Camino del Norte
30.9 km, 499 m up and 479 m down, through 8 places, 6 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Comillas. 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 camino passes through the center of the old town, and does not go near any of the beaches in Comillas; however it is worthwhile to make the detour to visit as the views are exceptional.After passing through the old town the camino emerges onto the Calle del Marqués de Comillas at a broad park. High up on the hillside to your left is the Capricho de Gaudi and the Palace and Chapel de Sobrellano. Follow the road past these landmarks and straight through the roundabout at the end of the park. You are now in the CA-131 and 2.3km from here the camino splits.
The camino has recently changed and now follows the road north. The new route bypasses El Tejo and La Revilla and instead continues along a pedestrian path adjacent to the road. It continues to Oaymbre beach (bar) and then onward to San Vicente de la Barquera along the road.
After crossing the estuary into San Vicente, the camino proceeds directly through the roundabout at the end of the bridge, and in so doing it doesn’t really go into town. To get to any of the services and transportation, turn right at the roundabout and then retrace your steps to leave San Vicente.It climbs slightly and crosses over the A-8 into Acebosa.
Entering Acebosa, the way isn’t entirely clear. Turn right when you get to the road and follow it all the way to Hortigal.
At the fork at the far end of town, keep to the right and follow the road through Estrada and on to Serdío.
Keep on the road through Serdió and be mindful that signs for the Camino Lebaniego are tempting you to leave the trail. Simply keep on the road towards Pesués, passing under the A-8 and over the Río Nansa turn left at the first house. Note: prior to arriving, you pass near Muñorrodero with bar 100m off the camino.
From Pesués the camino follows along the tracks, avoiding the traffic along the nearby service road.
Continue straight through town along the main road parallel to the railway line. At the bridge over the Río Deva, turn right and cross the river into Asturias. On the other side arrows direct you left up the second street. From here you traverse the hillside directly into Colombres, the albergue is one of the first buildings in town.
Colombres is the first Asturian town on the Norte and one of the finest examples of Indiano architecture in Spain. The Indianos — ordinary Asturians, Cantabrians, and Basques who emigrated to the Americas during the 19th…
The camino now crosses the N-634 and the A-8 at the start of Peral, ignore all arrows pointing you down the N-634 as new construction has eliminated the old pilgrim pathway. Once across the highways turn left down a gravel track to parallel the A-8. You will be on the north side of the highway and will need to get to the other side, though there is no dedicated crossing to do so. Exercise caution.
The turn off is to the left, remember that in Asturias the shell symbols are typically oriented such that the ‘hinge’ of the symbol represents Santiago.
The albergue is down this side road a short distance. Beyond it the camino descends and then turns off to the right, crosses uphill through some forests and then zig-zags back down to the N-634. See notice below.
When the camino returns to the N-634 things get a bit confusing. There are two routes here, one that follows the road all the way to Buelna and beyond and an alternative which follows the coastline. The second route is the preferred option for its safety and scenery but it can be difficult to locate.
To follow the coastal route cross the N-634 when you get to it and turn left to follow it towards Buelna. The turn off is almost immediate and the arrows to show the way are frequently covered over with black paint so look for either a yellow arrow or a mess of black paint. To your right is a small path that crosses the railway line. Follow this trail and it will bring you to Buelna.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 455 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 31.1 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.