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This is an interesting one, I drive a BMW – however I feel like I have to tell everyone “it is quite old” – I work for myself doing something I like but I play that down a bit also. I have a certain idea of success in my head, and much of that is connected [...]

Charlemagne was King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor. Born in 742 AD, he was a medieval king renowned for his accomplishments and charisma. For forty-seven years, King Charlemagne ruled most of western and central Europe. Although a warrior with numerous geographical conquests during his reign, Charlemagne is nonetheless credited with introducing enlightenment [...]

Living as we do in the middle of the city we love to get out into the countryside at the weekend. Last weekend being a long weekend, Monday was a public holiday, I decided last week that we needed a full weekend in the country walking and relaxing. We have been to Connemara twice before and [...]

While walking the Camino Frances I did not read a newspaper, listen to TV news, or listen to the radio news. I had no idea what was happening in the world, it was great – there was a magnificent freedom in it. For more than a month the world kept turning without my having to watch [...]

This is a recent email from Santiago de Compostela University, they are getting the word out about a course they are running. I love the start of it, being named Leslie I get called Ms, Mrs, and Miss in various mails – ah life. Dear Mrs. Gilmour, Firstly, I want to thank you to answer us so [...]

I was out hill walking at the weekend and got talking with someone who has been walking the Camino Frances one week at a time. She was telling me that they are due to start again in September sometime, they had their flights booked – but they were having problems getting from Santander to Fromista. Most [...]

The video below shows the Botafumeiro in action during one of the pilgrims masses. The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest censer in the world, weighing 80 kg and measuring 1.60 m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious events it is attached to the [...]

The geniuses I have met in my life have been few; I have however met many who thought they were… I have met a lot of religious people in my life, I had the pleasure of attending a catholic university – I left there as an atheist… The main characteristic that the people who thought there were [...]

I wonder if there if something that for many of us we do not get from our daily life. I have met and talked to many people who have walked the Camino Frances more than once. Walking the Camino Frances is a fairly big commitment in the way of time and money. I got thinking on [...]

I am biased about going on a walking holiday. Being originally from Scotland, even though I have not lived there for many years I still think that Scotland has some of the best walking in the world. This is where I grew up. I lived in one of the houses in the centre of the photo [...]

This is one of the best Camino videos I have seen, although I have not cycled the Camino Frances I would love to and as life has become busier it seems like this mode of travel will be used on my next Camino. The problem I have is that I am not adept at changing [...]

I have heard it said; if you want to give God a laugh tell him about your plans. Well I have a grip as I did not tell him about these plans and still… For the last few weeks I have been transferring all the information from the site onto a new content management system, it [...]

I was thinking of this as the result of a conversation last week when someone asked me “well what do I do in that situation?”

They were wanting a once off answer for one situation that could be used in every situation forever. I thought to myself there are very few forever solutions to life. There are a few forever rules I like, the main one being sticking to my own rules of life. Really just b...

This is the longest YouTube video that I have ever watched, and it is well worth it. It runs for nearly 80 minutes, so if you are going to watch it put some time aside.

I used to say to Anna “You listen to much to what I say and don’t see how I act.” It was one of my defensive positions in arguments. While watching this he says “Ignore everything they say and pay attention to everything they do...

I was just thinking the other day “how did I get here?” Not in the way of - does the world exist, but how did I end up doing the job I do now.

Five or six years ago I had plans to be a teacher, I was at university studying English and Philosophy. I had left my job and went to Uni as a mature student - my 30’s when I started, not when I finished. (Getting older is still a tough one for me)

I had ...

Someone on the forum mentioned this on Youtube so I had to go and watch it. It is very good. It takes me back to University when I studied Greek history and life was simpler, much simpler than today. the Camino was like that, simple.

The following is a rough indication of the increase in numbers arriving at Santiago from all the pilgrim routes and collecting their Compostella in a Holy Year, compared with the year before.

1998 30,126 1999 (Holy Year) 154,613

2003 74,614 2004 (Holy Year) 179,944

2009 118,000 (est) 2010 (Holy Year) 250,000 (Spanish Gov est)

As you can see, in previous Holy Years (when 25th July is a Sunday) the ...

