After the disappointment of Catalonia things picked once I got into France. If the E4 through Catalonia was one of the worse bits of the route than the E4 from the Pyrenees to Carcassonne was one of the best.
This particular corner of France is a really great place to walk and the route of the E4 captures both the area's varied and beautiful landscape and its interesting cultural legacy.
The E4 through Catalonia was worse part of the whole trip. Accommodation was hard to find and I had to walk very long days. Worse still I was constantly missing the trail. Maps in Spain don't show the routes and unless you have a guide or a good GPS trail then it's easy to take a wrong turn. Of course I was never seriously lost but constant minor mistakes made long walks even longer - really frustrating and at times depressing.
Must admit that I couldn't understand why the E4 left the GR7. Having followed the GR7 all the way from Andalucia, it turns east at border with Catalonia and heads down to the coast along the GR8. It then heads along the coast via the GR92 to Tarragona, heads north via the GR172 to Montserrat and then onto Alp and the border with France on the GR4. Meanwhile the GR7 carries onto the Pyrenees ending up a few kilometres from the GR4.
The E4 through Catalonia does visit some amazing places, in particular Montserrat and Tarragona, but the walking itself was mixed. You are not walking around or through a particular mountain range and it's certainly not the most direct way to get to the Pyrenees. Catalonia is a busy place and although there is some lovely countryside you also have to cross some major transport corridors and built-up areas.
Montserrat Mountains
My negative view of the E4 through Catalonia is influenced by the extent to which I had been enjoying the GR7, particularly the last few days through Castellon. It was a change however and a change might be as good as a rest. I was entering a different sort of countryside and I was also entering Catalonia, a particularly distinct part of Spain with its own language and cultural traditions. The lack of love between Catalonia and the rest of Spain is manifested in many ways including the intense rivalry between the Barcelona and Real Madrid football clubs, something I had been observing throughout the trip (six El Clásicogames when I was there).
I had put my schedule together using the information on the La Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC) , the Catalonia Climbing and Hiking Association, which identifies all the major walking routes and gives you stage distances, walking times and altitude gained and lost. Great help for planning the route but as it turned out only limited help when you are actually doing it - why can't they go the next small step and actually publish a GPS route!
I started walking through Catalonia on the 24th of April and got to Alp 16 days later on May 9th. I stopped for a day in Tarragona and had another rest day at Alp before crossing the border.
The first part of my Catalonia trip was from El Boixar down to Mol l'Abad where I stayed at a very nice holiday centre. Was driven there by the lack of accommodation on the main GR8 route which runs through the mountains just to the north.
Was aiming to re-connect with the GR8 at La Senia but ended up walking all the way along the road to Ulldecona - miserable, was missing the mountains already. Found a good hotel and got there early so some compensations.
View across the Ebro Delta
Next day was much better, really nice walk and interesting as well. The walk takes you up the Sierra de Montsia to la Foradada (684 metres) which has amazing views of the Ebro Delta, the coast line to the north, and all the way back to Penyagolasa to the west. Really interesting information boards describing the impact of rural depopulation in the 1960s. After the climb and the views you walk down through ancient Mediterranean woodland, onto the delta and then into Amposta, a fairly large town with lots of accommodation.
Bridge over the Ebro at Amposta
After Amposta the trail is completely flat but still quite nice. The first part takes you across the intensely farmed delta and then, after Ampolla, along a lovely coastal path to L'Ametlla de Mer. Stayed at the Hotel del Port, very reasonable.
Coastal path after Ampolla
The coastal walk to Cambils was a bit more mixed. Some nice stretches, but also some horrible diversions around gated harbours (Sant Jordi) and a large diversion around a nuclear power station (and over/under railway lines and motorways). There were long stretches of concrete coastline with blocks of holiday accommodation running right up to the shore. Nice stretch along the beach after L'Hospitalet de l'Infant but a lot of hard surface walking over the whole day. Cambils itself was a tiny fishing village in the sixties but is now a huge resort.
Beach north of L'Hospitalet
Next day into Tarragona was just awful although I missed the route and possibly made it worse. Essentially you have to get around a huge port and chemical works to the south of the city (if you are English, think Middlesborough) and following GR signs in a built up area is not easy.
