Christmas break in southern Spain.

Sitting in the afternoon sunshine outside of our bungalow at Camping Marjal.

We've been at Camping Marjal on the Costa Blanca for a week and enjoying mild weather with daytime temperatures of 18 to 21 C but dropping at night but not usually enough to use the camper heater. We've been exploring the local towns by cycle including Catral, Callosa  de Segura, El Fonda and Cervillente. The latter ride was amusing as the route had been signed since our visit last year. However, the cycle route came to a full stop as it approached a new motorway. I enquired with some locals who directed us over the new road to find what remained of the old road on the other side. This proved beyond us as after surmounting to the gravel and sand base of the motorway we couldn't see a way down. Eventually we retraced our steps (or wheels) and found a road to El Realengo and the main N340 into Cervillente. After a casual time looking around the town we decided on another route back (aided by my new GPS!). This went well, crossing under the new forming motorway and main rail line and then I noted a pista on the right that looked like it would connect to our inbound route. After a while the track disappeared in a palm plantation and although we were only a few yards from the road we wanted, there didn't appear to be a way though the dense shrubbery and dikes. Retracing our wheels (again) we found another route on tarmac to get us back to the El Fonda Natural Park and the campsite.

One of the problems with this area is that the 1:200,000 Spanish provincial maps or Michelin maps don't have many minor roads marked. The Garmin Europe navigator GPS map for Spain includes some minor road and pistas but misses the majority so on the minor roads to, for example  Callosa, the Navigator shows us driving across fields although the roads are well established older roads of the area. The only maps I have found that include the many tarmac minor roads are the "Mapa Topografico Nacional de Espana" which are on a 1:50000 scale but cover quite small areas and seem difficult to get hold of in the UK (or here).

Another interesting experience was finding Alicante airport to pick up dad. Checking on the airport internet site I got the GPS coordinates for the Airport. I checked on the Garmin GPS and it gave me the same location. This ended up taking us to the south side of the airport on relatively minor roads to try and reach one of the runways by a track alongside the perimeter fence. Needless to say, we ignored this and eventually found the Santa Pola road and turned north to find the first signs we'd seen for the airport and at the same time seeing an Easy Jet flight landing (probably from Edinburgh). As we found on our return journey, the route is very simple by motorway particularly when you're not starting from a landing runway!

Feliz Navidad or Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year..2013. 

A drive across Spain in December

All alone in Aranda Campsite amongst the Pine and Holm Oak trees.

Hi, We’re now Spain having taken the ferry to Santander from Portsmouth. The sea crossing was smooth and we both got a decent night’s sleep and breakfast before departure in Santander at about twelve, Spanish time. The sky was blue and we had a magnificent view of the snow-capped Picos Mountains as we came into the harbour.  The new route out of Santander made driving at lot easier as it avoids the city almost altogether and it wasn’t long before we made our first pass of the Cantabrian range at about 1008 m and descended to Burgos, our first stopover. The “navigator” got confused but we spotted the campsite signs in Burgos and followed them. The campsite was a little run down and the women’s showers were in a terrible state so we used the van’s facilities whilst there. The following day we took the local bus into the city and spent ages trying to take in about 1/1000 th of the information about the history etc of the magnificent cathedral. We had intended to see the “Museum of Human Evolution” but there wasn’t time after lunch so perhaps next time we come this way. There was a Christmas market outside the cathedral and lots of sites aside the river. It was however colder than home with indicators showing 6 to 8 C and it felt like it too.

Lots of interesting statues in Burgos, anyone for Chestnuts?

 

The following day we headed towards Madrid but stopping in the Rio Duero valley (home of the Ribera del Duero wines) near Aranda de Duero. The campsite is pleasantly situated amongst Pine and Holm Oak trees a couple of kilometres out of town. We checked that the campsite was open (our information said it closed in part of December and January) before taking the camper into the centre. It was pleasant to walk around going into a bodega (we needed to know more about the wines). We soon discovered there are many, many wines under the Ribera del Duero label so with advice we chose one for Christmas day, so our fingers  are crossed  (Pago de los Cappellanes) with “our” Mayor de Castille” as backup. It was another holiday so most places were closed but we saw around the main Plaza Major and the old part of town.

After a very cold night (waking to near zero in the camper and freezing fog outside) we moved south around Madrid to Camping International at Aranduez crossing the Sierra de Guadarrama at 1444 m (no snow) This is the first time I’ve driven near Madrid but it was fine with the “navigator” guiding us through what seemed a web of motorways (all free so far). The climate seemed milder, maybe it was the blue sky and sunshine or the lower altitude (about 423 m), but by the time we reached Aranduez, we had lunch in the sun with the camper door open. We then had time to walk across the bridge into the Jardin del Principe and then a ten minutes walk to the Royal Palace and more gardens (some with roses flowering still). The Palace (Palacio Real) date from the 19^th century when the Spanish Bourdon’s ruled and it was to Aranduez they retreated to enjoy the Spring and Autumn seasons, a bit of a Spanish Versailles then (it did have that grand open aspect we recall from Versailles).

