John Hayes is a retired management consultant with degrees from Liverpool University and University College London. Immediately after finishing work in 2011 he embarked on an epic 5,000km trek across Europe, walking from Tarifa in Spain to Budapest. John has written for numerous walking and trekking magazines. John first walked the GR1 in early 2013 and has made two return trips. When exploring new routes in Spain John enjoys the advice and support of Juan Holgado, whose website JuanHolgado.com is one of best known local sources on Spanish walking. John has walked the Camino dos Faros in Spain twice, in April 2016 (with Christine his wife) and in June 2017.
Seasons
Potentially an all year round route, the best times to experience the Ruta are spring and autumn.
Centres
Seville, Zafra, Mérida, Cáceres, Zamora, León, Oviedo and Gijón, plus Ourense and Santiago de Compostela on the Camino Sanabrés
Difficulty
Empty roads and gentle climbs make the route accessible to a wide range of bikes and cyclists. On and off-road versions can be combined for a perfect touring, hybrid or gravel cycle trip.
Must See
Gijón and 8 Unesco world heritage sites (Seville, Mérida, Cáceres, Salamanca, León, Zamora, Oviedo, and Santiago de Compostela). This traverse of Spain takes in the central plateau (meseta) and the unique dehesa landscape as well as the Cantabrian mountains.