The 'players' entrance" at the Roman circus in Tarragona
Despite the chemical works to the south Tarragona itself is a wonderful city. I rested up there for a day and there was lots to see - it has a huge Roman heritage and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Would love to go back there again but would definitely choose a different mode of transport!
Ideally you would stay at Santes Crues the next day but I couldn't find any accommodation when planning the walk (when I went there next day it looked like there was some) and instead diverted to Valles. Not bad countryside but not stunning either. Initially through scrubby forest and then back to back vineyards. El Cattlar on the way is a pretty little town.
Santes Crues, or Santa Maria de Santa Creus to give it full title, is an important monastery dating back to the 12th Century. It was shut when I was there but looks like it would have been well worth a visit.
The ideal place to stay next day would have been St Joan de Mediona, a nice looking town with a historic centre. Instead I had to go to Capellades about 5 kilometres to the north. It was a long walk with about 700 metres of climb over the Col de Rimbalda and then a drop down again into the next valley. Nice countryside. I went to a distant suburb of Capellades but was rescued and given a lift directly into town.
Montserrat Monastery
Assisted by a short train journey I rejoined the route at Peira and walked onto the next historic highlight, Montserrat. The walk to Montserrat was had some tough bits crossing a series of steep sided gorges which had been cut into the soft loess at the bottom of the Montserrat mountain range. You do have to walk through a large suburb before you finally get to climb up to the Montserrat Monastery which is a 600 metre climb with great views.
The Montserrat Mountains are a spectacular feature, weirdly shaped and high above the surrounding countryside. The colour and texture of the rock are like ancient concrete and the shapes are reminiscent of Gaudi. The Monastery itself, with its famous Black Madonna, is an important focus pilgrims and a key symbol of Catalan nationalism. I stayed there for a day and walked to the top of Sant Jeroni (1200 metres) - the train, funicular and buses bring up the daytown crowds but it's empty in the evening.
The next destination was Navarcles (near Cabrianes) a 42 kilometre walk which was nice at either end but unpleasant in the middle when another busy valley spiralling out from Barcelona had to be crossed. You go on a huge detour to get inside the Parc Natural de Sant Lorenc and then walk along a really nice gorge before finally arriving at Navarcles. Really struggled to find accommodation but ended up in the Hostal Montane which was great, very cheap and very authentic.
Driven on again by the lack of accommodation, next day was another huge walk (51 kilometres) all the way to Santa Maria de Merles. The first hour or so is not pleasant involving a walk up to Cabrianes through a fairly busy industrial valley. After that things improve and the route takes you through a very nice pastoral landscape - lots of old farmsteads and isolated churches. Eventually you get to the tiny settlement of Sant Pou de Pinos from which point you head west and then east, again in a huge and frustrating detour before arriving at the equally tiny settlement of Santa Maria de Merles. Stayed at the wonderful Casa Escrigas - and enjoyed home made everything.
The walk next day was supposed to be a short one but was again frustrated by really poor waymarks with one memorable sign sending me completely in the wrong direction. One of the problems I faced today was intersections with other GR routes - unless you spot these, work out which is the right one, you can easily find yourself following white and red markings in the wrong direction. If it wasn't for the frustrations of getting lost, today would have been an excellent walk, the scenery is good and Borreda, a lovely old mountain village, is a great place to finish the day. Stayed in the Cal Bardolet which was OK but a bit expensive.
Spring growth near Les Pilones
Great walk to La Pobla de Lillet, mostly in trees but in early May the trees were at there best. The highlight was the climb up from Castell de l'Areny to Les Pilones (1700 metres) followed by a walk along an upland valley. The GR4 is supposed to be an ancient transhumance trail but the climb up to Les Pilones felt a bit steep for a herd of cattle. Stayed at La Pobla de Lillet, a slightly run down mountain resort town home to a Gaudi garden (Artigas Gardens) and station for the Spanish Yellow Train (there is a French one on the other side of the Pyrenees). I stayed and ate at the Hostal Pericas which was cheap and cheerful.
The walk to Alp was the last full day in Spain and another good one. Wasn't as tough as I had anticipated and I needn't have left at the crack of dawn. There was a big 1200 metre climb up to the Coll de Pal but it was gentle and along a lovely valley with great views. Not quite so nice on the other side, horrible ski runs and scarred mountains but seeing the snowy peaks on the other side of the valley, in France, was encouraging. Stopped for a day in the ski resort of Alp staying at off-season prices at the Hotel Roca - very nice.