The Royal Palace in Aranduez, lots to see around the town.

We too enjoyed the sun and our first beer of the trip before returning before sundown to the camper. This campsite is by far the best we’ve stopped at so far on the trip and I guess it would be possible to drive directly here from Santander and then onto the coast, making it in two days, not much fun but if the weather was bad it is an option to escape.

Now at Marjal Costa Blanca campsite having set up camp. It seems much milder here and good to get off all the thermal layers of the last few days. The drive from Aranduez was easy, mostly on motorways and with very little traffic. The toll bit (AP36) cost us 12 euros, the only toll cost of this route from Santander, so pretty good. The diesel is also cheaper than at home at about 1.39 euros per litre. We now have a week to sort out stuff and look around to see what has changed since our visit last year. The campsite, on first impressions, is in excellent condition with more campers than we recall from last winter. Anyway, more of that later...hasta luego

A Walk in Silverdale, Lancashire

The autumnal path through Eaves ancient woodland
 

The Tower House of Arnside

We’ve been up to Lancaster to see Ems in her new house and see a little more of the area. Although the weather forecast wasn’t brilliant, we did get a good day on Saturday to have a walk in the woods and near the sea around Silverdale. We parked at a woodland car park near the Park Lane road (SD 47106 75963) with the sun shining. The first part of the route was through ancient woodland, Eaves Wood. We were heading for the Arnside Tower to the north of Silverdale village. The path was muddy after the recent rains and contoured near the edge of the wood near some coppiced hazel with a few paths deviating further into the trees and signed to “The Pepperpot”, a monument built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Our path, strewn with the autumn leaves, continued on past and through a caravan park to reach the tower set with open views down a valley and the limestone hills of Arnside Knot to the north. The tower is thought to have been built in the 15^th century but probably not as a fortification against the Scots but as a domestic house or hunting lodge.  Little has been written about its history although it is known that it was severely damaged in a gale in 1884. 


The shoreline at Silverdale; still a blue sky!

We then turned and found the footpath to Silverdale village and the coast. Soon we joined the coastal path at the shoreline and this led over fields into Silverdale village itself with a pub nearby, The Silverdale Hotel. This doesn’t look much from the outside but inside it was warm and cosy with a pleasant conservatory, gardens and good food. After this break we continued down Shore Road to the sea front and a view along the coast. Retracing our steps we passed a sign for Jenny Brown’s Point where there is a chimney, the remains of a copper melting industry, and then on the road to find another woodland path leading to the National Trust, Lambert’s Meadow. Here the ground was very wet but we soon gained height to rise back to Eaves Wood just as it started to rain, so well planned!

There are lots of walks in the area and we managed to straddle the Lancashire- Cumbria border on this one and thought ourselves lucky to have had such a bright autumn day.

 

 

View down Lambert's Meadow.
 

Finish of the South West Way- Coastal Path in the South of England

It has been a great week with sunshine on most of the days with brief showers on Wednesday afternoon, and with a slight breeze later in the week, ideal for walking. The trip also involved further ferry crossings, first at Teignmouth over the Teign estuary to Shaldon and then over the Dart between Kingswear and Dartmouth. Helen met me on Saturday at East Portlemouth so I didn’t have to cross the Kingsbridge estuary again.

The bus got me into Exeter at about two-forty in the afternoon. The route is now very popular with many alighting at Weymouth but refilling with trippers to Bridport  and Lyme Regis, standing room only. It was a pleasant walk along the Exe estuary, a route I’d walked before whilst staying at Bex and Tony’s flat in 2007. This is also the route that Emily cycled to work from Starcross to Exeter. The bed and breakfast in Starcross (“The Chimneys”) was pleasant and a great full-English breakfast to set me up for what turned out to be a long day’s walking. I was on the road again by nine-thirty to Dawlish Warren to find the sea-wall path to Dawlish, again in the sunshine. Here I stopped for a coffee and break before finding the sea-wall to get to Teignmouth (pronounced “Tinmouth”!). There is another path inland and the signs warned that the sea-wall route was too dangerous at high tide. It is difficult to imagine a tide that is high enough to cause problems but there had been cases when the sea swept over the rail line that run parallel with the sea-wall.

The "Double Locks Hotel" a Pub on the Exe Valley Way with the Exeter canal in the foreground.

 





Evening drawing in with a view across the Exe estuary to Exmouth in the distance.



