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30th March 2008
- About 75 amblers joined the excursion along the Country Tracks called The Route of
The Escalona with The Rambling Group of La Asociación de
Vecinos "San Miguel Arcángel". The route
followed an historical route and to an ancient pine at
Villa Milagros where the group formed a ring and read
poems dedicated to the noble trees by Frederico Garcia
Lorca and a hymn to the tree by Gabriela Mistral. This
great group crosses all the barriers of nationality and
benefits from all the local knowledge of members of the
Association... see also Historical
Snippet
Next Walk 13 April 2008 - The Valley of The Wolves
- see below |
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14th March 2008 - Here we go senderistas
- This is a walking group that Jenni from Casa La
Pedrera walks weekly, today they walked the spectacular
El Rio Seco Route - what a great friendly group... we
have it all in San Miguel de Salinas.
More on Casa la Pedrera
If you have a walking group - ramblers, amblers, whatever - tell us, this is a very popular page! |
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Gary's Easy Ambles | Senderismo | Hiking | Walks
in and around San Miguel de Salinas
Little would Gary Dobson of Torremendo
have thought that his idea to jot down a few of his favourite walks of the area would get the response it has since we have published it on this website. Gary's Easy Ambles
are just what we were looking for. We are not going to change the name of our page even though we now have even more walks, rambles
and hikes from other contributors. We are currently
preparing our first booklet for the Tourist Information
Centres of San Miguel de Salinas and, of course,
Algorfa, where some of our contributors live.
Even www.algorfa.co.uk (part of our Web Ring of La Vega Baja) now has a page of
ALGORFA AMBLES, inspired
in name by Gary's Easy Ambles, to give everybody even more options. |
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SUNDAY
13 April
2008 - Announcing another excursion
to The Valley of The Wolves with The Rambling Group of La
Asociación de Vecinos "San Miguel Arcángel".
Day: Sunday 13 April | Time: 9.30am | Meeting Place: The
Church Square San Miguel de Salinas | Approximate
Duration: 3 hrs | Difficulty: Fairly Easy (Remember to
wear comfortable shoes and clothes)
This group is
great and very welcoming - a mixture of all nationalities including many that have lived in the pueblo all their lives.
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The Algorfa Ambles include
- Monument Walk above La Finca Golf Course
- Valley of the Rio Seco (Dry River) Walk
- Salt Lake Walks
- Rio Segura Walk - Towards Guardemar
- Rio Segura Walk - Towards Orihuela
- National Park - Benejúzar, (Algorfa's Neighbouring Village)
- Walk Along The Camino From The Old Renfe (now refurbished) Building
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Informamos a los senderistas del
Grupo Internacional Via Augusta que la Asociación de Vecinos "San Miguel de Salinas" ha organizado una marcha por
las Vias Pecuarias de Sierra Escalona para el domingo 30 de Marzo de una duración aproximada de 3 horas de dificultad baja. Hora de salida a las 9,30 de la mañana desde la Plaza de la iglesia (Torrevieja).
Grupo Internacional Via Augusta anuncia otras informaciones a los senderistas - No olvidar que para el domingo 13 de abril tenemos nuestro senderismo de primavera por el Barranco de Aspe y ya mandaremos más detalles según se aproxime la fecha.
Senderismo | Hiking |
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10 February 2008
- Around 50 residents and friends enjoyed the special
excursion organised by
The Rambling Group of the Neighbourhood Association “San
Miguel Arcángel” on 10 February. Only the locals
would know of the location of the defensive line of trenches dug in the hillside
during
1936, The Spanish Civil War.
From Pimientos opposite the entrance to Ciudad de las Comunicaciones on
CV 941 follow the track on the east side of the road,
passing the top of The ADU 18 development and follow the
paths to the promontory that looks towards the sea and
you'll find the remains of the carefully engineered
emplacements - It's an easy and interesting route to add
to the page.
Watch out for more walks within
the municipality are planned by The Rambling Group of
the Neighbourhood Association
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| We couldn’t tell you how many times we are asked for
Walking Routes, ‘out and about’ around
San Miguel de Salinas and we are delighted to publish
GARY’S EASY RAMBLES. These include a few easy walks, all practical with a dog or sprog, even with a pushchair and, especially for the off-road bicycle.
