Camino del Norte
27.8 km, 542 m up and 552 m down, through 9 places, 5 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Queveda. 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.
Queveda is on the old camino route, now bypassed by the official trail. No particular reason to come here unless you followed outdated arrows.
The path through Santillana is well marked with wooden plaques on the stone walls, but they may be difficult to see with the crowds. If you get as far as the CA-131 you have gone too far, turn back and veer to your left towards the main square. The camino passes the nearby Santillana campsite, climbing up to Arroyo before descending into Oreña.
A hamlet between Santillana del Mar and Oreña. No services. The camino passes through on its climb out of Santillana.
The camino keeps to smaller back roads between Oreña and Caborredondo, across farmlands with views to the sea. Along the way you climb up to and pass the 16th century Iglesia de San Pedro before descending into Caborredondo.
Keep on going straight through town and across an overpass. Not far after the camino leaves the road for a path on your right which takes you directly to Cigüenza.
After passing the Iglesia de San Martín the camino rejoins the CA-353 into Cóbreces.
The camino follows the CA-353 all the way through town. It passes all of the albergues as well as the abbey. When it reaches the first main intersection (after the abbey) it turns left and then right again, following the road to the nearby beach. From the beach it climbs up to a small hamlet. Beyond this hamlet it splits into two paths of equal length, to the right is the town of Liandres and to the left is the way to La Iglesia passing the campsite. The path into La Iglesia is downhill, crossing the CA-131 along the way.
There is an alternate route which may cause some confusion in Cóbreces. It turns left at the Iglesia de San Pedro and follows a more southerly path to La Iglesia.
Turn right before arriving at the church to the nearby town of Pando.
The camino turns right onto the main road in Pando at the church.
From Concha the camino turns left to follow a short trail back to the main road as it enters Comillas, turning left at the campsite.
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.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 423 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 29 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.