The SWW just touches the edge of Teignmouth along the beach to reach the ferry with a view looking out towards the road bridge. A couple of fishermen pointed me to the jetty for the ferry and within a few minutes the ferry had returned from Shaldon. This was £1.50 single in a small boat across the Teign with a ticket advertising Shaldon Zoo. I’d originally thought of camping just south of Shaldon, but it was only about one-thirty and too early for that so I continued on alongside Babbacombe Bay towards Torquay. This was a pleasant walk over Labrador Bay to Maindencombe and Watcombe Head. Here I met several showers, one heavy enough near Oddicombe beach for me to have to put on wet gear and protect my rucksack. By this time I was thinking of places to stay or camp. The only B&B’s I saw were full and so I looked at the peninsular at Hope’s Nose for camping as there are no campsites in this area. This looked ideal with an area which had obviously been used by campers and fishermen although there were signs requesting “no camping” at the entrance.  Anyway, it became academic as I’d run out of water and forgot to refill when passing through Anstey. I thought it would be easy to find accommodation in Torquay but soon found that the places were either full or ridiculously expensive. After wandering around the streets near the railway station for a while, I found the “Red House Hotel” with B&B for £35, and one room left, so my lucky day. It was very pleasant and the breakfast put me in good stead for another day on the trail.

 

Sunny morning in Dawlish and a coffee break. We had a holiday here when the family were younger; good place for swings!

Bex had contacted me and suggested meeting at “Man Sands” south of Brixham so we could return to Totnes for the night and then walk together on Friday towards Slapton. Paignton beach was splendid in the morning sunshine and I soon found myself in Elberry Cove (a nice place to camp with a flat area beyond the tide line). From here the path led to the top of a wooded ridge and with undulations to Churston Cove where it dropped down to the beach. From there it was a short distance into Brixham harbour for lunch amongst the day-trippers and tourists. Everyone seemed to be out and about milling round the harbour and the large Marina inside the Breakwater (that can be spotted from Paignton).

The Breakwater at Brixham, also the place to find the "Golden Hind"; blue sky!

In Brixham Harbour where I sat for lunch.

I was disappointed to find that the route to Berry Head was mainly on the road, with only the last section on a track to the two forts. I went to the south fort and sat for a while to see if I could spot any Whales as this is a good place to see them. Anyway, not for me so I found the path south towards Mary’s Bay and Sharkham Point. It was a roller-coaster path now and I identified “Man Sands” from far off but saw that the coastal path south was a series of ascents and descent with streams cutting to the coast. I stopped on my descent to “Man Sands” as I had plenty of time and got into talking to a couple who had come from the opposite direction. They were heading to Brixham for the night and told me the next section was difficult with the steep ascents and matched the terrain in North Cornwall. Anyway for me the day finished nearby so I descended onto the pebble beach, had a paddle and then watched as two horses were spurred unwillingly into the sea. It was nice to make a coffee and enjoy the sunshine before making my way to the National Trust car park to meet with Bex. She’d had a busy day and had managed to get Friday off to walk from “Man Sands” to Blackpool beach before going on holiday to Eire to do some surfing.

We left Totnes by seven-thirty and were on the lane to “Man Sands” before eight. It was cool to start with but we soon warmed-up climbing out of the cove to Crabrock Point and to Scabbacombe Sands a little further on. The path was a series of serious “ups and downs” to reach Pudcombe Cove (NT) still in the sunshine. As we progressed the weather changed with a cooler wind and dark clouds but this soon cleared as we approached Kingswear. We had a short wait for the ferry (there is also a vehicle ferry nearby which is towed across the river by tug boats) and then a stroll through Dartmouth to find “Alf Resco”, a café near the front, where we had a pleasant early lunch.

 From here the route followed the coastline, first through woods on an undulating path before diverting inland on roads to Stoke Fleming.  From here it is a short walk on or near the road to Blackpool Sands a very pleasant spot with a sand beach lined with conifers. After refreshments, we parted company, me to find a campsite at Slapton and Bex to meet Tony ready for their dart to the ferry. If I thought the ascents were over, then I was wrong as the next stage took me down steep grass hillsides and up again before finally giving up and pushing me to an “A” road through Strete and then a lane to the beach at Slapton. A little later I had set up camp in the club site at Slapton, showered and preparing yet another recipe from nut burger, dried peppers, mushrooms and biltong. Not a great success I’m afraid as the peppers made the dish too spicey…more work needed on that one then.

I left camp by seven-thirty to reach Torcross to catch the shop opening to get a baguette and supplies for the day. After Beesands, a short hop to the south, there are few supplies near the route. The tide was in so I couldn’t take the beach route so climbed out of Torcross to descend to Beesands. Here I found a few people wild camping in vans and getting ready for a sunny day by the sea. My route went on to Hallsands over another rise and then gently climbed up to Start Point with its Lighthouse that I’d seen from some distance. I’d done part of the next stretch to Salcombe with Helen and Bex when we went to East Prawle on a day hike leaving the car at the car park near Start Point. It is a very scenic section of the path with rock outcrops and small sandy coves but the path seems to undulate and contour around the cliffs rather than the usual “full-on” frontal approach of straight ups and downs. Hence the walking was quite easy and I made good time before stopping for lunch at Prawle Point shortly after passing Kate Bush’s house. Here I met the couple I’d spoken to near “Man Sands” and they had diverted east for the day to avoid the chaos on the roads caused by the “Tour of Britain” cycle race.