Gary Dobson has lived at Torremendo for the last five
years and he loves his walks in the countryside. He has
promised to add more routes to his EASY AMBLES as he discovers
them. His directions are pretty easy to follow but we are also preparing an overview ‘Google’ colour-coded map to make them even easier to find.
If you have any problems, need clarification or wish
to provide feedback for
Gary please contact him via the website by
email |
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Route 1. Views over Pedrera - Start from
Bar La Oficina on the road to Torremendo. Leave your car in the street above the bar. Walk to the end of this street and turn left down the track. At the bottom, turn right on to the old road. After 50m or so, turn right again along a good wide track. Continue around a few sweeping bends past a large red house. Another 150 m the lane turns left in front of a group of houses. You need to turn right here up a steep part
gravelled track, through an open gate. After the track turns to the left, ignore the first right turn and take the second. You should be able to see the track leading uphill and bending to the right. Follow this track, ignoring all turnings for about 1km. Just after some old houses on the left, the track bends right and continues uphill, with a few speed humps across the road. When you can see the
Lo Rufete Stables turn right opposite a large wire-fenced compound. You can see a ruined house in front of you, which you pass, then the Lakeview
Mansions Estate in front of you. Keep on downhill to the bar.
This route takes about 2 hours on foot or 20 minutes by bike. Binoculars and camera recommended. On this walk,
you'll see ducks, sea birds, raptors & grouse. |
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Route 2. Canal & Lemons. Start at the
Ronda Sur / Calle Gongora in San Miguel.
Turn your back on the town. You should be able to see a path leading down to the canal and turn right. (If your walking is not too good, take the road down to the canal and cross the bridge) Follow the canal bank about 2km. Cross at the bridge. (At this point, the road continues over quite a high embankment) Walk up the fairly wide track in front of you. Pass several
embalsas
(reservoirs), some in use, some not, until you reach the lemon groves. At a distinct crossroads, turn right. When you reach the canal bank, turn left and continue until you find yourself back on the road. Continue up to the main road and turn right then right again back to your starting point.
This route takes about 1½ hours on foot or 15 minutes by bike.
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| Route 3. Oranges & Thyme.
Start in Torremendo. At the mini roundabout, turn right. Park near the medical centre. Walk downhill on the old road towards San Miguel. As you leave the village, turn left after the football pitch. 50m turn right ignoring the left turn 200m further on. This wide track leads you right down to the lake. Eventually it becomes narrow path leading over the rocks, then returning to a track leading uphill. 80m uphill is a crossroads. (For a short walk, turn left to return to Torremendo) Turn right down a good track that winds up and down alongside one of the lake’s inlets. When you reach the water level, the track turns right to continue around the lake. You can see a farm in front of you. Turn sharp left. The track leads uphill, but you take the path to your right along the bottom of the slope. (So what you’ve really done is to carry straight on) Carry on, keeping the orange groves on your right. After you have to
duck under a pine tree take a path through the oranges to your right (it doesn’t matter which one). At the end of the grove turn left along the decent track, then left again and up the hill. When you reach the tarmac road turn left. Shortly you approach a village. Turn right onto a track before the first house on the right, then immediately right again. You should now be looking across scrubland towards the petrol station and cemetery. There are two paths. Take either; they meet further on. Continue between a massive clump of cactus and a ruin to the main road. Turn left down the hill and back to the village.
This route takes about 2½ hours. Difficult by bike, but about an hour.
Take binoculars & camera. On this walk, we’ve seen a tree full of bee-eaters and hundreds of swifts. Don’t forget a bag for the oranges, no longer tended.
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Don’t forget a bag for the oranges
and lemons...only the ones no longer tended! |
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Route 4. Lakeside 1.
Start on the old road from Lakeview to Torremendo off CV951. Park by the old building at the roadside, about ½ way along. Take the track at the right of the building. Follow it towards the lake, away to the right, and back to the road. Turn right back towards your car.
This route takes about 45 min on foot, 10 minutes by bike (really good fun).
