The English Way is one of the traditional routes of the Way of St. James, but it is not very well known nowadays because it runs completely within the borders of Galicia and from west to east, so you have to get to the western coast and, from there, go to Santiago, travelling quite a few kilometres along the coast and going inland, using the left bank of the sea inlet of Betanzos in Ferrol, or its right bank in Corunna.

This used to be a very popular itinerary many centuries ago, because it welcomed pilgrimages which got there by boat, from the Atlantic Ocean, and did not have to cross the territory of the eastern peninsula. It was called English because many Irish and British people who went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela since the 12th century entered through Ferrol or Corunna, and left very evident cultural traces throughout this route that ends in Santiago.

In our trip by mountain bike, we also follow the coastal route of the English Way quite closely: Ferrol, Cabanas, Pontedeume, Miño, and Corunna. We avoid going inland in Galicia, and after Corunna, we go on up to Arteixo. We won’t come into the Way until its final stages, in Muxía and Fisterra.