Looking to Gammon Head from just west of Prawle Point, lunch spot nearby.



The route is pretty good all the way to the Salcombe ferry with good views across to Bolt Head. There is a steep climb to Gara Rock (this has a hotel where you can get refreshments and meals but is a little off the route), but after that, the Way undulates around the cliffs to reach the woodlands and beaches near East Portlemouth and the end of my journey. Helen arrived and after refreshments we wended our way home (Helen had tried to find a B&B but they were all booked or a fantastic price), stopping on route for a celebration meal..the end of the SWW for me, although I’m sure I’ll be on the route again especially as we live so close to Devon and of course we have our own Dorset Heritage coast.

The end of the walk at the "Venus" cafe looking over to Salcombe at the ferry point.

If you asked me “what is the best section of the SWW?”, I’d have to say the wildest sections in North Cornwall but the sections between Brixham and Salcombe are difficult to beat as a rugged coastline and free from development, especially from Slapton to Salcombe.

My last section on the South West Coastal path

I've been meaning to finish my coastal walk since in April. Originally I started in my own locality in Dorset, Poole and made it along the coastal path to Exeter. At that point I wasn't enthused with the thought of walking the urban stretch around Torbay so started again at the end of the path at Minehead in North Cornwall and walked the North Devon and Cornish coast to finish again in Devon, this time on the south coast. In April we did a stretch between Plymouth and Salcombe spending the weekend in a cottage at East Prawle near the coast.

Now I'm heading off to "fill in the gap" so as to speak and get the Heritage Coastal bus to Exeter and then walk over five days to Salcombe. I intend taking a bed & breakfast for the first night and then camp the rest (depending of course on the weather). Talking of which, temperatures are predicted to be around 18-20 C with a possibility of showers at the beginning of the week and then clearing later, so not bad for this time of year. Although the section is mostly urban to start with, I'm told it does become scenic and wilder past Brixham. Helen is planning to meet me on Saturday near Slapton to walk the last day or go on to meet me at the end at Salcombe. So here we go, the end at last.....

Hadrian's Wall Cycle-Way...a ride in the wet.

We’ve just returned from completing the Hadrian’s Wall Cycle Ride starting on 21st June. In total we did about 198 miles including a deviation to stop at Hilary’s house, a friend from our last trip to Spain. One thing we can say is that it was a wet ride having chosen probably the wettest days even Cumbria has seen for a long time. It is difficult (and expensive) to alter plans when the hotels and camping are booked, which because of the popularity of the walking and cycling routes is a must.

The remains of the Roman Baths at Ravenglass & the start of the Hadrian's Wall Cycle-Way or Route 72 (blue sign seen on the post).

We took the camper up to Cumbria stopping near Ravenglass and then cycling up the Cumbrian coast past Seascale and Sellafield to reach Silloth on the Solway coast. The ride from Frizington (where we had stopped overnight) to Silloth was windy and wet with some flooding but we managed to dry out overnight. The next day was good cycling, again in the wet but we avoided the tides on the Solway to reach Carlisle in no time. Here we stopped for lunch and then found a way around the floods to get to the Brampton road. The Hadrian’s route (marked as Route 72) was difficult in Carlisle because of the flooding of the river Eden and poor state of the cycle path, wet and muddy. We decided to turn back and cycle through Carlisle on the roads and then leave over the Eden bridge to pick up the unflooded cycle-way past Linstock. The rest was easy cycling to Brampton where we had a pleasant evening at the Howards Arms hotel in the centre of the town.

A impressive monument to the coal miners at Whitehaven: "The End of Era". The seams went over a mile out to sea.

The next day was harder work as we progressed uphill to meet the first of Hadrian’s Wall near Banks and then on the Roman road “The Stangate” to “Birdoswald”, a Roman Fort. After that we had a steep climb up to the larger Roman Fort “Vindolanda” where we spent about three hours going on the guided tour and looking around the extensive museum in between downpours. After that we had another steep climb to “The Stangate” and free-wheel down to Hexham, again in the rain. We did get to see the distant hills from the ridge but this would be a great ride in the summer sunshine.

Part of the Roman Fort, "Vindolanda" during our guided tour. This is one of the better roman forts on the route with an excellent museum and cafe on site. It is best known for the tablet scripts that were found here.

