Camino del Norte
26.2 km, 501 m up and 436 m down, through 10 places, 1 of which has somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Lugo. 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 leaves the walled city at the gate opposite the Cathedral and proceeds downhill along the Rúa de Santiago. Halfway down the hill it bears right onto the Rúa Calzada da Ponte. It crosses a divided boulevard and descends all the way down to the río Miño.
The Ponte Romano carries you over the river and once on the other side, it turns right to follow along the river bank. After passing the Iglesia de San Lázaro it turns up to the left and follows the road to pass under the N-540. There is one more large intersection ahead and it is a simple matter of crossing straight over it. From here you will follow along the paved road, the LU-P-2901, all the way to San Román de Retorta.
Landmarks along the way include the Santuario de Santo Matías and the hamlets of Seoane de San Xoán do Alto 92.2 and Carrigueiros 90.7.
There is a stretch of 10km west of Lugo without any services for pilgrims. Stock up before you leave.
Beyond As Searas, the camino leaves the road for a trail that passes through the village of Bacurin 86.3. During periods of heavy rain, it is possible to stay on the road. From Bacurin the camino returns to the road and passes through the hamlets of O Paso, Hospital, and San Pedro de Abaixo. The next hamlet, Taboeiro 81.9, may have a bar which is open. If not there is a small detour of 100m to the bar in nearby Crecente (closed Mondays).
Things tend to get a bit tricky here if you are not fully aware. San Román sits at the intersection of two country roads, and from here the camino goes off in two different directions, or at least it did until last year. This means that old arrows may still exist which would take you to Palas de Rei on the Camino Francés rather than to Melide.
From the bar in San Román head west (turn right when leaving the bar). When you emerge on the road some 70m later, cross the road and take the path opposite you. The albergues are a short distance onward.
The camino follows the country lane out of Castrelo. It passes the village of Burgo de Negral 77.6 (with picnic area) and Pacio 75.6. The next town is Ferreira and one of the albergues there (Cruz Ferreira) is actually located along the road 1km before town.
A tiny hamlet with no services. Keep moving.
Ferreira is one of the slightly larger hamlets between San Roman and Melide, with a bar and a chapel. The walking through this section is quintessentially Galician -- eucalyptus forests alternating with small farms, ston…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 588 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 27.4 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.