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Rights of Way - Trashumancia
- La Caņadas |
The Footpaths
of San Miguel de Salinas |
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Trashumancia derives from the 12th Century right of passage granted by the King, which created 120,000kms of Caņadas.
Created were hundreds of miles hoof-trodden 'ways'
forming the traditional routes for moving livestock.
But there is much more to it than that...it was
ecologically friendly. We have now updated this
page and we include information about San Miguel de
Salinas' 'Las Vias Pecuarias' that are the
ancient footpaths defined by law. These follow the
oldest routes through the Campo...before we started
building tarmac roads and motorways. They are still
here waiting for you to discover them. |
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It's a hard life roaming in the Campo along
these old routes. and when you see our goatherd
friend Antonio and his faithful dog in the campo around San Miguel de Salinas, his flock of 400 sheep and goats is never far away. They move methodically between the fields to feed on the remains of recently harvested crops and through the almond groves in a traditional migration between winter and summer pastures: this has been the way of the goatherd for hundreds if not thousands of years.
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Click on the Map
to find the Ancient
footpaths of San Miguel de Salinas - Las Vias
Pecuarias: Las Coladas de la Sierra Escalona y
Ermita del Carmen and Las Veradas de Hurchilla,
Dolores y Camino Real |
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Such is the fertility of the Vega Baja, the valley of the Rio Segura, much from the benefit of the centuries old skills of irrigation left by the Moors and our enviable weather conditions, that crops grow rapidly in spring for early harvest. Then as the hot dry summer approaches the flocks move to their summer pastures higher in the mountains, before returning again, in full cycle, as the first snows fall. |
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| This migration is known in Spain as the Trashumancia, and dates back to prehistory. In the 12th Century the King granted right of passage over hundreds of miles of countryside and these hoof-trodden 'ways' or caņadas were anything from 20 to 75 meters wide, rather like elongated meadows. In total there were about 120,000 kilometres of these caņadas and the migration was an extremely important event in the economic life of the country. After the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) much changed as the conflicts of war had disrupted the migration. When, afterwards, a rise in economic development around many towns resulted in the illegal seizure of the pastures for building, agriculture became less important and the old caņadas fell into disuse.
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the black sheep of SMdS |
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It was not until the 1970s that a rise in the interest of ecological issues resulted in a movement to re-instate the traditional caņadas. More importantly the cause was about reasserting the Public Legality of the Right of Way, just as we have in the UK with many ancient footpaths and bridleways. This movement led to the adoption in Spanish Law of the Vias Pecuarias (The law relating to Livestock Paths) in 1995, but sadly after such a time an estimated 30% of these caņadas were under developers' concrete. |
| In 2003 there was a very spectacular demonstration in Madrid when a large flock of sheep and goats was driven along the exact route of a lost caņada, exercising legal rights, crossing a Golf Course (Mama Mia!) before arriving in the very heart of the Spanish Capital. Ecological Lobbyists are convinced that the Trashumancia is important in that it forms part of an interlinked ecosystem of dependence. The flock drop manure as they wander giving sustenance to the plants and wild flowers along the way: the sheep and goats pick up seeds, dispersing them as they wander: the weaker members of the flock fall foul of the carrion and birds of prey, and so on.
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| And now with many of old routes back in use, many marked by the roadside
signs shown at the top of the page, it represents an outstanding opportunity for tourism and preserves these centuries old traditions, an important part of Spain's national heritage.
Of course for the Goatherd...he knows his way...it's only the concrete
and our new homes that
occasionally block his route...but make sure you stop and say hello if you see Juan Antonio Aranda Ramon, or indeed any other goatherd, . They are extremely interesting characters, rugged yet gentle. The delight Juan Antonio expressed when we hunted him down in the Campo to give him the above photograph was a delight to behold.
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