The Northern Route, also called Coastal Route of the Way of St. James, is the standard section of the Jacobean pilgrimage which stops nearer the coasts of Cantabria, although, from Cantabria, it is pretty urban and crosses the rural and mountainous inland region without getting too close to the beaches or cliffs.

As regards our Iberian coast to coast journey, the route was first designed to follow the coastline on the periphery of the current Way of St. James, but in practice, it follows a route that reproduces quite accurately the one followed by pilgrims hundreds of years ago when they walked along routes next to the beaches. That is what I found out while tracking maps of the coasts of Asturias when I was preparing the GPS tracks, and I realized that I was somehow following itineraries that were once used by pilgrims.

So, those who follow the proposed coast to coast route by mountain bike will be running parallel to the Way of St. James through Euskadi, Cantabria, Asturias, and the first town in Galicia entering through the northern coast: Ribadeo.

The route I propose in this website and the GPS tracks significantly extend the stages of the Way, and require an extra effort to get near the coasts as compared to the pilgrims following the standard road. But our route can be perfectly followed while, at the same time, you can use the accommodation network and points of gastronomic interests enjoyed by the pilgrims.