Betanzos → Hospital de Bruma

Gronze, the reference guide for this route, describes it as the theoretically hardest and loneliest stage of the whole Camino Inglés, and officially scores it 3 out of 5. The number does not tell the whole story: it is the one with the most climbing of the five days, and that physical demand combines with real isolation — almost 11 km without a single bar right after you set out — that makes it feel harder than the figure suggests.

The route, village by village

You leave Betanzos and reach Cos (7.5 km), with its church but no bar open; then comes a narrow road with no verge as far as Presedo, so walk with an eye on the traffic. Presedo (11.4 km) is the day's first real resupply: it has a municipal hostel 200 metres off the route, with about 14 beds, and an inn some 500 metres away that closes on Mondays.

Then Leiro (13.5 km), the last service before another long stretch of nothing, on to Beche (16.6 km), with a picnic area with tables and toilets worth stopping at. Near the end, at As Travesas (21.4 km), there is a bar-tobacconist, Casa Avelina, and it is also where the branch coming from A Coruña joins — a shorter start which, walked on its own, falls below the 100 km the Compostela requires. From there it is a little over 2.5 km to Hospital de Bruma (24 km), with its chapel of San Lourenzo and the Casa Graña bar barely 60 metres from the hostel.

Where to sleep

In Hospital de Bruma there are two hostels on the route. The Xunta one, at the standard 10 €/night, 22 beds and no bookings possible: beds go to whoever arrives first. And the Albergue San Lorenzo de Bruma, private, with another 22 beds, which does take bookings (+34 619 464 240; we have not verified the price, so ask when you call). In high season, or if you will arrive late, booking the private one the day before removes the only real worry of this stage; if both fill up, you would be looking for a guesthouse about 2 km away or a taxi to Ordes. The guide on what to do if the hostel is fullcovers exactly this kind of squeeze. The pilgrims' hospital that gives the place its name is documented from the 12th century: for centuries it was the only shelter on the inland part of this route, in a wooded, thinly populated area. Nothing remains of the original building; the current hostel occupies the same site, beside the chapel.