Appartantly Martin Sheen is planning to make a film on the Camino de Santiago. He has already met with the president of the regional government of Galicia, Emilio Perez Tourino last Tuesday at a meeting in Madrid.

This is the rest of the press release from Google

“The film, which will have as its settings Santiago and several areas of the Galician coast will start being shot before the summer,” a...

I first walked the Camino Frances in 2004.

I was a student at the time and I wanted something to do during the summer. One of my college mates had walked from Holland to Santiago a few years before and he kept going on about this “Camino de Santiago” - to me it sounded horrible, walking all day across Spain, carrying my own clothes, sleeping in a hostel / albergue with many others I did not know. No thanks.

Dara, my friend, ended up making it sound good and I decided to “give it a try” - I had no religious or spiritual beliefs regarding the Camino, even though I was a student at Ireland’s main Catholic University. My thoughts setting out on the journey were - if I don’t like this experience I will just go somewhere else in Europe for the Summer.

The journey turned into “something” for me - and I still have problems putting that something into words many years later. My attitude and thinking about some things changed while there - I spent time talking to people who gave their time freely to man albergues, I talked to many others walking the Camino from all over the world - something happened to me, and it was good, very good.

I endured somethings that I never thought I would, I became ill and was helped - I came back from my first Camino a stronger and perhaps a more caring person - and in a strange way I developed some pride in an achievement that I had not set out to achieve.

I went back and walked again the next year. It was different, this time I went with a different mind and a softer heart.

I am not generally given to hyperbole or psycho mumbo jumbo, however the Camino changed my life and the direction. I now believe that journeys like this are very important for people and it is a great idea to do it at least once.

I would rather that pilgrims did not set out with a mind like mine the first time - but if that is where they are at that time, then so be it. I talked, listened, and read at lot on the Camino.

The one thing that I read that sticks in my mind today goes things like this, forgive my paraphrasing. While on the Camino you follow the yellow arrows, they show you the way, give direction. What do you follow after the Camino?

All the best to everyone for 2009

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I recieved this email a few days back, and currently I have nowhere to list hostels in France so it will go here until I get the site reorginised.

We are two pilgrims who have walked all the way of Saint James several times and we just build a pilgrims’ home whose name is “HOSPITALET SAINT JACQUES ®” in France inside the city of Aire sur Adour.

Aire sur Adour: Is in the south west France, depar...

Being a pilgrim is commonly known as someone who travels to a foreign land to visit somewhere of religious or historic importance. It is also believed that a pilgrim is someone that travels a considerable distance in carrying out this objective.

I alway had problems seeing myself as a pilgrim. I am not and was not when walking the Camino religious. I was not brought up attending any church, and...

This is where I slept for the first time on the Camino Frances. Orisson is only about 8km to 10km from St Jean, but on my first day it felt a lot longer.

Problem 1. I was quite unfit and a bit over-weight
Problem 2. I did not sleep well the night before, as I had traveled on the train overnight from Paris.
Problem 3. My rucksack weighted 14kg - crazy man…

Problem 3 is what causes the most prob...

This short film has some good scenic shots of the Camino Frances.

The first in a series of three previews featuring overlander.tv’s new film ‘The Way’ which will be released on Tuesday 28th October. The film follows Mark Shea’s journey along the ancient pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James - El Camino de Santiago de Compostela...

This is the view that most pilgrims first get of St Jean Pied de Port. I remember it quite clearly, I was wondering what was ahead of me. I had not read much about the Camino before heading off there for a month, my flat mate and college friend had been my sole source of information.

I had imagined me walking in wilderness, I had wondered how I would cope not talking to other people for days on ...

I received a postcard today from Ponferrada which holds a special place in my heart.

I walked from there with two pilgrims 3 years ago, one went ahead to Santiago and we joined them in Santiago. The one that went ahead to Santiago, Nora, sent me the card because she also knows it will mean something to me.

Anna and I were sick and had to rest for a few days and met up with Nora in Santiago de Com...