Chapter 1
My ‘Camino Portuguese’ 2026: a 600 mile coastal walk from the bottom of Portugal to the top of Spain: a walk that both celebrates life and honours the life of my lovely niece, Hannah Jones who died in July 2025.
Last July my youngest sister Lizzie and husband David, received the news that every parent dreads.
Their 24 year old daughter Hannah and her boyfriend Jacques had been involved in a head on crash on the autoroute (motorway) just south of Toulouse in South Western France.
Jacques who was driving survived, albeit with severe injuries. Tragically Hannah was killed instantly.
The other driver was drunk and had been driving down the wrong side of the motorway for 30+ kilometres.
Just like that: a life, so full of promise, was snuffed out.
Such a tragic waste of a life that had so much potential.
Hannah had so much to live for.
The 6th of 7 children, she was a social spark in every gathering.
Mischievous and funny, she was a magnet: people were drawn to her.
Hannah was about to graduate as a qualified teacher and fulfil her dream to be a positive influence in the lives of children starting their primary education. Her great legacy is that this has already started and my walk is partly fuelled by a desire to publicise and encourage this initiative to grow.
As Sir Frances Bacon famously said in 1597: “Knowledge is power.”
In November 2025, 5 months after Hannah’s death, I began to feel an urge to try to practically support my sister and her family as they navigated their grief.
They had just established a French Charity in Hannah’s name: “Les Histoires des Hannah.”
I felt a connection. After all, I was a retired teacher, have read all my life and recognised that Hannah had a particular penchant for reading and her charity was seeking to promote reading with young school aged children.
The charity aims to fund each school starter, with a free story book .
So how could I help them: what could I do?
Gradually the seed of an idea began to form.
I chatted with my friend ‘Camino Steve’, who lives in London and asked him if he fancied undertaking another long distance walk with me.
Steve and I had met in 2023 when we walked the 500 mile historic pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, which starts near Biarritz in the south of France and traverses the whole of Northern Spain eventually arriving in Santiago de Compostella.
This trail is over 1,000 years old.
We had literally walked in the ‘footsteps of giants’: millions of people had walked this challenging route before us over the last millennium.
Steve and I had ‘clicked’ in 2023. We walked at a similar pace, had lots in things in common and got on really well together.
Steve is good fun, calm in a crisis, purposeful and intelligent. He is blessed with a dry sense of humour. He was also a great support to me after our Camino at a time when I had found life to be quite challenging. (More of that to follow in future chapters)
Steve has his flaws of course: we all do.
He is an Arsenal fan and as they have all but sown up winning the English Premier League title this year, I worry that his triumphant crowing could be as gruelling as the walking in our 35 day challenge together!
After all, I am a Bristol City fan: we are very successful ……. at finishing boringly mid table and winning nothing!
A celebrating ‘Gooner’ on an isolated Camino could be a tough gig!
Could I bear it?
So Steve and I proceeded to make our individual plans and eventually targeted a unique Camino that starts at Cap St Vincent (the Portuguese equivalent of Land’s End) and ends in Santiago.
We chatted via text and Zoom and hatched the plan which becomes reality next Monday evening 23 March, when we land within 10 minutes of each other in Faro on the Algarve, in southern Portugal.
Today the reality of what we are trying to do hit me.
1000 kilometres in 35 walking days, across a fairly deserted first section of 250 km on the western Algarve where the tourist infrastructure is limited and where securing fresh drinking water and overnight accommodation can be difficult.
It could be challenging. It will be challenging.
But it is going to be special, walking up the Portuguese coastline with the sun shining (🤞), the ocean roaring and the wind on our backs(🙏).
I’m currently managing a pretty sore big toe joint on my left foot! Not ideal preparation especially as ‘rest’ is probably the best treatment, rather than walking 15 -20 miles every day for more than a month.
So yesterday I test packed my gear.
In 2023 I had persistently marvelled at the size of Steve’s…… (🤪) …….. rucsack!
(Readers: please don’t be saucy! This is a family blog!)
I really don’t think it is even possible for me to go lower!
Over the last 9 years I have walked 8 Camino’s and my pack has never been so light.
Apparently Camino Steve has “10 things” in his pack – including sleeping bag, 3 pants, 3 pairs of socks….. that makes 7 already.🙄 what the heck?
Steve’s is the rucksack on the left in this photo taken back from our Camino in April 2023. Mine is the biggy: of course!
In our chat last night Steve confirmed that his pack for this trip weighed 4kg!
4kg!!!! 4 bags of flour! That’s just not possible!
But it is. And that is what his rucksack weighs.
I’m ashamed to admit my competitive streak kicked in immediately.
How low could I go?
My initial target was a weight of 8kg but our chat on the previous night had made an ambitious reduction necessary!
Could I even get close to Steve’s 4kg whilst ensuring I had the most important things that I would need for a 6 week journeys, all packed up in that small 30 litre rucksack?
Sadly, in the words of the MC Hammer song, I have to report that, “I can’t touch this!”
Steve wins: this time!
“1-0 to the Arsenal” as Camino Steve takes an early lead in our Camino 2026 Competition.
If you think Steve travels light, look at the pack carried by Ursula from Uruguay who I met on the 550 mile Camino del Norte in May 2024.
I have no idea!
My own 30 litre rucsack, complete with sleeping bag, crocs, bucket hat and 40 Dr Beckmann washing sheets still weighed in at a very respectable 6.4kg.
No I’m not sponsored by Beckmann! But these washing sheets are great for long distance travel. They are the size of 40 pieces of A5 paper. Each one dissolves in a bowl of water and allows you to hand wash your sweaty smalls! Weighing in at 4g each sheet they are my go to for staying fresh as a daisy on the trail and weigh nothing!
When the inevitable happens and I regret that I didn’t bring such and such, I will feel justified in venting my spleen on the ‘Gloating Gooner from Greewich!’
For the record I have packed a sleeping back, 2 thermal tops, 2 quick wick T shirts, 3 pairs of walking socks, 3 ‘bamboo’ boxer shorts (to wick away moisture😳), suncream, toiletries, cagoul, crocs, head torch, battery pack, charger, cagoul, shorts, trousers, gloves and down jacket.
‘Rucsack Envy’ is clearly a thing.
Yes! I’m suffering from it!
I’m pretty excited to start now.
The start of our meander up Portugal is just 5 days away. My 6.4kg rucsack is packed, Euros purchased today, plus a tiny pot of ‘Sudocrem’: you see chaffing in all the wrong places can be a real thing on the Camino! 🙄.
Unbelievably so many people have already helped me to raise over £1000 for Hannah’s charity.
Liz and her family are bowled over with your generosity; “Amazing! You better walk it now!” was her very supportive comment yesterday.😳
Yikes! “Under Pressure!” springs to mind. 😜 I’ve now got to try and walk this blessed thing
Thanks for the read and as they like to say to us on the trail:
“Buen Camino” – Have a good Way.
Martin x
Ps The Camino is also known as ‘The Way of St James’.
Camino Fun Fact/Question Number 1.
In 2023, to the nearest thousand, how many individual steps did I walk on my 30 day, 500 mile long Camino?
The answer will be revealed in my next blog. Feel free to hazard a guess if you wish.
If you do still wish to sponsor me, you can do so through the link below: thank you if you do.
Martin Moorman is a 61 year old retired Headteacher who lives with his wife Nicky, daughter and her family in North Yorkshire, UK.
Happily married fur 36 years, Martin and Nicky have 3 grown up children, all happily married too. In his spare time Martin loves walking, photography, football, renovating cooking and talking rubbish to anyone who will listen!
Martin Moorman 