Lecrin Valley Limpers

With the unsettled weather continuing we had organised an easy, short walk from Lanjaron. The walk had numerous options for modification to fit in with the weather.  It had rained first thing in the morning but the tea bags were predicting a dry walk. By the time we met at 09.00 in Beznar there were black clouds swirling about above us, leading some to question the the accuracy of using Yorkshire tea bags in Spain.  The walk started from the Casita de la Papel in Lanjaron, a convenient place for drinks and tapas after the walk. It was closed for holidays, and there was me thinking we could help Ray kick his 70th birthday celebrations off in fine style. The path goes up past the ermita de San Isidro, a chapel built for the labourers of Lanjaron in the early 20th century. The path continues up through the campo, and past a quarry before finally coming out on the GR7 Nigúelas/ Lanjaron road. Ever since Mike and I discovered this route years ago I have never unders...

The autumn rains came to Spain with a vengeance last week, summer is well and truly over and the daytime temperatures have dipped down to 25 degrees. We even had snow on the Sierras.  Our walk this week was to the windmills above Albuñuelas. We met at the carpark and then drove up onto the ridge for the start of the walk. Since the last time we did the walk they have concreted the road which has made parking difficult, we ended up abandoning the cars at a cortijo.  Setting off I did not need to consult the GPS as we have done the walk a few times before and I know the area quite well. After a couple of kms we came to a junction I did not recognise. It was time to look at the GPS, and yes, we should have turned off 1 km back. All was not lost though as the good track we were on did lead to where we wanted to be. After another couple of kms we joined up with our original track, which we then followed.  Over the years we have been walking in this area fences...

On Sunday we went to Monachil, and for a change we walked through the gorge It’s a while since we have done the gorge walk, instead we have been going around it. What’s changed in the intervening years are the number of people out walking. If you saw 20 other people you would thought it was busy. On Sunday there were hundreds, there was even 3 coaches in the car park by the time we arrived, and by the time we got back there were cars parked everywhere. I blame it all on Decathlon, they have all this fabulous walking gear that people are buying and, instead of wearing it as a fashion statement, they are actually going out and using it. We followed the path through the gorge, crossing the swing bridges which we had to queue up for before making the crossing. If things continue like this it will worth while opening up the abandoned buildings and selling tea and coffee whilst you await your turn, they could even do jam and cream scones, I would come back every week. We all made...

Our walk on Sunday was to Moclin. The walk started in Olivares, a small village at the bottom of the hill, Moclin with it’s castle sits at the top of the hill. So yes, you have guessed it! We had to climb up to it. There was a lot of cloud about when we met up in Cozvijar but, by the time we arrived in Olivares, it had cleared away and turned into a spectacular day. We made good progress on  the climb up to Moclin and I thought we had time for a coffee before we went on to the castle for a quick visit. The bar was packed, I have never seen so many people in Moclin, by the time we had all been served it was getting too late to go up to the castle. Going on past experience it was to be expected as we have never managed to get into a castle in the 13 years the group has been running. In anticipation of this, and to avoid disappointing all the castle lovers, I had arranged for some guys to bring along a bouncy castle and erect it in front of the bar. Even this failed, the ...

We had 2 walks planned on Sunday, our hard end of the month walk following the route of the Neveros and an easier walk with Hilary from Melegis. The hard walk. We had a small, select group of walkers this week, in fact there was only John and myself in Cozvijar for our late 9 am start. Fortunately  Rafa, Antonia, Fernando and Mark were waiting for us at the alternative meeting point near the Dornajo visitor centre on Veleta. The weather was perfect and the temperature was just right for exploring this new area. In the past I have walked on all the paths but this week was the first time we have put it all together into a circular walk. The walk starts by following the first section of the Sulayr long distance path but, after a couple of kilometres, it crosses the los Neveros path coming up from Granada, this was used until the advent of refrigerators to bring ice down from Veleta for use by the Granadinos during the summer.    This is an excellent, well ...

Our walk on Sunday was the big one, yes, it was Mulhacen and they just don’t come any bigger in mainland Spain. We are so lucky to have this enormous lump of rock on our doorstep.  Every year I think no one will want to go up it again but every year, in spring, someone will say “when are we doing Mulhacen this year” and the numbers just keep growing. Poor Paco at the information centre keeps having to find bigger and bigger buses for us.  There were 26 people originally booked to go but, at the last moment we had 3 who were not feeling too good and this is the last place to be if you are not 100%.   We had a very early, 7 am, start from Beznar, and then drove to Capileira and met up with the sensible ones who had spent the night up there in hotels. After a quick cup of coffee we were off in the Medio Ambiente bus that would takes us to the start of the walk at 2500 metres. The conditions were superb, clear skies and the temperature perfect for a da...

Phew! It’s hot, my newly cleaned and polished crystal balls were right in predicting dry sunny weather. I am sorry for the misunderstanding in last weeks email, it should have read “Olwyn has spent the last few days cleaning and polishing my crystal balls”. Some folks thought I had had a very good week, and that I had also found a new way to forecast the weather, neither of them were correct.  Anyway we are having a heatwave, not an English heatwave of 22 degrees, this is a full on 44 degree Spanish heatwave.  Because of the heat we had a short walk planned to Pico Lopera. We had an early 8.30 start from Cozvijar and stopped off in Padul to pick the Granada contingent up.  There were 21 of us and a puppy for what is an easy walk in spectacular countryside.  The walk starts from the Mesón de los Prados, the little bar on the carretera de Cabra, and it follows a farm track through rolling countryside. We were lucky to see a family of Jabali out for...

