Last night as I was scanning the woods for a likely camping spot I noticed scars and collection pots on the pines. Today as I set off towards the start of the Eresma Valley Via Verde I noticed more; collecting pine resin is obviously some sort of industry here.
I had decided to join the Via Verde ten miles from where I spent the night, cycle along it to the start and the turn around and do the full route. That ten miles took me through Coca early this morning and what I expected to be just another village turned out to be something quite different. First I passed the remains of the old medieval town walls and then saw the town's gem: apparently the best preserved Mudejar style castle in Spain (a Moorish style Christian building). Apparently Asterix also paid the place a visit in Asterix goes to Spain. Maybe I should have stayed here last night.
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| Coca Town Walls |
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| Coca Castle |
Before I got to the Via Verde I had in mind a track similar to that between Bath and Bristol, a decent surface and maybe an old station converted to a cafe for a decent break. What I found as I cycled to my start point was a heavily overgrown track, a thin line of dark grey amongst the grasses and thistles and flowers. Even that disappeared at times and the route could be seen only by the slight parting in the growth. It made for hard going and required a lot of concentration on that thin line in front of you but it was flat and it was colourful with the purples and blues and the reds and yellows of any number of summer flowers.
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| Track? |
It was gone nine before I set off from the start and backtracked the first few miles of the track. This time though I was wearing long trousers; I had had enough of thistles spiking my legs. As it turned out, not long after the point where I had joined the route it became sensibly navigable, a clear gravel path heading off into the distance. And in the distance were the Guadarrama mountains, visible ahead for most of the day and slowly becoming more defined as I cycled towards Segovia and towards them. That is what I have to cross to get to Madrid and I am slightly daunted.
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| Via Verde Start |
The Via had started as a tracked version of yesterday's roads, alternating agricultural and pine forest, but being an old railway a few cuttings and bridges were thrown in to keep the route flat. Later it changed to rolling fields with craggy outcrops, all the time mostly straight and all the time the Guadarrama mountains getting bigger and more defined ahead in the distance. I counted down the kilometres via the regular markers, crossing rivers, past the remains of now derelict stations, through woods and past small plantations, all the time pedalling steadily on the gritty, flat track.
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| Forest refuge |
It was late afternoon when I arrived at Segovia, more tired than expected and grateful that the last three miles of scrappy track into wind and alongside high speed rail tracks and main roads was over. I still had over a mile to reach the old town and my accommodation, entering via the extensive new town, unexpected when all your ideas of the city are from pictures of old Segovia and its aqueduct.
My first aim was a shower and a change of clothing after last night and then an exploration of the city. It struck me Segovia is a lot hillier than I appreciated as I pushed my bike uphill through pedestrian only streets and away from the aqueduct. Later I walked around to get my bearings but found the steep narrow streets hard to fathom. I walked a stretch of the walls which are more immense than I imagined, looking down on the coach and car park far below that had brought all the tourists to the pedestrianised old town. Then, after finding the cathedral and the Plaza Mayor, I settled into a quiet bar (hard to find with all the tourists) for a beer and light dinner before a planned quiet night tonight; today I will catch up with sleep, tomorrow I will explore more fully.
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| Cathedral |
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