Just a short walk across the valley bottom to Puigcerda and France.
If you want to read what the walk felt like at the time than please go to the walk diaries. The links are below:
The 600 kilometres through the region of Valencia (which includes the provinces of Valencia, Castellon and Alicante) involved some of the best and some of the worst experiences of the whole trip. Although not a particularly fashionable walking area some of it, particularly the northern part, deserves to be much better known.
It took me 21 days to walk through Valencia, starting on the 3rd and finishing on the 24th of April. Walking up in the mountains, on a trail that ran parallel with the coast, I experienced the lows of multiple bee stings, the adventure of an all night walk, and the highs of a series of specatular Castellon towns. The weather was also mixed - really hot at the beginning and extremely wet at the end. Not quite sure what I was expecting in terms of scenery but I was surprised by how good much of it was - more of those dramatic gorges I got a taste for in Murcia.
Had an accurate GPS trail courtesy of Bornem and my way was generally not a problem. Had found high level description on the route, in the form of a PDF, on the Valencian Tourist Board site and this gave me a stage breakdown for the walk and some timings.
The first day, from Pinosa to Elba, wasn't much fun. A continuation of the fairly dull walking experienced since leaving Cieza. If you are going to walk 5,000 kilometres you can't expect scenic fireworks everyday! Elba was not a town I would choose as a destination for a weekend break - the hotel we had booked had closed down so others clearly shared the same view.
The next day was better and the scenery varied from good to excellent for the rest of the walk in Valencia. No co-incidence I guess, as for the first time for several days the route though the Sierra de Castalla was again at around 1000 metres. Fairly short walk, 22 kilometres to the pretty little town of Castalla (surrounded by large amounts of new housing development) with, appropriately, a hill top castle. Stayed in the new and very pleasant Don Jose hotel.
Castalla
Excellent walk to the wonderful town of Alcoi, worth going there just for its amazing street lights. Great walk through a gorge, up to the top of Menejador and through the Natural Park of Font Roja. Beautiful and unique ancient woodlands including some trees which only exist in this part of Spain. Lots of places to stay in Alcoi.
Montcabrer
Excellent 27 kilometre walk next day to the classic Spanish hill top town at Bocairent (just slightly of the trail). The first third was the best with a walk through an increasingly dramatic gorge followed by a steady climb to the top of Montcabrer, wonderful limestone countryside with huge views. It was then into the Sierra Mariola Natural Park and onto Bocairent where I stayed at the very nice Casa Rural Baretta.
Bocairent
The walk to Vallada was not quite as dramatic and nor is Vallada such a nice town as Bocairent, but still a good walk often on Moorish mule tracks. Stayed in the Giners tourist apartments which were fine.
After Vallada and for the next few days the route starts to get difficult in terms of accommodation.
Borranc de Bocquilla
From Vallada, and after crossing the valley and the Rio Canyoles, you go through a wonderful gorge (the Borranc de Bocquilla) which goes on for mile after mile, a real surprise and a great walk. You eventually climb out the gorge at El Chorrillo carrying on over the heath, drop down into a valley and back up again to Casa de Benali. There is a Casa Rural there which might do accommodation later in the season but not in April and I had to get a 20 kilometre taxi to and from Enguera - a nice town but a long way off the track.
Next day is also difficult with no accommodation on the route until you get to Cortes de Pallas (55 kilometres from Casa de Benali). The first metalled road to hit the route is about five kilometres after Caroche and this is the logical place to get a taxi to pick you up. This was my bee sting day and other things also went wrong. If you can get a taxi than the nearest hotel is in a town called Ayora and I afraid the hotel there is very poor and on Saturday the disco underneath went on all night.
If you have made it to and from Ayora than the next day to Cortes de Pallas is relatively straightforward, a good walk with nice accommodation at the end of it. You are entering a really important area in Spain for energy generation, huge reservoirs and nuclear power stations, but the scenery is great, with one dramatic valley meeting another one. Stayed at the Hostal Casa Fortunata in Cortes de Pallas.