We had difficulty finding our hotel in Hexham, mostly because the directions and GPS coordinates were wrong and the fact that it was about a kilometre up a hill to the south of the town. Anyway, we had a nice free-wheel out in the morning with no rain making our way to the Tyne and Newcastle. The end of Route72 for us was at the end of Hadrian’s Wall at a place called Wallsend and here we found a Hotel called the “Hadrian Lodge Hotel” making a great end to the journey, well not quite as we had to cycle back into Newcastle to the rail station and transport back to Ravenglass. Just before the hotel and just off the path, we spent some time at another Roman Fort, “Segedunum”, not as big as “Vindolanda” but it had an interesting film on the history of Wallsend and Tyneside. It also had a reconstructed Bath House which was enlightening for us having seen the bare foundations of a Bath house at “Vindolanda”.

I had been a little concerned about route 72 in Newcastle because from past experience, e.g. Plymouth, it is easy to lose cycle-ways in cities, or at least the one you want. However, Sustrans at Newcastle had sorted the problem with nice cycle-ways, mostly in view of the river, and always to the north of the river. The only time a decision was need was after Newburn when the route separates, one going north to Lemington and the other to find the Tyne on a riverside loop. We took the latter option through a riverside park.

A moment in the dry whilst on the deviation cycling on the Coast to Coast route. Notice those trendy cycling glasses and white sky that was actually grey...that's digital cameras for you. 

Our trip back by train was also made interesting by the recent floods in Cumbria. We hadn’t realised they had been so bad until we heard the evening news at Wallsend. The trains from Carlisle to Maryport had been cancelled because of flooding and they had laid on buses to connect with the route south to Ravenglass. Hilary had heard the news and been told they wouldn’t carry bikes on the buses. She phoned us to offer help but we decided to see what happened. In the event, it all went well as the bus driver let us put our bikes in the boot of the bus and was very helpful (despite notices at the station saying no bikes on buses!). Anyway, we got back to the camper in record time and met up with Hilary for some sightseeing and walking the next day. As we left Cumbria, passing through Ambleside, there was torrential rain and thunder but this had gone by the time we reached Oxford. On returning home we heard about the storms that had caused extensive flooding on Tyneside, so I guess we were lucky to have avoided the eastern deluge.

At Wallsend, the end of our ride, Hadrian's Wall turns south to meet the Tyne. Segedunum Roman Fort is worth visiting for its reconstructed Bath House, films and high rise cafe...another warm soup.

If you are thinking of doing Route 72, the Sustrans Map for the cycle route is excellent but we did use Ordance Survey Maps when off-route and finding our way around floods in Cumbria. The route is generally well marked with finger-posts and blue stickers and we only lost it a couple of times through missing the stickers; this is when the OS maps helped. The hilly part is from Brampton to Hexham, otherwise it's flat with a few small hills, nothing too serious. I got two punctures and Helen none..must look where I'm going in future! Certainly an area of the country we'd like to visit again but in the sunshine.

I’ve been walking along the South West Coastal Path starting in Plymouth and ending in East Prawle to the east of Salcombe. This time Bex joined me. Although the weather forecast had not been good with sun and showers, in the event we had two sunny days with only one hail shower lasting 30 minutes but enough to make us change into our wet gear.

This section has several river crossings, the first at Plymouth from the Citadel across the Sound to Mount Batten, the second over the river Yealm east of Wembury. The next crossing over the river Erme had to be timed with low tide as there is no ferry service so it was boots off for a wade. After that, the next crossing is over the river Avon to Bantham but the ferry service doesn’t start until 30^th April (we had looked it up in the SW Coast book and it said 1^st April), so a surprise for us. The walk around the river is several miles and would have spoilt our plans to finish near Salcombe so we sort a taxi. The farmer who runs the campsite near the ferry board helped and we got a lift in a van (diverting on route to pick up a tractor mower !!) but it worked out OK in the end. The final crossing was from Salcombe to East Portlemouth; we reached there just before 5 pm with the last ferry at 6.


Looking west over Ayrmer Cove near where we camped

This is a fantastic bit of the coastline with some severe sections in terms of gradients or should I say a succession of gradients. In total it was about 45 miles and so made for long days of walking. The logistics meant we had to cross the Erme estuary at the end of the first day as low tide was near 5 pm. The nearest pub from there is at Ringmore but with several steep gradients between. In fact we reached the pub “The Travellers End” at about 7 ready (having taken the 8.45 ferry at Plymouth) for an evening meal and a very welcome pint. We decided to freedom camp near Ayrmer Cove within earshot of the breaking waves and awoke to a covering of frost on our tents but little wind and no rain in the night. The next day was a little cooler with a NE wind but sunny, making a great walk to Hope and on to Bolt Tail and Head, a spectacular coastline. “Sharp Tor”, an outcrop before Salcombe, is a particularly wild spot giving great views of the coast in both directions. After that it was through woods and a long drag along the road to Salcombe and the ferry. We had a cottage in East Prawle for the weekend so we walked across country to East Prawle for a relaxing break. We did a couple of walks at the weekend with Tony and Emily to Prawle Point eastwards to Lannacombe Bay (where Kate Bush has a house overlooking the coastline, a lovely spot) and saw many birds including two Cirl Buntings, lots of Wrens and also on one of the many lanes that thread the countryside around these parts, a fairly long Adder snake. I haven’t time to mention all the flowers and butterflies we found along the coast and country lanes (even if I could remember them all) but I will recommend a wild salad that “we” collected on our strolls that made a great mixture (preparation of nettles needs more practice..!!) to accompany our dinner.

