STARTING POINT: ALICANTE
END POINT: VALENCIA-BURGOS
DISTANCE: 675 km
The Wool Way begins in both Alicante and Valencia, runs across the province of Cuenca and then reaches Burgos, where it joins the French Way.
The Wool Way remained forgotten for long, but documentary evidence from 1624, which describes the pilgrimage, made it possible to recover it in the late 20th century.
This way is characterized by wide flat landscapes, small towns with examples of Romanesque architecture and a number of castles that bear witness to the Muslim past of the region.
History
This way overlaps and is named after one of the oldest commercial routes in the peninsula: the cattle route used by shearers, shepherds and their sheep. Alicante and Valencia are the two starting points, and pilgrims followed this transhumance route across the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara, the Upper Douro, the monastery of Silos and Covarrubias until they reached the wool capital of Spain: Burgos. There it joined the French Way, after more than 400 kilometres of contrasting landscapes filled with the historical adventures of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid.
INFORMATION FOR PILGRIMS
-This is not a renowned route and few pilgrims do it, but it is well signposted with yellow arrows or the typical scallops.
-Although pilgrim hostels are not as frequent as in other routes, there are different accommodation options in the main towns of each stage.