This week we had 2 big walks planned. One for the sensible ones and one for 6 guys who wanted something a bit tougher.  We all started together from the carpark at Hoya de la Mora on Veleta for the first half of the walk to the refugio Elorrieta. To start with the walk passes through the ski area above Pradollano, not the prettiest area in which to walk but the going was easy, something that was appreciated by those carrying heavy packs.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Laguna Yeguas and then the serious climbing began. The scenery becomes very dramatic and it doesn’t look possible that they could have put a path through it. With Martin leading the way I decided to help the stragglers at the back. Between gasps of breath I offered a few words of encouragement to the inevitable question “are we nearly there yet”. At least I had not unloaded my pack onto a long suffering wife like Dave  had. I carried every kilo the whole way.  The weather w...

I would like to start by offering a public apology to Richard and Jackie for arranging to meet them at 9.15 in Otura. The time should have been 8.45, so of course they were not there. I had put this down to Richard getting lost again, never thinking my instructions would be at fault. With an amazing feat of navigation Jacky coerced Richard into following us. This week we went on another river walk, this time to Dilar. The walk starts from the carpark opposite the Merendero and follows the river, on a good track, to the hydro station. We were walking slowly, waiting for Dave and Julie to catch us up, as they had had a late start.  After the Hydro the track turns into a path and you start the crossings of the river.  In the past we have never been able to agree exactly how many times you did have to cross the river. So, determined to get an accurate figure, we assigned the task to Sid, at 7 years old he still has the mental agility to remember from one crossing ...

In an effort to cool down from the 40 something temperatures we have had this week we scheduled a river walk in the Rio Durcal. The walk is a hidden gem, known only to a few people, it’s a fantastic walk for anyone seeking solitude, in the peace and quiet of some stunning scenery.  There were 30 people waiting at the Durcal Corivan for our later than normal 9.30 am start, so for anyone seeking solitude this was not going to be the walk for them.  We drove to the start of the walk down by the river, it’s a pleasant enough walk through the campo from Durcal, but walking back in the heat of the day is a killer.  The walk starts by climbing up to an acequia, this is when we discovered that someone had erected a footpath sign. Yes, I kid you not, a proper sign, now the whole world would be able to find our hidden gem, but we were still early enough to be in front of the masses.  We had not gone far when we discovered wet footprints on the path and...

Our walk this week started from the Botanical gardens above Cumbres Verde. It was only a short walk as the temperature was forecast to be around 40 degrees.  Elsa had offered to take her car, I think there may have been a misunderstanding of the words “forest road with steep drops”. When we got to our destination not only had she chewed all her nails, her fingers were down to the stumps and her shiny black car was now a dull white. It was a delight to discover the temperature was only around 20 degrees, it felt positively fresh and I was regretting not packing my fleece.  We set off following section 2 of  the Sulayr path towards the Rincon de Nigüelas, 20km away.  Fortunately for us we were only following the camino forestal for 2.2 km, the rest of the way is a killer. Instead we took a small path as it climbs up the loma de los Panaderos. It’s a lovely path as it twists and turns up the hillside, what the bread men found to do up here, miles from any...

We were a small, select group this week for our walk to the Albergue Francisco. The higher the temperature the more inventive the excuses become for not turning out. Can you believe the Distinguished wise one wanted to watch 2 men hit a ball with a stick in the rain, and Speedo Dave wanted to go swimming in the sea wearing a white cap. Why? He’s bald and does it matter if lost a few hairs in the sea.  The walk started a couple of kms above the Dornajo information centre on Veleta. It’s a walk we have not done for a while as, last time we did it, the way back was across a difficult hillside on a non existent path. So this time, after many hours searching maps and Google earth, and discovering what looked like a possible path that would cut the difficult section out, I thought it was worth  doing and exploring this quiet and overlooked area of Veleta.  I planned the walk in the opposite direction this time as it would get all the climbing, and possible diffi...

With so many of the group away on holiday I was surprised to find there were 15 of us ready and waiting at the Beznar roundabout for this week's walk.  Our destination was Bubion, where we hoped to find somewhere a bit cooler than the 40 degrees forecast for Granada.  The path leads straight up hill from the carpark and, for the next hour, continues climbing sometimes steeply, until you arrive at the mirador overlooking the 3 villages of the Porqueira valley. We stopped here for our mid morning break and the group photo. The path continues uphill for another km but at a much gentler incline, and you soon arrive at the high point of the walk at 1784 metres. From here it is all down hill, apart from the little bits of up you have to do on the way down.  The heat must have affected my judgement, I suddenly found myself saying we would soon be swimming in rock pools under a giant waterfall, surrounded by dusky maidens, I was hallucinating, it was a mirag...

This week we had a walk to the Laguna Yeguas, with the option for those who wanted something harder to go on to the refugio Elorrieta. The temperature was a cool 10.5 degrees when we all met up at the Hoya de Moya carpark on Veleta for the start of our walk.  I could understand Jim being in a T-shirt, after all he is English and it probably felt like a balmy summer's day to him but I could not understand Antonio. The rest of us had our fleeces on, even if some of us were wearing shorts.  We set off at a steady pace, following the road up past the Virgin of the snows, I had promised Mike an easy walk. The path to the Laguna eventually leaves the road and heads off across country towards  the radio telescope. From here you could see the path the more determined amongst us were going to take up to the refugio. Things did not look promising,there was still a lot of snow about.  We stopped at the Laguna for a snack and to sort out who wanted to go on to Elor...