Hubby wants to do a 6 week holiday alone

Right.... because you cant/wont go with him.... he's not allowed to?
Selfish much,.

I don't really see the issue. It's not like you've got young children at home that need support. And at 69, he's definitely running out of time of being fit/strong enough for such adventures.
The camino is a beautiful walk, whether you are a catholic or not. I was in Santiago De Compostela about 3-4 years ago, where the camino ends, and watching the pilgrims arrive at the cathedral was a really moving, beautiful experience.
There's nothing to stop you travelling yourself somewhere at the same time. Or going to meet him at the end. It's a beautiful part of Spain - well worth seeing.

What do you need him for for those 6 weeks? Is he your carer, in which case can you arrange for someone else to cover while he has a break?

Presumably a grown woman is capable of entertaining herself without her husband for 6 short weeks. If not, this might be a valuable opportunity to fix that.

Preventing your partner from achieving their goals (for no reason apart from missing them) is the complete opposite of partnership

Perfectly put.

The man is 69 - surely as a supportive partner you would realise it's unlikely he will have this opportunity again!
OP hasn't provided any substantial reason why he shouldn't go - such as her/his health reasons, injuries, unaffordability - nothing!

Preventing your partner from achieving their goals (for no reason apart from missing them) is the complete opposite of partnership - and sounds completely suffocating.

I can't reiterate more, the comment I made further up.

My late husband's encouragement and pride in my solo backpacking trips made me love him even more.

We had so many bewildered or concerned comments from people about him 'letting me do it' that we ended up laughing at how people seemed to not be able to get their heads round it.
But given that clearly a lot of people wouldn't have 'let' their spouse do it, it made me appreciate him even more, and made our marriage even stronger.

Please wholeheartedly support and encourage your DH that way @Piratecatcher . I honestly believe that your relationship will be the better for it.

Ah, I understand you. My husband is 66 and we've been together 7 years and married for three. I'd be really upset if he wanted to go away for 6 weeks without me. I'm still in the loved up phase of my marriage and would be quite hurt too.

Yay of course…
Because being ‘all loved up’ means nothing, but absolutely nothing can exist in your life but your partner. Or take precedence for a few weeks.

That doesn’t sound like healthy to me but 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Even if you’ve ‘only’ been together 7 years, your relationship should withstand 6 weeks apart. And to do wo being heartbroken because you won’t see each other for 1.5 month.

The Camino is a pilgrimage. And your dh is 69yo.
Telling him he should be doing it in stages or not at all is even more crap imo.
Let him enjoy himself.

If you don't want to go with him that's fine, but please don't be that pathetic individual, the little woman who can't cope on her own for a few weeks.

I wouldn't see it as a 'normal' hike, and if you're at the age when you can do these things, you should- otherwise is the plan for him to never ever do this in his life?

I actually did the camino but stopped short of the end due to a work commitment, something I will regret for my entire life. Doing a chunk of it isn't a great option.

I’m not sure what there is to argue about? He is a grown man with no caring responsibilities, he can and should go if he wants to.

I have dreams of doing the Appalachian Trail one day when my kids have left school. There’s no way I’d accept my DH saying no, not that he would.

YABU

There’s no children in the home and you can manage when he goes on two week hikes.

Can you really not copy yourself for six weeks?

Ah, I understand you. My husband is 66 and we've been together 7 years and married for three. I'd be really upset if he wanted to go away for 6 weeks without me. I'm still in the loved up phase of my marriage and would be quite hurt too.

You can be still in the loved up stage AND want to go on a six week hike alone. Should he really put it off given his age because OP doesn’t like it? Also, unless I’m mistaken OP isn’t going because she isn’t a long distance hiker and doesn’t read like hiking interests her in the first place so I doubt he is doing this hike to get away from her.

Sounds great to me.

If you'll miss him too much I'd say agree for him to take a break from the hike for a long weekend or so, once or twice, during the route and you fly out to meet him and do some holiday stuff you'd enjoy. Or you find something to do yourself / with a friend during those six weeks that you'd like to do and he wouldn't.

DH and I often travel apart; I think it's sad that your DH might miss out on this great chance whilst he's still fit because you are needy.

OP I think you are being unreasonable.
Yes - you will miss him, but it is 6 weeks not 6 months and there are no young children in the home.

Spouses are not supposed to hold each other back from their dreams/goals but push them towards them.

I wouldn't mind this at all myself, assuming you can afford it and he wouldn't mind you doing the same. I also assume he's retired and this isn't using up all his annual leave?

My dad went to Australia for six weeks in his 70s, and had an amazing time. My mum didn't want to go and didn't seem to mind at all, she's quite self-sufficient. My dad used to travel for work so she's used to being on her own, and although six weeks is a long time you'd get used to it quickly.

If I'm lucky enough to have the money and good health when I'm retired, I really fancy interrailing. My partner is not keen (hence why we didn't go pre-kids) but wouldn't stop me. I very much hope I get to do it!

I didn’t appreciate Camino had to be 6 weeks

yes - you are being unreasonable here imo,

find some hobbies while he’s away or go on a trip you’ve always wanted to go on

He’s 69… gosh let the man live.

i think if you had young kids etc it would be a very different story.

it’s slightly worrying that he wants to be away from you for 6 weeks, but I assume that you’ve been married a very long time & it sounds like he is wanting to set a new challenge for himself

I would let him go but plan to “meet up half way for a week break maybe to be part of the hol.

Mine went away for 55 days in March.
Me and the dog got on with our own lives

I don’t think getting married should mean you stop having dreams and many people have to wait until retirement to get to follow them thanks to annual leave etc. Don’t stop him, who knows how long he’ll have the good health to do it. Think about what dreams you might like to fulfill too xx

I think YABU.

If you had kids at home and he just fucked off for 6 weeks then that is different, but your DC are grown up now and out of the house.

I understand you would miss him but I would support him to do this.

Now if he wants to do this kind of thing all the time and not go away with you or spend any time with you then that is different and I could understand why you would be upset about it.

The thing about the Camino is that, if he wants to do it, there's not an obvious compromise. If he's going to do it, it will take six weeks. Some people who can't take that much time off work split it into sections and spread it over several years. But your husband isn't working, and wants the full experience.

This wouldn’t bother me at all.

I think there would need to be a very strong reason to stand in the way of a 69 year old having a harmless experience for what may be the only time. If he's not breaking his vows or leaving you vulnerable, or causing you an unreasonable extra burden of responsibility, then I don't think your wish not to be separated for 6 weeks is reason enough to stand in his way.

I'm assuming that he doesn't have caring responsibilities which would fall on you while he is away, and that he is retired and therefore not using up all of his leave in one go so that you can't travel together at another point in the year. If this is the case on both points, YABU, I'm afraid. Of course you will miss him but walking the length of the Camino is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Is he planning to do the Francés?

At his age, if he wants to do this he has to do it soon. Wouldn’t you rather he fulfils an ambition whilst he’s in the best possible health to do so?
Instead of thinking about the time apart, think about something exciting that you could do whilst he’s away - maybe a series of city breaks or similar?