Roman Walls of Lugo and Chemin de l’Intérieur

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Roman Walls of Lugo

   Lugo is the only city in the world still completely surrounded by intact Roman walls. Built in the late third century, when the Roman Empire was under pressure from invasions, the walls run for more than two kilometres around the old town, with dozens of semicircular towers and ten gates, some Roman and some added later. They are wide enough at the top for a walkway, and walking the full circuit, with views over the rooftops of the old town on one side and the modern city on the other, is the best way to get a sense of the place. The walls were listed by UNESCO in 2000.

   Read the complete Roman Walls of Lugo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Roman Walls of Lugo is where the day begins. Next is Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes.

2. 2. Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes

   Pilgrims walking the Camino del Norte toward Santiago reach Sobrado dos Monxes tired and footsore, and the sight of the huge granite Baroque façade of the monastery, rising out of a quiet Galician village, must feel like a miracle. Sobrado was founded as a monastery in the tenth century, became Cistercian in the twelfth, and grew into one of the most powerful abbeys in Galicia. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the nineteenth century, it fell into ruin, until Cistercian monks returned in the 1950s and began restoring it. Today they run a pilgrim hostel in part of the buildings.

   Read the complete Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chemin de l’Intérieur.

3. 3. Chemin de l’Intérieur

   Pilgrims have been crossing this green upland of Galicia on their way to Santiago de Compostela for more than a thousand years, and the scallop-shell waymarkers still guide them through the villages around Vilalba and Guitiriz. This is the Terra Chá, the flat land, a high plateau in the north of the province of Lugo where the northern pilgrim routes come down from the Cantabrian coast toward the interior. The Ways of Saint James in northern Spain are part of a UNESCO listing that recognises not only the famous French Way but also the coastal and inland routes that run through this region.

   Read the complete Chemin de l’Intérieur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach Chemin de l’Intérieur. Next is back through Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes.

4. 4. back through Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Monaster de Sobrado Dos Monxes, late in the day. Next is Roman Walls of Lugo.

5. 5. Roman Walls of Lugo

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Roman Walls of Lugo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Roman Walls of Lugo. That is the ride.