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  • The Only Way Is West

  • A Once in a Lifetime, 500 Mile Adventure Walking Spain’s Camino de Santiago
  • By: Bradley Chermside
  • Narrated by: Joel Daffurn
  • Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (87 ratings)
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The Only Way Is West cover art

The Only Way Is West

By: Bradley Chermside
Narrated by: Joel Daffurn
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Summary

The international best seller.

What would you do if you're given a €20 note in Greece with an email address scribbled on it:

  1. Spend it? 
  2. Slip the suspect counterfeit bill into an enemy’s birthday card?
  3. Send an email, hoping it will lead to you finding everlasting love?

Brad, a hopeless romantic, chose the latter.

Two years later, his love life remains a disaster and his career is misfiring. As he’s about to walk Spain’s fabled Camino de Santiago to ponder some profound life changes, Brad receives a reply. Incredibly, it’s from a woman who lives on the 1000-year-old pilgrimage trail, far away from where the money first crossed his palm. She invites him to sleep..."on her house". 

Hiking 900km on the Road to Santiago to a blind date with the mystery €20 woman, he meets fellow pilgrims and natives who make him believe more than ever in the kindness of the human spirit, befriends a Hungarian who speaks English in song titles and has his raison d’être revealed to him by a barefoot Mayan mystic. Will he meet his happily-ever-after along the way too? 

Buy this pacy, laugh-out-loud travelogue to find out now...

  • Best seller in the UK - Humorous essays, travelogues, and religious travel categories.
  • Best seller in the USA - Sports essays, ecotourism, and literary travel.
  • Best seller in Canada - Humorous essays and travelogues.
  • Best seller in Australia - Humorous essays and travelogues.
  • Best seller in India - Religious travel.
©2019 Bradley Chermside (P)2020 Bradley Chermside

Critic reviews

"An inspiring, touching, heartfelt and funny memoir that made me howl with laughter throughout. A wonderful read." (Kevin Hand, BBC London)

"This book would be a great read for anyone planning their own Camino, or for those who like adventure and travel memoirs written with honesty, emotion and humour." (French Village Diaries)

What listeners say about The Only Way Is West

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very funny story and narration

I listened to this book whilst during my many walks whilst training for the Camino de Santiago. I found this book really funny and the narration excellent. This book is an honest narration of the author's walk through the Camino and the many pilgrims he meets through his journey. I really enjoyed this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended

Loved the adventure Brad takes you on both his personal journey and walk across Spain.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • EL
  • 22-05-21

Brilliant!

Thoroughly enjoyed this, one day I too hope to walk the Camino. It has inspired me to not give up on my dream, many thanks

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

My main impression of this book is how young the author seems with his crsss humour, views of romance and, shall we say, "non PC" representations of women. The descriptive passages come across as effortful, as if he has used a thesaurus. His main attention is to the characters he meets on the way, it was all about the comraderie for him. The narrator ennunciates in an almost exaggerated fashion, mispronounces quite a few words and his attempts at accents grated with me. I still want to walk the camino having listened to this book but such is the emphasis on disturbed nights' sleep because of others' snoring I think I'll give the dormitories a miss.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

funny witty enjoyable

most enjoyable, funny , interesting stories on his journey, excited for mine interesting characters on his journey

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Annoying. Self privileged. Arrogant.

I found the story of the wall really good but the narrator is annoying, chauvinistic and has a really annoying sense of humour. I got to the end. Struggled though …

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great journey & listen

One of my favourite listens, I hope to become a pilgrim too, thanks for sharing your story

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing narration

I loved the book and was listening to the end part of it while on the Portuguese (coastal) Camino. The story is one that a lot of people can relate to, what was amazing was the narration - the way Joel Daffurn brings all those characters to life with different accents is astonishing. Wonderful book to listen to.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Arrogant, conceited author

It was very difficult for me to listen until the end, but I persevered, because I wanted to see how the Camino has “changed” him for the better.

Well, it didn’t (despite the author’s claims).

He’s still the same arrogant self he was at the beginning, in a way you can tell this because this memoir was written AFTER he’s completed the Camino, so from his tone of voice it was very clear what kind of person he is. For example, the kind who put judgements on other pilgrims (the “plastic pilgrims”) without knowing who they were, one who boasted about his physical strength (I was the last to leave the albergue but I soon overtook all the other pilgrims, I walked 57km to Santiago despite my shin splints because I wanted to avoid the plastic pilgrims), the list of my irritations with this book/author is endless.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I loved this down to earth account of walking the Camino de Santiago. It's full of humour and insight into the author's life. Unputdownable, if that's a word.

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