ALTE MUSIK BERLIN
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Polyphony mainly by Tallis and his 16th-century peers with some modern works.
Talk by Dr David Skinner of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
Prices include two nights in Canterbury, most meals and coach transport.
Contact us for full details or visit martinrandall.com
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The venues are mostly hidden gems, from historic to modern, all within easy walking distance of each other and of the hotels and restaurants.
Talks on the music by Dr Katy Hamilton.
Contact us for full details or visit martinrandall.com
28 JULY–4 AUGUST 2024
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30 SEPTEMBER–4 OCTOBER 2024
A unique choral event of exceptional musical intensity and spiritual potency. The eight services of the monastic day, performed at their intended times. The finest of college choirs and acclaimed professional choirs in Oxford’s magnificent medieval college chapels.
18–24 OCTOBER 2024
Among the least known of south-east Sicily’s many delights are a number of gorgeous 18th and 19thcentury theatres located in breath-takingly beautiful Baroque towns. In a selection of these theatres, we present five operas and an oratorio. Stay throughout on the picturesque island of Ortygia, Syracuse.
Please contact us to register your interest