Bex climbing upto "Sharp Torr" after Bolt Head with coconut smell of gorse all around

Now I have only five days walking left to complete the coastal path, that’s from Exeter to Salcombe although I have already walked several bits of this, it will be nice to connect it together.

View looking over Salcombe from East Portlemouth as we walked to East Prawle in the evening.

View of Sallent from the south with Pena Foratata looming above.

We are now back home after a long trip through France. We spent a couple of days in the Pyrenees crossing the Portalet Pass. The road follows the Valle de Tena and goes near Biescas and Sallent de Gallego before descending to Laruns (Vallee d'Ossau) in France. Before this we had travelled north to Valencia and then to Zaragosa, mostly on motorways. We saw several Golden Eagles in the Pyrenees and one at quite close quarters at the lovely campsite near Biescas. Here the weather continued sunny and warm and it wasn't until we left Laruns that we met colder and wet weather.

The village of Sallent caught in the morning sunshine with the border ridge behind and the Aguas Limpias in the foreground.

In Sallent we had coffee and bought some cheeses in the local market. A hard goats cheese that we bought was very strong, probably the strongest I have ever tasted. Little had  changed in Sallent since my first visit in 2004 and it was interesting to approach it from the south and see the lake that you don't get a view of on the GR11.

Finally I couldn't resist a picture of the Pic du Midi taken from the Portalet Pass (where they were sking nearby, about 17th March)). I hadn't managed to spot this when walking to Sallent as the top was obscured by clouds or it was raining, so it was good to see it with a clear sky behind.
We went on to Laruns and stayed in the Aires; I managed to find a Gourd (or Bota) to carry my wine and it was made in Spain, in Murcia, so I have been reading Belloc's description of how to drink from it; much practise is needed!!

Sorbas and the Desert

Looking across to "Sunseed" on the edge of a gorge; picturesque spot in the bright sun.

Been over to Sorbas today with the camper passing through Nijar and over the Sierra de Alhamilla through Lucainena de las Torres. There was a market in Sorbas so we wandered around through the central plaza and then had lunch before enquiring about "Sunseed" where Emily spent a few months one summer after her A levels. We had seen posters in Sorbas about activities at "Sunseed" including bread and jam making, but that was in February so too late for that. It was quite a way to "Sunseed" from Sorbas along a tarmac but twisty road passing the limestone caves for which Sorbas is now famous.

View of the gorge below Sorbas. We saw one part with a little channel of water still flowing in the centre.

That must have been a long hike Ems and in the August sun...didn't see any flys or snakes around though!

Spring in Cabo de Gata

View towards Las Negras near the end of the coastal walk.

We're still enjoying great weather in Cabo and there are lots to see and do in the area. We did a coastal walk from Rodalquiler to Las Negras parking Hilary's camper at Las Negras and ours at Rodalquiler.This involved a little road walking, pista and then a narrow coastal path above the cliffs passing several fortifications dating back to 18th century built to protect the Granada region from pirates and Berbers (north Africans). There is also a vehicle assessible beach at El Playazo near the Castillo de San Ramon.

View up the Valle de Huebro from above Nijar. The road finishes in this valley but the GR140 continues.

We also did a day visit to the town of Nijar which is north of here in the mountains and is famous for its rugs and pottery and has a long history, much influenced by the Moors. We went on a Sunday and many tourist shops were open but selling much the same things but pleasant enough. After lunch we strolled along a road uphill to see the valley in the photo with many almond trees in blossom. I also spotted a couple Black Wheatears with their distinctive white patches. We returned by a coastal route via Rodalquiler to Cabo de Gata.

Today we did a longer cycle trip from the campsite to San Jose along the coast. Hilary parked at San Jose to do some walking and we met up later to get the bikes back here. The road to the lighthouse is steep enough but we managed without dismounting this year. After the light house the road narrows but remains tarmac (with a few potholes!) until the pass, Collado de la Vela Blanca (photo is the view north towards San Jose). From here it was down hill on a pista to reach the beaches. We had lunch at the second beach, Ensenada de la Media Luna, in sunshine with no wind can you believe.