Towards Cortes de Pallas
Another difficult day for accommodation - things went completely wrong as far as my schedule was concerned. Had expected to stay at Milares but the accommodation didn't exist and meant an unanticipated night out of doors. Avoiding my fate would involve either a 50 kilometre walk all the way through to El Rebollar and then a taxi or train to Requena or a short walk to Venta Gaeta and a taxi back Cortes de Pallas with a return to the same point the following day. The lack of accommodation is a shame because it's good walking, particularly nice stretch north of Venta Gaeta and the walk around the Pico del Mono. Requena by the way is a large pleasant town with plenty of accommodation, about 10 kilometres to the west of the route.
Next day's walk to Chera (which is about 3 kilometres of the route) was not without incident either. The route went through a large hunting estate and the management have decided to block it and cover the waymarks. Without an alternative I climbed the fence and followed the route. Chera has a hostal which was closed when I was there but there rooms above a local bar.
38 kilometres to Benageber but my navigational cock-ups and some confused waymarking just outside Chera added to the distance. Continuing to cross empty countryside, usually along forest trails, through dry Mediterranean woodland (Aleppo Pine and Holm Oak) with a thick undergrowth of cistus and rosemary shrubs. Savage if you need to go off the trail and cut through it. The countryside is absolutely empty although there were odd bits of cultivated land with locals coming up from the village and working the land in near traditional ways. Nice apartments to hire on a nightly basis in the bar in the small village of Benageber.
Benageber was the start of one of a really wonderful stretch of walking - comparable to anything in Andalucia - great countryside and lovely towns/villages.
Down to the Rio Turin
The first day in this purple patch involved a short walk to Chelva. Around 5 kilometres east of Benageber you hit an absolutely amazing gorge, huge cliffs, with the Rio Turin running through the bottom. You go almost straight down one side of the gorge and almost straight up the other - about 300 metres from the top to the bottom. Dramatic scenery. After climbing out the gorge, it's a pleasant upland walk, through the tiny village of Bercuta, along a forest trail and then down to the lovely ancient town of Chelva (with its old Arab quarter) where I stayed at the Hotel La Pasada.
Less fireworks the next day but still a nice walk and the twin villages of Andilla and La Pobletta were really lovely. Stayed in a smashing casa rural attached to the restaurant opposite the church. Really friendly and helpful.
Andilla
Short but lovely walk to Bejis next day, some great opportunities for outdoor swimming along the way and a couple of lovely villages to wander around (Arteas de Arriba and Arteas de Abajo). The first part of the 23 kilometre walk you share with the GR 10 and I managed follow it instead of the GR7 before working out my mistake. Bejis is in the province of Castellon (you have left the province of Valencia but you are still in the region of Valencia) and is one of a series of stunning hill top towns which now start to come thick and fast. Stayed at the friendly and authentic Hostal Restuarant El Pita.
Bejis
My GPS route was a bid dodgy on this stretch and this, combined with poor waymarking, meant that I kept missing the route, frustrating on a hot day. Still it was a good walk and the little town of Montan was a real reward at the day's end. Stayed at Hostal Pilar, authentic, cheap and great fun.
Really short walk to Montanejos but spectacular. The main feature is the Barranco de la Maimona, another dramatic gorge and a favorite venue for climbers and wild water swimmers alike. The only bit of the walk in Spain where a head for heights was needed. Montanejos itself is lovely, an ancient centre and a spa town with lots of places to stay. Stayed in the Casa Palacios, a nice hotel built around a Moorish tower next to the church.
Barranco de la Maimona
After what was almost a rest day I got back into the saddle with a walk to Villermosa del Rio. The first half was great, through woodland covering recently abandoned terraces, down a valley and up to the lovely old village of La Artejuela and then onto the small town of San Vicente de Piedrahita. After that the walk was dissappointing, a lot of road or near road walking almost until Villermosa del Rio where the scenary, with Penyagolosa (1815 metres) as a backdrop was once again spectacular. Another lovely old town and Hostal Ruta Aragon another authentic hotel.
Next day was a special stretch of walking spoilt, when I was there, by bad weather. I really want to go back and do it again. You go up a lovely long gorge (lots of wild life), past abandoned villages, high along the side of a cliff, past the old monastery of Sant Joan de Penyalagosa, onto a weird upland plain, before some more rugged country on your approach to Vistabella de Maestrazgo. The rain was pouring down and I missed Penyagolosa but Vistabella de Maestrazgo was a great place to hide out in, another wonderful Spanish mountain town.
