Camino del Norte
20.2 km, 136 m up and 130 m down, through 4 places, 4 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Somo. 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.
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.
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.
The camino does not leave the N-611 until it gets to the border between Santander and Peñacastillo, a point which is marked. Here it turns right and then immediately after crossing over the railway it turns left. This road winds a bit but is well marked, taking you under two large highways and into Santa Cruz de Bezana.
The only tricky part about Santa Cruz is getting to the albergue, which requires a detour from the official camino. It is left-hand turn at the church, at a junction with the CA-300. This will take you back over the railway, and then over the A-67. Immediately after the A-67, where it bends to the right, a set of stairs on your left take you down to the level of the N-611. If you choose this route note that it is not necessary to retrace your steps, this option will rejoin the official camino further down the N-611. The official camino keeps going straight at the church and to Mompia.
The road into Mompía ends and the camino turns left past several residential areas, the Mortera train station, and the Mompía hospital. Past the hospital it turns right at the roundabout. When it gets to the Barrio Vivero it leaves this road for another on the right.
It is near Mompía that the local utility company has taken to marking their services with yellow arrows. As you would imagine this creates a bit of confusion and it might lead you astray if you are not paying enough attention. Although the yellow is the same their orientation is usually not; they are drawn upside down with the arrowhead at the bottom. They almost alway involve a bend in the arrow, and they are adjacent to a series of stenciled numbers.
Once in Boo it is possible to cross the train tracks at the platforms, though do exercise caution. This is the shortest path to the Albergue Piedad. The arrows will otherwise take you around town (it is a small town) on the main road and over the railway.
Once upon a time the camino between Boo and Mogro required pilgrims to cross the river along the very narrow FEVE railway bridge. This is now prohibited and enforced by the locals and the police. It is dangerous and very much to be avoided. This leaves pilgrims with three options:1. Hop on the train at Boo for a two minute journey across the bridge the legit way.2. Follow the arrows south to cross the river at Arce and then turn back north to Mogro, a well marked journey of 9.4km. 3. Follow the arrows south to cross the river at Arce and then continue on a newly marked alternate from Puente Arce.
The path splits here and rejoins before Boo de Piélagos. 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 — 225 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 19.7 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.