This photo is of Helen walking along the beach at Media Luna with the tower on the cliff behind showing the position of the pass; it is hard to believe our poor abused bikes made it down from there; well almost, as shortly after this Helen had her first puncture. We used the "slime" to fix it but this didn't work for long but enabled us to get to San Jose by pumping the tyre up a couple of times. We've now fixed it after finding a glass shard in the tyre which was preventing the "slime" from doings its job. Our tyres are certainly taking some beating with the rough rock tracks and scree. Anyway as you'll guess, a beer in San Jose was welcomed. We're pleased we did this route as we didn't last year and also earlier in the week we had advised two dutch long-distance (lots of baggage) cyclists that it could be done on bikes after several people had told them it couldn't. We did warn them it was steep but they seemed happy to walk if needed and the prospect of out-of-the-way camping was a great incentive for them I think.

We have less than a week left here as we plan to head north next Tuesday; maybe time for another post before we then though.

Part of the Alcazaba a Moorish military fort overlooking the city of Almeria.

We've been getting great weather since we arrived here in Camping Cabo de Gata spending time checking out the local lakes and Salinas, villages along the coast and a day visit to the city of Almeria. Our bird count is 33 so far!! (no, I'm not a "twitcher" really). There are lots of flamingos in the nearby lake (about 60 today) and others in the Salinas which is further north along the coast near the village of Cabo de Gata. The main attractions in Almeria were the cathedral and Acazaba along with the wide ramblas and promenades. We have visited San Jose and the some of the park beaches such as Los Genoveses along a gravel track and south of San Jose, very picturesque and a wild looking spot but so close to civilisation. We have also been doing a few bike rides in the area to Retamar and El Barranquete where we got a good view over the Michelin test track (which is near Cabo) and also wild boar crossing the road infront of us.
We also did a "cycle route" from San Jose to  Los Escullos (returning by road to San Jose) with a friend we've met here and that proved quite demanding and led my bike to object by breaking a spoke (I've adjusted the wobbly wheel and await the next break!). It was fantastic scenery overlooking the cliffs and small bays. We also passed a disused bentonite  (white clay) quarry together with a building that had fallen into ruin and obviously connected with the open cast mining. Apparently, bentonite is still mined in the park, the only mining activity continuing to this day.

Part of the steep "cycle track" from San Jose, the photo taken after we'd lifted the bikes up! The Sierras del Cabo de Gata is in the background.

The park area to the north is more pleasant compared to here as there are less greenhouses or "plastico" where they grow acres of tomatoes under cover. We had a pleasant day at a Botanical Garden: "El Albardinal" in Rodalquillar (again to the north). Also in this village there is a Geological Information Centre that was very good, explaining the history of the local geology, volcanoes and about the gold mine at the northern end of the village. This closed in 1966 and just the shell remains but there is a good exhibition of the local mining history in the Geological Centre. San Jose and La Isleta del Morro are scenic fishing villages with apartments and white washed houses set on the hillsides, both not far away from here. We're planning another walk from Rodalquillar northwards along the coast and also a bike ride from here to San Jose, so more of that later I hope. Perhaps we'll go in search of gold too, who knows, maybe a better chance of finding some than doing the lottery!

Zegway brothers about to collide at 20 mph...look where you are going!!! Our last day at Marjal; we all had a go on the Zegways. We had a day in Murcia which was relaxing with pleasant parks, cathedral, historical casino and walks near the Rio Segura.

Helen and I are now in the sunshine at Cabo de Gata; the weather seems warmer and we've already cycled around the Salinas del Gata seeing Flamingoes and lots of Avocets in the lake. We have a nice camping spot here and everyone seems friendly.

I guess you can't escape a blast of Siberia weather even in the south of Spain. We've had bad weather for a couple of weeks with freezing temperatures at night and daytime temperatures below 10 C and winds of up to 35 mph, so it feels cold, a little like December in Dorset I guess. Brian and Sue joined us at Marjal Camping last Thursday so we've had company and a couple of afternoons playing Canaster, a cycle ride and Brian and I played boules this afternoon. We all took the train from Sant Isidro to Alicante for a day out. This is a commuter line taking about 50 minutes and running about every hour so it was very convenient. We had a great day seeing the main beach area, Castle and the Santisma Trinidad replica Spanish Galleon (the original dating from 1769 to 1805) and the old town. The  photo above was taken on the beach front and reminded us of the statues we'd seen in Valencia last year. The views from the castle, set at about 350 m above the plain, gave an impression of the surrounding urbanisation and distant sierras. Luckily there is a lift from the beach to near the top, you only have to climb the last 40 metres. At the weekend we leave here to go further south to Cabo de Gata and hopefully warmer days, we will miss the sauna though!!

