November 2022
The body of Saint James, Son of Zebedee and Apostle of Jesus of Nazareth, lies in a tomb in NW Spain that is visited by countless thousands of pilgrims every year. Traditionally, folk from all over Europe and beyond have had the urge to step out of their home, lock the door and walk independently to this tomb. Many have found the experience therapeutic. My wife Vivien and I are just 2 of them. On 27th April 2019 we walked c. 1100 km from our Bergerie Landaise in France.
54 days later we arrived in Santiago de Compostela on 19th June. One of the amazing features of the walk was seeing, first-hand, the natural world that we encountered along the way. Our departure date coincided with the beginning of the flowering season for many species of orchids and other spring flowers including wild tulips. We first walked through the largest managed forest in Europe, namely the Forêt de Landes de Gascogne. On leaving this forest, we were soon in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the mountain range dividing France from Spain. There was nowhere to go but up, and despite it being May by then, we encountered distinctly wintery weather at the highest points, including small amounts of ground snow. Vultures and bizarre alpine flowers reminded us that we were close to nature. The frequent cold rain and wind were indeed very close natural companions but made the drama real. The descent into Spain, devoid of border posts, brought us back to the sunny joys of May in Spain and many species of flowers never seen before or since.
The walk across northern Spain was a carousel of mountains and valleys with a large high plateau called The Meseta in the middle. The wildlife was fascinating at this time with many birds considered rare in England seen regularly there such as white storks breeding on roof-tops, corn buntings calling from nearly every bush encountered, nightingales in every woodland copse singing night and day. Quail could be heard also.
During daylight hours of November 26th & 27th an exhibition of paintings by Vivien inspired by this walk will be displayed in Framfield Parish Church, including a travelogue talk on Saturday 27th at 14:00 h. Please join us at this tranquil Sussex spot to explore our adventure on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Also known as “The Way”.