Leaving Vistabella de Maestrazgo
The great walking continued next day (despite mixed weather). Initially it's more high flat walking across yesterday's upland plain before heading down a long valley past more abandoned villages down to the dry Rio Manleon (dry when we were there). It's then a steep walk up to Culla. where I think there is accommodation, but I stayed in the lovely little town of Benasal at the Hotel la Piqueta.
Benasal
Two stunning hill top towns in one day, Ares de Maestre and Morella, plus some great walking often along some remarkable ancient and really well preserved caminos. Accommodation at both places and the scenery and stopovers really justify going at a slower pace (particularly if you get better weather than I did). Morella is the number one hill top town in these parts with a lot of tourists.
Ares de Maestre
So the last day in Valencia and the province of Castellon. The GR7 continues north but the E4 heads down into Catalonia and the province of Tarragona. Definitely didn't end with a wimper though and the high quality trail continued through to El Boixar. Leaving Morella you have a bit of road walking to contend with but after that it's a steady climb up over a pass (great views back), along a ridge and down to Vallibona (lunch stop opportunity) before climbing up again to El Boixar where you leave Castellon. There is a casa rural in El Boixar or, if your staying on the GR7 a refuge a bit further along. I went down the E4 into Moli L'Abad (which was much too far).
For a day by day, real time account of the walk go to the following walk diary entries:
After 26 days walking through Andalucia I had belatedly started to work out just how long the E4 was. The euphoria which had driven me along for the first few weeks was starting to drain away and I was looking for smaller tangible milestones to sustain me. One step at a time didn't quite cut it but ticking off another Spanish province would help and fortunately Murcia was a small one.
Less fashionable as a walking destination than Andalucia, Murcia still looked interesting. Arguably it has an even stronger historical legacy. It was an important part of the Carthagenian empire (Categena on the coast is still a major port), a wealthy part of the Roman empire and for a time an independent taifi (kingdom) within the Arab world. The northern part of Murcia, where the E4/G7 route crosses the region, contains a number places of particular significance to Catholics with Caravaca de la Cruz designated as one of the five most important places in the catholic world.
Unlike the GR7 in Andalucia there is no English language guide for the GR7 in Murcia so I was now relying on my own research efforts (something I would have to do for the rest of the E4). My key piece of information was a GPS route from Wikiloc published by a cyclist. As a matter of interest "Bornem", whose route I was to use for the rest of the GR7, has now completed the walk through Murcia and the route is now available via his website on Wikiloc.
The route through Murcia is about 200 kilometres long. There is a variant to the GR7 which takes you to the south side of the Sierra de Moratalla mountain range to Caravaca de la Cruz, I stuck with the main route.
GR7 through Murcia
The first challenge was to get to Canada de la Cruz, until I got there I didn't have a GPS route. The route is not clear and a large hunting estate just outside Puebla de Don Fadrique acts as a barrier. Essentially went cross country (which involved climbing over fences) and, without the aid of a route, got horribly lost. As often happened my luck eventually turned and signs suddenly reappeared just a few miles from the village. Shame about the route way marking because it's nice countryside. There is some casarurale accommodation at Canada de la Cruz but it not available when I was there and the cheapest option was a return taxi trip to Puebla de Don Fadrique.
Next day to El Sabinar was excellent. The route takes you up and then along a valley between the Sierra de Taibilla to the north and the Sierra deMortella to south, dropping into a gorge lined with rocks in stunning colours and then into wild windy upland plain - huge views. I think there is a pension in El Sabinar, a tiny village, but I stayed just down the road in the wonderful boutique hotel at Casa Pernias.
View across the plain from El Sabinar
Lavender fields on the way into the Rio Alharaba gorge
The walk to Moratalla was another good one. Starting in the high level plain from yesterday, you go past a huge reservoir near the small village at la Risca then dive down another dramatic gorge, with more colourful cliffs, with the Rio Alharaba at the bottom. When I went through it new growth on the pine trees gave everything a clean fresh look. Moratalla is an interesting town, a bit shabby, but with a lovely historic centre. There is a hotel on the outskirts but I chose to stay in a cheap and cheerful town centre pension.
Spring growth on the trees in the Rio Alharaba gorge
Another short easyday mainly across an agricultural plain to the lovely town of Calasparra. Calasparra is the home of a particular type of paella rice and the town has its own rice trail and museum. Compared to Moratalla it had a prosperous feel but with a similar historic centre. I stayed in the Hospederia Rural Constiticion, excellent and right in the middle of town.