Helen strolling through the Municipal park and Palm Groves before lunch

Hi, Still at Marjal Camping on the Costa Blanca. We've been exploring the area a little by cycle and also a couple of days out and about in the camper. This week we went to Guardamar del Segura on the coast, Cox, Almaradi, La Marina (urban) and Elche. We found some hills going upto La Marina and I had a puncture on the "glassy" pista on the way back.  The city of Elche is only about 10 miles away but is quite an urban sprawl although the old centre or what remains is very pleasant, especially around the Basilica and the Alcasser. Some folks on our camping site didn't really recommend it for a day-trip for various reasons including the difficult parking. We took the camper in and although parking wasn't obvious for something our size, we had a few tight squeezers but it wasn't too bad. We had a nice stroll along a pista next to the river into the centre and found a pleasant place for lunch. We got some great shots from the top of the Basillica de Snt Maria. There is alot of history connected with the development of the city and the Palm Groves for which it is world famous.

This is a view of the Palm Groves from the top of the Basillica de St Maria looking north to the Sierras in the distance.

The Riu  Vinalopo goes through the centre. It has been "set in concrete" with a central gully about 6 feet wide forming a fast flow; the concrete basin itself is massive but we doubted whether it ever filled; infact we saw a van driving down with the workmen picking up dog litter if you get my meaning. The track at the side looked fairly new and on route we met many joggers, mostly young people enjoying some exercise. There was lots of graffiti about, even on the new buildings and bridges. One of the Dutch men in our Spanish class when asked what he didn't like, replied it was the graffiti to which our young Spanish teacher, Anita, replied in her bouncy manner, that "no this is good, it is art!". Well some of it is very artistic and we can appreciate that, but there was much in Elche that was just signatures, well I think so anyway, or maybe I was missing something.
 Like most of the local towns, Elche had some pretty Plazas with restaurants set around the sides giving the places a relaxing ambiance in the sunshine. In the towns they are sometimes difficult to find although the Town Hall or a church are usually a good clue to their location.
In Spanish classes we've been concentrating on "families" and I now know (well yesterday I did) more about family relationships in Espanol than I do in Ingles...you never know when you want to explain in Spanish about your second cousin removed! We're sincerely hoping that she'll move on next week and before the end of our stay here we'll be able to write this blog in Spanish, at least once anyway...one day perhaps That's all for now, a sundowner calls...adios

Cycling group from Marjal Camping at the square in Rafal, sunny ride after rain in the night.
Helen's on the left next to her bike with her back towards the camera. You can't see me because I'm behind the camera!

We had about 30 in our cycling group today and had a great ride from the campsite to Rafal and back. It had rained the previous day and overnight but the sun was out this morning. The terrain is very flat and not as interesting as "our" Purbecks. We also tried the local "Fondo Nature Reserve" the other day but we got bogged down in mud so came back to clean our bikes up. We'll try that another day when the area has dried. It does look interesting with several hides to watch the wildlife, mainly birds and isn't very far away, about 10 minutes by cycle. Otherwise we're making the most of the gym, swimming pool and sauna. The language classes are going well but I think we may be learning Valencian which is similar to Catalan, I may be wrong though! Adios for now.

 Hi, Now away for a couple of months in Alicante/Murcia in southern Spain. We took the Dover to Calais ferry and drove (a long way, stopping at Aires on route!) to get to the border near Angeles-sur-Mer where we camped-up for the night in the harbour. We had originally intended to then go to Valencia and spend a couple of days there but on route I realised that the campsite might be closed as we'd stayed there last year but at a later date in January. Anyway, this turned out to be the case but luckily we just diverted off route to Peniscola on the coast. This was a busy campsite with lots of residents but a very pleasant stay with two sunny days and a chance to see the old town and the restoration work they have been doing (since 2008) on the sand dunes (see photo above). We then drove straight down to Mahjal camping which is south of Alicante city near Crevillent and the Parque Natural El Fondo or Hondo depending on the map.

This is a shot of Helen in the afternoon sun after we joined a group cycleride to Callosa in the morning. The campsite is brand new (opened in December last year) and has very modern facilities, gym, indoor pool and we're doing free Spanish lessons; maybe one day I will be able to speak something resembling Spanish. It gets dark by 6 and light by about 8.30 with temperatures rising in the daytime to near 20 C at the moment. However, the temperatures drop suddendly as the sun drops and in the morning it is 6 - 8 C and feels cold. However, once the sun gets above the horizon, the temperatures quickly rise unless there is cloud cover and then it stops at about 14-16 C. There looks to be lots to explore locally on our bikes, small villages and the Nature reserve and the coast is ony about 15 km away. There is a train line a few kilometres away that goes to Murcia and Alicante and also buses that can be found to get around here and to the coast. We've joined the gym, indoor pool and sauna and that went well so far. In case anyone wants to contact us, we have email and a phone signal. We've used Skype alread to contact Helen's Mum and Dad and that works fine but we only got one picture.