By ATG Staff
The Camino de Santiago to the shrine of St James on the northwest tip of Spain was one of the busiest trunk roads in Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries: an age of pilgrimage, when between 500,000 and two million people each year, from every part of Europe, walked along the ‘camino’ to Santiago de Compostela.
There are several Camino de Santiago routes, two originating outside Spain namely the Camino Frances, the most well-known of all the routes (from St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees) and the Camino Portugues from Lisbon via Porto. There are also other routes starting in different parts of Spain including the Camino del Norte, across Northern Spain, the Via de la Plata (Silver route) from Seville in Southern Spain, also known as the Camino Real, and shorter routes including the Camino Ingles (the route of the English) from the northwest coast to Santiago.
The Camino de Santiago is also referred to as the Way of St. James. According to tradition, the remains of St James the Apostle lie in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, where he was brought by his followers after his martyrdom. The scallop shell is a symbol of the Camino that can be seen along the paths to guide pilgrims on their way. During medieval times, pilgrims wore the shell as a sign they were following the Camino and would have used it as a small bowl for food or drink. There are several theories surrounding the origins of the scallop shell as a symbol, some linking it to St James, others suggest it represents the setting sun and is a symbol of life or that the lines on the shell represent the different paths of the Camino, each pointing towards Santiago.
The Camino still attracts many walkers today – over 530,000 in 2025; some who walk for spiritual or religious reasons like their medieval predecessors, others as a personal challenge or to ‘take time out’. For ATG clients, walking sections of the route, it is perhaps the opportunity to gain an understanding of the scale of this medieval phenomenon, and the hardships, pleasures and interests of the journey for those early travellers.
One must begin, as we do, north of the Pyrenees, and follow an infinitely varied succession of paths that link great cathedrals, outstandingly fine churches and other monuments: across the Pyrenees and the plains of Navarre, across the Montes de León, through the vineyards of Rioja and the Bierzo, and the fertile valleys of Galicia, until first glimpsing the towers of Santiago we enter the medieval city on foot, like millions of others through history. Our itinerary re-creates, as closely as is possible today, the experience of the medieval traveller. We walk the most unspoilt sections travelled by medieval pilgrims and ride the rest in the comfort of a mini-bus.
ATG’s trip, Via Nova & the Camino Real, follows sections of the Roman Via XVIII or Via Nova, constructed in the 1st century AD to connect Bracara Augusta (Braga in Portugal) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga in Spain) which has remained in an exceptional state of preservation, with 250 of its original milestones still in position. This tour explores the legacy of the Roman Via Nova, and the rich heritage of the Camino Real, its fine monasteries, its convergence with other pilgrimage routes as it nears Santiago and much more.
