Betanzos to Hospital de Bruma
Climb
- Distance
- 24 km
- Climb
- 560 m up, 210 m down
- Ground
- 30 to 410 m
- Time
- 6 to 8 hours
- Difficulty
- hard
- Underfoot
- dirt, forest, cobblestone, mountain
Where this day sits on the Camino Inglés
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 6 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
This is the day the Camino Inglés earns its difficulty. Twenty-four kilometres, sustained climbing, almost no services between Betanzos and Hospital de Bruma. You leave the Mandeo river valley and start working uphill through small Galician villages — Cos, Limiñón, Vilacoba — gaining four hundred metres to the highland where the historic pilgrim hospital stood. By late afternoon you reach Bruma, a place that exists for one reason: it is the meeting point of the historic Ferrol path and the historic A Coruña path. The albergue today sits on the ridge that medieval hospitalers chose because both groups of pilgrims would arrive there exhausted on the same day. You feel the convergence even now.
What pilgrims often meet here
- The sustained climb out of Betanzos that does not let up
- Long stretches with no village in sight
- Hitting the wall around kilometre 18
- Arriving in Bruma in the late afternoon, the highland wind cool even in summer
- Meeting pilgrims who walked from A Coruña — they joined the route only here
What does it feel like to walk toward a place whose only purpose is to receive walkers?
The ground
The longest and toughest day of the Camino Inglés. Sustained climb out of Betanzos through small villages and forest, gaining ~400 m to the highland of Bruma. Limited services between Betanzos and Hospital de Bruma — carry water and food. Hospital de Bruma's albergue has only ~22 beds; book ahead in peak season.
- Longest stage of the route at 24 km. Limited services between Betanzos and Bruma. Carry water and food, start early.
- The Hospital de Bruma albergue has limited beds (~22). In peak season book ahead — there is no nearby alternative lodging.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Betanzos depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
Pilgrim doesn't carry the Camino Inglés as a route yet. You can still walk it with the app in Wander mode, speaking what arises and keeping it on your phone.