Passport 2015-18

The most important stamp at santa Fe in 2018 closing another book. Although we did the full camino in 2015, I used it again in October 2016, April 2017/18 and September 2017/18 before it had no space so the cover got stamped in cardenuella rio pico

Passport from 2011-2015

One full Camino, then 2013 from Pamplona and 2015 just a wee one!

2014 to follow with 2007

It is with great happiness some videos are still there - links below!

No idea how it works, but I laughed at bar sevilla from azofra in sept 2011. Its been difficult navigation so I've started deleting old stuff and putting pictures and videos in new locations. Bar Seville - Azofra Castojeriz - Climbing the hill after leaving town www.fatal-bananas early heart starter outside Castrojeriz

It is with great sadness that many videos are no longer live on the site, especially from 2011

Yes the HAPPY BIRTHDAY camino with Harry. Apologies for this as I guess there was an email saying pay us to keep them or do some techy stuff to convert them. I've another plan, I will re-enact them with new characters!! FONCEBADON wi the lassie from Edinburgh about OCT 12 2011 was one of those priceless pieces of nonsense, but the moment is still lingering in my head....

2022 another look Pamplona - Logrono - Burgos

To get a flavour of the camino is like dipping a toe in a mud bath. Your toe will get the flavour, but better your toe than nothing at all!

You need time on the camino to savour the wines and the expeience, to suffer the smells and sounds of the Albegues before going off piste to a hotel!

That said, not everyone has the time and a little is better than nothing at all. Here's a version with 60km of walking, 30 litres of beer and 10kgs of tapas!

Most accessible from Edinburgh are Bilbao and Santander. Bilbao is best for Pamplona.

Flying out 7am on sunday morning you arrive Bilbao at 10:35, head to cafe iruna, via Guggenheim and old town for early lunch before bus down to Pamplona. Walking in Bilbao is largely a flat 3km. 

Arrive Pamplona 5pm and walk around city walls and tapas bars for 3 hours then get taxi 3 minutes to hotel. Hotel is close to bus station. 7:30 bus (or taxi) to cizur mayor for coffee and then walk up to Mont Perdon (3 hours - with one stop for beer at Zariquiegui near summit. Stop at summit for beer then walk down to Uterga for beer, then Muruzabal, then Obanos before arriving at the Jakue in Puente La Reina for monday night.

I say the Jakue but the other plan, is we get to Puente La Reina (3.15-3.25), or even Obanos and get the 3.10-3.20 bus to Estella. The walk to Estella is another tremendous stroll particularly the route from Maneru to Cirauqui, as you slowly walk towards the roof top town, but if time is of the essence then the smart money gets you to Estella for the night, ideally the Hospederia Chapitel, which is ideally located in the centre and whose rustic charms will doubtless appeal to those pilgrims wanting luxury with quaint echoes of bygone pilgrims, without their comforts!

In the morning of Tuesday, the first stop out is the wine fountain at 9am, followed by the glorious climb via Ayegui  and Bodegas Irache to Azqueta where an early beer is followed by an 11am bus to Los Arcos. 

Ideally we'd climb to Villamayor de Montjardin, sit down, survey the valley, beer in hand, before slipping and sliding our 12km way to Los Arcos, shooting the breeze and feeling the crumbs under our boots, but we're on a fact finding mission!

With 8km in our legs and a hearty rest at Los Arcos after our arduous 9 minutes on the bus, we'll pile into the wee square by the church and have a beer. The next walk is only 6k, or a game of football, 90 minutes. It always makes me smile when I arrive after only 75 minutes, but that's because I used to always get subbed and a game of football for me was 75 minutes!

Having left Los Arcos at 12 we arrive at Sansol at 13:20 and have lunch at the albergue, before getting on the bus again to Logrono.

There's a great walk from Torres del Rio (1km across the gorge from Sansol) to Viana but that's not got any pub stops, unless the guy with the camper van station is open, a very risky gamble to take in the afternoon!

Tuesday night in Logrono means we wake up on Wednesday and dust ourselves down for the trip back up to Bilbao, then we realise the flight is not until 9pm so we take the bus to Belorado and do one of the great September Sunflower strolls to Villafranca Montes des Oca via Tosantos, Villambistia, and Espinosa del Camino. 

This section is so accessible you could take a 90 year old or a 1 year old on it!

This is a very short stretch which hugs the highway but offers easy walking and numerous pit stops for bowels that may need them after 2 heavy days! An early bus will see us in Burgos for 2pm for lunch and then a train at 5pm back to Bilbao, or a bus to Santander for the 22:30 flight back, both work well.

2022 the walk takes shape

 Clearly 2021 will see Jimmy and John, pick up where they left off in Azofra. Walking will take them to Santo Domingo, then Belorado, Montes de Oca, Atapuerca, Cardenuela and then Burgos.

Depending on time, 2022 will see Burgos to Hornillos, involving stops at the edge of Burgos, Tosantos, Rabe de las Calzada before the 8km step to Hornillos del Camino.

