Santa María de Neda

Santa María de Neda is the waterfront parish where most pilgrims first set foot in Neda, and where the Camino Inglés's midpoint albergue stands at the mouth of the Belelle river. The parish church is an 18th-century Baroque building on a site that has held churches since the early days of Christianity in northern Galicia.

Its treasure has a fitting story for the English Way. The Cristo de la Cadena, a 16th-century figure in the Tudor Gothic style, arrived by ship from England around 1550, reportedly carried by an English Catholic escaping religious persecution. Local tradition says the image came floating across the ría. The church stamps credentials when open and offers a pilgrim blessing at weekend masses.

Two bridges cross the ría here. The official waymarks take you round by the older road bridge and along pavements, but the arched footbridge leads straight to the albergue, and from there a boardwalk through the Belelle marshes is the far nicer way to reach the church. With Ferrol about 15 km behind you, this is the natural place to split the long first stage.