Camino del Norte
46.6 km, 455 m up and 457 m down, through 9 places, 7 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Colindres. 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.
Colindres sits at the head of the estuary between Laredo and Santoña. It's on the land route for pilgrims who skip the ferry. A small town with basic services but not much reason to linger.
A hamlet on the land route between Colindres and the inland alternatives. No services.
A hamlet on the inland route. No services.
A hamlet on the inland route. The Palacio de Elsedo, a 17th-century baroque manor, is the only notable building. No pilgrim services.
Escalante is a small town on the inland route with more history than its size suggests. A Franciscan monastery and several medieval buildings survive. A bar provides refreshment.
The camino passes through San Miguel on a small country road at the upper side of town. It passes the church before descending back to the CA-454 which it follows a short distance before turning left downhill at the end of town. From here it descends to the bottom of the valley, where the albergue is located, and then climbs back up to the road in Bareyo.
If you need any of the shops in town, stay on the main road when you reach the town. All of the services are located at the start of town along this road, which you can follow to the end of town and resume the official camino.
In Bareyo it is possible to take a small detour (signposted and along the road) to visit the 12th century Iglesia de Santa Maria. Otherwise, turn left at the road. Ahead the camino takes a long route around Güemes, in fact it doesn’t much go through town at all. This is fine if you are planning on staying at the albergue here as it is on the camino, but otherwise it is possible to keep on the road as it passes through Güemes on a shorter route to rejoin the camino. If you follow the official camino it is along the CA-447 from Bareyo but turns left to leave the road for a quieter one a few kilometers later.
The route from the church in Güemes (along the shortcut) and the official camino rejoin on the CA-443 at the west end of town. This is the same road that led into town, but the number changed at the church. Where it reaches a junction with another main road, turn left. Galizano is ahead and on your right. You will turn off the road to pass through it.
The camino splits again in Galizano. One option is to return to the main road and follow it all the way into Somo. The quieter option is to pass through town and continue north to the sea to follow a coastal route which enters Somo at the edge of the Loredo beach.
Loredo is on the coastal route variant between Galizano and Somo. A quiet beach settlement. The path along the coast here is pleasant walking.
Both the road route and the coastal route will take you through Somo. At the western edge of town are the Miera Estuary and the ferry terminal. Again the camino splits, and the majority of pilgrims choose the option to take the ferry all the way to Santander. The distance of 5.6km to Santander is covered entirely by boat.Option 1: Santander via ferry (official) - 5.9The ferry leaves from the terminal on the west end of Somo, south of the sandbar and near the bridge leaving town.Option 2: To Peñacastillo by land - 23.6The route through Astillero, though there is an albergue, is the least traveled option due in large part because it does not pass through Santander. It is mostly city walking and rejoins the official camino near the church in Peñacastillo. Taking this route prohibits you from taking the alternate route along the coast around Santander.
The path splits here and rejoins before Somo. Both ways are below, because the question is which to take, and that is not a question two separate pages can answer.
Between Santander and Boo de Piélagos there are two routes, the official camino and the Senda Litoral (coastal trail) that follows the coastline north of the city.The Senda Litoral starts at the ferry terminal and continues along the coast, with the water on your right, all the way around the city. The option is a great deal more scenic than the official camino and it is growing in popularity among pilgrims. At 33km it is the longer option. The official camino turns left at the ferry dock and across the adjacent city park. The path through town is clear and city walking from here to the far end of Santander. At the edge of the park turn left and follow this road; it is the Paseo de Pereda when you begin but changes names along the way. Officially it is the N-611. After passing the large university hospital complex on your left the camino goes through two large roundabouts. At the second roundabout follow the signs in the direction of the Avenida de Cajo, which will take you to the start of Peñacastillo.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 625 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 28.2 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.