Lecrin Valley Limpers

Hi The weather in the valley this week has been mixed, warm and sunny one day, and the next wet, cloudy and cool. trying to get an accurate weather forecast is impossible, you get a different forecast every couple of hours, My crystal ball works better than the latest meteorological computers. The forecast for Sunday was not promising, with rain and low cloud on offer. Sunday morning dawned dull but dry, and it looked like our walk from Cumbres Verde would be OK. By the time we arrived for the start of the walk the low cloud had lifted sufficiently for our path to be in the clear. We were only going up to 1,400 metres and there was a lower level alternative route as a backup plan For the first ½ km we followed the forest road before heading off down into the barranco. This was a new path we had discovered last year, and it makes an interesting alternative route for climbing Cerro Gordo. I thought I might have pushed my luck a bit when it started to spit, fearing a soaki...

This week we walked up a hill to look at the Eagles. It’s been a very hot week in the valley, with temperatures up to 39 degrees in Granada, so we wanted somewhere with a cooling breeze. To try and cool things down a bit the town hall had switched on all the wind turbines in the valley. This had an immediate effect, there was a nice cool wind blowing up on the carretera de Cabra, I nearly regretted putting my shorts on. Why they can’t turn them round and have warm air blowing up from the coast in the winter is beyond me. The walks starts up near to the Venta del Fraile bar and follows a campo road for about 1km. After the easy road section the path heads uphill steeply into the forest. There looks to be a lot of footpaths to choose from but, in fact, they are all wild boar tracks that appear and then quickly disappear. It is just a matter of heading upwards until you get to where all the tracks converge at a dried up pond, where all the pigs meet after a spot of rain....

Hi This week it was our annual May weekend away and we went to Castril in the far north of Granada province. We had an early start because it was a long drive and we had a lot of things to fit into our day. I thought we would be able to stop for breakfast just before we got to Castril, unfortunately the bar I had chosen to stop at was closed. Not wanting to upset anyone before the walk had even started we headed into Castril. I have never been here before but even on our short visit it looks well worth a look around. After breakfast we returned to our plan, which was a drive up the Rio Castril. This is a beautiful valley and we followed the road as far as it went. This was the start of our first walk, to the Naccimento of the Rio Castril. It was an easy walk in the valley bottom to a spot where the river appears out of the rocks. The path then continued up the valley getting steeper all the time. At one point they had cut steps into the steep sided gorge, it felt like th...

This week we had a wet walk, not like our lovely summer wet walks in the river, but a true mountain wet walk. When the walk was planned the weather forecast  was predicting a warm sunny day, but as the week progressed it was looking likely we would have to cancel the walk due to heavy rain and thunder storms. By Saturday night the forecast was for the rain to arrive late Sunday afternoon, there was just enough time to complete our 22 km walk and get back to the cars before the rain arrived. The walk was in the Sierra Huetor on the south side of the motorway, We had discovered the walk last year and it offered good views over the Sierra Nevada. 23 of us set off for the the walk, the conditions were good, the sun was shining, there were a few clouds in the sky but no sign of any storms. The route was a good one because it offered various ways back if we needed to shorten the route. Our first stop was at some abandoned buildings what had once housed a drug rehabilitat...

This week we welcomed Graham back to the group after an 18 month absence, we chose a easy walk for him around Monachil. We needed to pressure test his new plumbing work before taking him into the high mountains. I am pleased to report that after our initial testing his recently serviced pump appears to be running well. The walk started from the centre of Monachil and crossed the river before heading uphill on roads, tracks and paths. At the top there are superb views down into the Monachil gorge. After many years of walking up the incredible gorge route I have now decided I prefer this route, especially this week when there appeared to be thousands of people scurrying  around down there while we travelled in tranquility on our high level route. We stopped for lunch overlooking the valley before continuing along the path under the goat farm back to Monachil. I have never seen so many people on this walk, there were even coaches in the carpark. With time pressing s...

This week we were able to do a longer walk as we did not have a tapas arranged. The walk started from the Sevilla carpark above Cumbres Verde. We had arranged to meet the Granadino contingent up here and we were a bit surprised when two of our friends were missing. We could not contact them because there is no phone signal. So, after waiting a few minutes, we set off on the path towards the hydro station. After walking about 15 minutes Antonia and Fernando were spotted running to catch us up. They had been waiting for us at the wrong carpark. We continued the path down to the hydro station where we stopped for refreshment before crossing the Rio Dilar for the first time and starting the climb up to Fuente Hervidero, Don’t ask me where it is, we have never found a Fuente, but that is what the walk is called. Most of the climbing is done on this section and it is in a thick pine forest. We had a lot of strong winds in the Autumn and the forest was littered with fallen trees....

Hi This week our walk started from Dilar and climbed up the Sierra Manar and Silleta. The route sets off from the edge of the village on a gently raising path, a perfect way to get the body warmed up for the real climb. The only problem was it was already warm and humid, the last thing we needed was warming up. The climb up on to the plateau of Sierra Manar is a superb path in a steep sided wooded gully, it’s well graded and you are soon at the top. We had a short break before the final ascent of Silleta. Normally at this time of the year the hillside is full of Orchids but sadly this year there were none. At the top you can look down into the Lecrin valley, what a miserable day they were having. Whilst we were bathed in glorious sunshine looking up to the peaks of the snow covered Sierra Nevada the valley people were cloaked in thick cloud. Were we smug or not? After lunch we set off back on tracks and paths that took us in a roundabout way back to the cars. We did...

This week our walk was on Saturday, this was to allow us to go on the Orange walk from Melegis. The event was to raise money for the charity Acomplia, they are planning to build a hospice down in Motril to serve the Granada area. There were 3 walks organised, easy, medium and the challenging one we were doing. Spring arrived just in time for the big event, the low cloud, wind and rain has disappeared, well at least for now, to be replaced by clear blue skies and temperatures of 28 degrees. We will be complaining next that it is too hot. The walks all started from the Puente del Valle bar in Melegis, and there were 18 in our group, all fit and ready for a challenge. We headed off towards the river and then started the climb out of the valley towards Conchar. Most of the climbing is done on this section and we took it easy as we were unaccustomed to the rapidly rising temperatures. At the top we found a suitable place for a snack before heading back towards Restabal. ...

Hi This week Jan and Martine were our guides for a walk to the twin towers of Conchar. We have had a number of very wet days this week and the forecast for Sunday was not looking too good, but by Saturday night the weather forecast was predicting a dry day up until 4pm. This fitted our walk perfectly, we would be back and having a beer by the time the rain arrived. For a number of years there has been speculation that somewhere on the moors above Conchar two Atalayas were built by two muslim clerics, each determined to build the Highest Tower and so gain the title of Aya Tollah. In the past we have searched in vain trying to find them. The walk started from Mike’s tunnel in Cozvijar but something had gone wrong overnight, it was raining. Even so it did not put 13 people off, so with our rain coats on we set off to discover the mythical twin towers.   Jan thought he knew the area where the towers could be so, with the rain beating down, we forded swollen rivers, c...