Camino del Norte
29.7 km, 375 m up and 295 m down, through 10 places, 8 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Celorio. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
The route through Celorio is well marked, though if you wander off of it you may get turned around easily in the web of streets of this small village. If in doubt head towards the beach, which the camino passes on its way out of town along a coastal road.
Passing through Barro, there are a beach and bar to your right just off the main road. Further ahead at the end of town the camino turns left to leave the road; just past this turn is a small detour to visit the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and the La Entrada beach, both located on the estuary. If you do go this way you can keep on the road which will rejoin the camino at the end of Niembru.
The camino does not go through town, unless you followed the road from the church/beach. Between here and Naves the camino keeps to a quiet path along the hillside to the north. Before long it descends to rejoin the AS-263, and crosses the Río Bedón after passing the late Romanesque Monasterio de San Antolín de Bedón. It keeps to this road as it passes beneath the A-8 and then turns left to enter Naves along a back road.
The camino follows a course along paved back roads and trails to Villahormes and beyond and doesn’t return to the AS-263 until it arrives at Nueva.
A small village between Naves and Nueva. No particular services. Near the entrance to Nueva, a coastal route variant begins.
At the entrance to Nueva, an alternative coastal route starts.
Between Nueva and Ribadesella the camino follows along a combination of quiet country roads and foot paths, passing through the villages of Piñeres and Cuerres. It returns to the AS-263 just before Ribadesella and follows it into the city.
A hamlet between Nueva and Cuerres. No services. Ignore signs for the Bici Route Bufones de Pría — they'll lead you off the camino.
Beware the signs for the Bici Route Bufones de Praía.
Cuerres has a slightly off-camino gem: the Iglesia de San Mamés, which served as a pilgrim hospital in the 16th and 17th centuries and preserves a fine stone vault. In front stands the 16th-century Fuente de Peregrinos (…
A hamlet on the approach to Ribadesella. No services.
The city of Ribadesella is bisected by the Río Sella, on the east back of which is the old town and the west bank its expansion along the beachfront. The camino crosses the river along the road and turns right once across. The arrows point the way along the beach through town. At the far end of town it climbs slightly and begins to follow a country road as it traverses the hillside. It passes a roundabout and the campsite of Los Sauces and continues to San Pedro.
After passing through San Pedro the camino nears the town of Abeu, where there is a turn off to get to the albergue in San Esteban which is a short distance down the road.
If you stayed at the albergue here retrace your steps to Abeu to resume the camino, turning left at the bend in the road to follow the left most trail.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 466 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 29.4 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.