Looking back to Moratalla
Next day's walk is excellent taking you along an east west ridge with wide plains to the north and south. To the north runs the Segura river which I guess provides the water for the rice which makes the area famous. You never get to climb to top of the ridge but contour along its side. Half way along you cross the dam holding the water back at the Alfonso X111 reservoir before going around the Sierra del Almarchion the shape of which is particularly dramatic. The Segura river flows around the ancient town of Cieza which surprisingly doesn't have any accommodation. I stayed at La Linda Tapada which was lovely but a bit a trek out of town - the owner will pick you up on request.
Sierra del Almarchion
There is no accommodation on the next stretch of the walk and it's not that pleasant either. A long stretch through the industrial suburbs to the north of Cieza, then through some dry scrub land and then huge fruit tree estates before hitting the motorway at Venta Roman. I got a lift back to La Linda Tapada and staying there two nights.
The last day in Murcia is a bit better, the trail is good following an ancient camino across wide open and empty spaces and if you like big skies it's a nice walk. You cross the boundary into the region of Valencia just before you get to Pinosa, a small village with a big expat population and which has been speculatively over developed.
If you want to know what it felt like on a daily basis than have a look at the walk diary
From Villanueva de Cauche you have a northern and a southern option for the GR7/E4. I chose the northern option, which is generally described as the less developed route, because, and without a lot of evidence, I thought there might be snow on the southern route in March. I now know better and could definitely have walked either route.
In total my Stage 2 is 443 kilometres long, involves around 112 hours walking, and goes from Villanueva del Rosario through the Malaga and Jaen provinces and joins up with the southern option at Puebla de Don Fadrique where both options join before heading into Murcia.
A sea of olive trees
There are a lot of olive trees along this part of the walk. Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil and this part of Andalucia (Jaen in particular) is where much of it happens. To be honest I got a bit fed up with olive trees.
Day one was mixed arable, not yet 100 per cent olive trees, and while it wasn't brilliant walking the trail was nearly all off-road. I stayed at the wonderful Hotel Rural Paloma which is just off the route and couple of kilometres before you get to Villanueva de Tapia (near where the route crosses the main road) - don't miss it!
The next day, a short 20 kilometre walk but now 100 per cent olives. Pleasant open countryside but olives as far as the eye can see. Villanueva de Algaidas, the day's destination looked a pretty dull town, although it was pouring with rain when I arrived. The Hotel Algaidas is at the southern end of the high street.
After the rain the walk from Villanueva de Algaidas to Rute was tricky and sticky (with argillaceous mud sticky to everything). Streams which needed to be crossed were in full flood and the route was at times very difficult to follow. This was a shame because, despite the olive trees, this is pretty countryside with the route taking you through the lovely villages of Cuevas Bajas and Vadofresno. Rute the final destination is also interesting, a centre for the production of anis, the whole town seemed to smell just slightly from the drink. I stayed at the Hotel el Mirador which was OK but lacked any Spanish soul.
Spanish breakfast at Hostal Rafi
Nice walk to the lovely town of Priego de Cordoba the route takes you along two linked valleys. Hard to find the route leaving Rute but important that you do as the route takes high up the side of the first valley and away from the road. In the second valley it's along a quiet road still annoying because there is a lovely green lane running parallel to it nearly all the way. Preigo de Cordoba is a lovely town with some amazing Rococo churches. Stayed at the Hostal Rafi, a really nice hotel with a good restaurant.
Priego de Cordoba
After a 23 kilometre walk to Priego de Cordoba I chose to do a much longer, 35 kilometre walk to Alacala la Real. Could have had a short day by stopping at Almedinilla but to be honest the walking was not that good so not that much to hold you back. Quiet a lot of road walking although at times I may have walked along the road rather than the path because I missed the route.
Alcala la Real
Stopped for half a day in Alcala la Real staying at the Hotel Torrepalma. Impressive castle towering over the town and from the top you can see the line of watch towers that marked an old border with the Moors. A short afternoon stroll took me through the Alcala la Real suburbs to Frailes with accommodation at a wonderful bar in the middle of the village, really friendly, enormous portions of food and great fun.
