William McDonald's Charity Walk from Irun to Santiago de Compostela

Having lost some dear family and friends in the last few years, I wanted to do something to commemorate them and conscious I am not getting any younger! So, inspired by watching a few TV programmes I felt the urge to do a very long walk and thought why not raise funds for their charities at the same time.

So, I set myself the challenge going as a pilgrim to cover the entire Compostela del Norte (Northern Way) route from Irun in the Basque country (just over the North French border) to Santiago de Compostela in the Northwest of Spain. This route follows Spain's stunning northern coastline and winds through Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia and is roughly 850km (528 miles) in total. There are several routes you can take to Santiago, but I chose this route as it’s one of the most challenging due to the steep hilly terrain along the way. I will be doing this on my own, with my backpack and staying in albergues (basic accommodation). I will pass places you may have heard of such as San Sebastian, Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, and Gijón before finishing at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of Saint James are (allegedly) buried. All in all, I expect given blisters, donkeys and other little deterrents on the way, it will take me around 5 weeks to complete. So, while you are having a pint/glass of wine discussing if I am mad or not, please feel free to donate the cost of a drink in my direction by pledging a few quid which will be shared equally across the four charities. Cheers!