The next day will see us stroll to Hontanas (10km), stopping for a drink a San Bol. After Hontanas we have 10km to Castrojeriz, stopping after 7km at the ruins, never miss a chance to have a beer!

Next up is a stroll, up over the hill to Itero de la vega. Its about 8km and thereafter we head 6km to our next drinking stop before we head off to walk the canal to Fromsita, home of the railway station.

The next walk takes us to a few stops on our way to Carion des los Condes. The Hotel Zorio at the end of town is superb, apologies for the spelling.

From Carion, we may walk the big steps, or take the bus across to then walk from Religeous to Sahagun.

Montrose golf outing 2019 memories of holes in one

I like a good hole in one and I never got one today but I was reminded of a few from the past, my first being at Prestonfield Golf Club in Edinburgh when I was 15, a lucky bounce off the right hand slope of the bunker saw my ball drop in the hole. It was my last lucky one!

My 2nd came 30 years later when playing with Arnaldo. It followed a Sunday night of bravado as I told him how much I loved the braids and how I'd hit a 5 iron round the belly at the 9th, a 40 yard hook which would bounce on the apron and roll up the green. I told him I'd break 80 even though I hadnt played it for 15 years and only carried irons. Oh how we laughed 24 hours later as we got to the 9th and I called the shot and yet we couldn't find the ball. Hunting through the back eventually we conceded it was all over the flag and yes, its in the hole. Out in 35 and there goes any ambition to break 80, lets get to the bar.

The third was on Arran, the third at Lamlash, a 9 iron to the top corner, straight as a Jocky Wilson arrow. Thats got a chance I said and I never looked over the back I just walked confidently to the hole.

Two weeks later and we're still in Ayrshire and playing LSEGS v SSEGS, a bitter England v Scotland contest where beneath the merriment is feisty fare. We were on Glasgow Gailes and about the 14th a par 3 with a huge green on the left and a mound to carry if you wanted to attack the pin. In Foursomes your partners head up to the green in optimistic fashion and that was the case the day as big Sean (LSEGS) and my partner headed up while Mike (LSEGS aka Freddie Couples) and I waited on the tee for the green to clear. I joked with Freddie that this required my round the belly shot where I keep the hands square. If I roll the hands its an ugly drawing hook into the fat of the green but if I pure it, the mound gets carried. "Oh, I've pured that, how fucking good is that strike". Up at the green, all 6' 7" of big Sean is waving his 7' wingspan as the ball trundles toward the hole hidden from us. Next thing, the cheers ring out and big Mike and I are belly bouncing on the tee. "You've got this for the half Mike!". Mike is sadly no longer with us but his memory will always live on long in my mind. 

Next up was the best called hole in one of the lot. I've only had the 5 but this one was special as I described in my fantasy world how I was going to beat the club champion in the forthcoming 1st round. As we walked off the 8th, I told Ricky I had a plan. My great gift is to appear to be lucky and so I was going to exploit that by getting a hole in one at the 2nd. Ricky laughed at the thoughts that would go through Arran's head! "You see, I've got this shot I'm saving, a 6 iron, down the shaft, soft fade, about 5 feet left of the stick. The pin is always about 8 yards from the back right on the top deck, and with the slope, it should be perfect. In fact much like today, as I stepped onto the medal tee at the 9th. Down the shaft soft fade, exactly, in fact that's the shot I'll be playing, no slow up, no dont go in oh FUCK!! Nightmare, whats the chance of me doing this again in 5 days time.

5 days later I played Arran and told him how my plan had come unstuck. I'd rehearsed it in my head but with the hole in one only 5 days old, far from riding the wave I just couldn't convince myself, Arran on the other hand, hit the pin (with his 2nd shot) and it dropped dead to win the hole with a 3. Who knew I could just get a birdie and win it!

I've holed number of shots with wedges, 5,6,7,8 and 9 irons and for a while I had a 100 yard club that seemed to land a foot from the hole. My favourites have usually been in matches when I've called them. Playing with JJ against Gav & Stevie in the final of the winter greensomes, we needed to hole a 7 iron for a two at the 8th because the guys were probably going to get a 3 net 2, based on what they'd done to us at the 6th. As I called it (another 9 second diatribe as the ball headed towards the hole, "oh that was really well struck, and its holding its line, it needs to stay a foot to the left as it rolls onto the green oh yes thats perfect, oh its in!")

When we were wee we holed 2nd shots all the time in our heads, but it wasn't quite as frequent as that. It was just that we were out all the time so inevitably we hit the odd good one. At Prestonfield I've holed out at the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, and 18th from a decent range. The par 3's I've chipped in but I cant remember a 2 at 12,14 or 17. Some people think its luck but I think there's a range and statistical repetition and likelihood of outcome. If holing a putt from anywhere on the green is skill, at what range does it become luck? There is no range, there is just a lower likelihood. If you dont aim at a flag there is almost no likelihood, but when you aim and you hit it where you mean, the likelihood is relatively quite high.