Frailes to Carchelejo is a big but wonderful walk, 35 kilometres and 1300 metres of ascent. Climbing steadily up from Frailes to the little village of Los Rosales your soon out of olive country and into open moorland where the agriculture is based on sheep. Climbing up over a ridge with brillant views to the north you then into a empty and seemingly never ending valley before, after several hours, climbing up again over a ridge, past some amazing wind blown rock, with brilliant views of the Quiebrajano Reservoir, before getting onto moorland again and heading down to Carchelejo. We stayed at the Mezquita de Magina Rural Apartments, whatever you do don't be tempted to walk onto the Hotel-Restuarant Oasis, its miles away.
GR7 above Frailes
Couldn't find anywhere to stay at Cambil, the walk for the next day, but the owner of the Mezquita in Carchelejo was happy to act as taxi driver. Easy walk to Cambil, a very pleasant little town, although you do have to go underneath a motorway. Recent comments on the blog suggest that the route may have got washed away in places so it might be necessary to make some local enquiries, as it was, even when we were there, the river along the valley looked a bit treacherous.
After a slightly dull walk to Cambil, the walk to Torres next day was much better. Again you get to climb up out of the olive trees, this time into the Sierra Magina Natural Park, over a pass a 1600 metres with some amazing views back to the Sierra Nevadas, and then a long meandering walk down through trees to Torres. A good walk. Stayed at the Hotel-Restaurante Jurinea which was excellent.
Albanchez de Ubeda with castle above
The walk to Jodar is a good one going through some nice countryside and visiting the lovely towns of Albanchez de Ubeda and Bedmar both of which are stop-over options. Jodar is an "interesting" place, nice town centre but the rest of the place feels poor and slightly oppressive. There are two hotels and we probably stayed at the wrong one - would try the Hotel los Molinos which is much better positioned than the Hotel Cuidad de Jodar.
Would give the walk to Quesada a miss unless you're desperate to do the whole of the GR7/E4. A lot of road walking through boring olive tree country. Gets better from Hornos de Peal to Quesada and Quesada is a lovely village with good accommodation options. We stayed at the excellent Hotel Sierra de Quesada.
Limestone cliffs in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park
After Quesada you enter the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park, a magical place full of wild life but with a total absence of people when I went there in March. This was one of the best parts of the whole E4 as far as I was concerned and as well as deer, huge numbers of birds of prey and vultures, I got to see my first wild boar and either a wild cat or a lynx. Definitely want to go back there.
You cross into the Park somewhere between Quesada and Cazorla after you have climbed up along a forest trail. The scenery changes quickly with huge limestone cliffs looking into the park and huge views across the plain looking out. Along the way you pass ancient churches and castles before getting to Cazorla which itself is an absolute gem of a town. We stayed at the Hotel Guadalquivir which was a success.
Sticking with the route there is no accommodation on the route into the park so I walked to and from Vadillo de Castril and the hotel gave me a lift back there the following day. I'm sure there are better options if your not a GR7/E4 purist. The paths through the park were excellent, a combination of paved mule trails and more recent forest trails.
It was on the second day into the park that the wild life started to reveal itself in numbers. Usually walking high up, contouring around valleys, you're often looking down at the hovering Griffon vultures and birds of prey. It was on the second day I saw my family of wild boar.
I stayed in an apartment in Cotos Rios, a small village on the edge of the park, although I'm sure the Hotel la Hortizuela is close by but on the road on the other side of the river from the trail.
Sheep country around Pontones
Although you're out of the park the quality of walking is more than sustained next day on the trip to Pontones. It was pretty wild when I did it with snow falling going over the pass. It was at this point I saw what was either a Lynx or a Wild Cat. Pontones itself is very much a mountain town, very remote and in an area where making a living looks especially hard. The Hotel Restaurant Ruta del Segura was a authentic, old fashioned good fun place to stay.
Last decent day's walking on the northern variant of the GR7, a walk across dry open limestone countryside followed by a long descent down a valley to Santiago de la Espada. Stayed at another mountain hotel, the Hotel San Francisco.
Although I walked to Puebla de Don Fadrique there was little pleasure in it. Mostly along a sometimes busy road and a long way - would definitely recommend catching the bus. The Hotel Puerta de Andalucia is a good place to spend a last day in Andalucia (or a first day if you're walking the other way).
If you want to know what the walk felt like on a daily basis then have a look at the walk diary.