Route 5. Lakeside 2.
Start at Bar Oficina on CV951. Head along the old road towards Torremendo. Ignore the service road to the right. Continue downhill 300m. Take the obvious track to the right. When you reach a fork turn right. At the next fork turn left, then right and back to the wide track. Turn right to return to your starting point.
To extend or shorten this route, turn where you like. You can almost always see the service road, so you can’t get lost
This route takes about 40 min on foot, 10 minutes by bike (great fun too!). |
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| Route 6. Secret Valley.
True Campo with this one - start on the CV95, San Miguel to Orihuela, and park by the Fortaleza restaurant.
Cross the road and walk towards San Miguel. The new tarmac gives way to a dirt path alongside the road. After 50m is a good track to the right. After about 350m is a distinct path up and right past a big old ruined house. Carry on through a delightful hidden valley. Keep going until you reach a new road and footpath. Continue to the end and turn right, right again, then second left. This brings you back to your car.
This route takes about 1 hour on foot, 15 min by bike.
Why not tell us how you are getting on?
email
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Route 7. La Mata - Start Los Montesinos. Go through the town on CV945 and park at the side of
Valentin Garden Centre. Cross the scrub towards the roundabout on CV90. Carefully cross at the crossing.
Astonishingly, we found cars actually stopped for us! Head through the gates and into the nature reserve, keeping the lake on your left for about 40 minutes. Look for a distinct path to your right, marked with a pile if stones. This is a lovely meandering path (NOT SUITABLE FOR BIKES - you have to carry on as far as you feel like, then come back, or continue all the way round the lake) which leads to the edge of the reserve. You then have a choice:
- turn right & follow the good path back to the park entrance. Retrace your route back to your car.
- turn right along the path until you can see the road down to the San Luis roundabout. Go through the fence and follow the road. Cross the dual carriageway and head on towards the other lake. When you reach the gravelled cycle path, turn right back to your car.
This route takes about 1½ hours, for either option. The bike ride is as long as you make it, but right round is about 1½ hours.
Take binoculars and long camera lens for lots of birds. |
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Route 8. Sea & Sand
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At the Pyramid roundabout on the N332, Cabo Roig, turn towards the sea. Park.
Walk back towards the roundabout and take the path down to the right, beside what used to be the post office. You can follow this shady path all the way to La Zenia beach. Head to the right of the beach and follow the under cliff path, past the marina to the far side of Lo Capitan beach. Take the steps up to the road, turn left at the junction and back to your car.
This route takes about 1 hour on foot. Not practical by bike.
This is a surprisingly peaceful walk considering how close to the city. |
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Route 9. La Huerta, Orihuela - Park behind the Police National in Orihuela.
Follow the River Segura service road west along either bank. After the pipeline crosses the river, take the second bridge and return. This route has lovely mountain views passing through a variety of farmland and passing the old hydro plant.
This route takes about 1 hour on foot, or to the next bridge add 40 minutes.
Cyclists can go as far as Beniel. This one is practical with a wheelchair. |
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Route 10. La
Marquesa
From San Miguel head towards Los Montesinos on CV940. After the AP7 turn right towards la Marquesa. At the T-junction, turn left towards Los Montesinos on CV943. Park outside the stables.
Cross the road heading back towards Torrevieja, and take the good track, which forks left, towards a ruined farm. Veer right between the lemon groves. There are lots of trees along here with both oranges and lemons on the same tree. When you reach the road, turn left and cross over, taking the lane to the hamlet and church of La Marquesa. After a look round, return to the main road, turn left then left against the junction. 50m take the track to the right. When you reach a tarmac road turn right. This brings you back to the stables.
This route takes about ¾ hour on foot. |
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Jennifer from Algorfa recommends the path along the River Segura - last year the water authorities planted thousands of new trees along the bank and some of the trees have labels on them describing their species (interesting for nature lovers).
The flat tarmaced route along the river bank makes it an
easy walk. You can actually walk to Guardamar one way and Murcia the other.
Pick up the Guardamar path at the first roundabout after the lights, by the new Masters electrical shop towards Almoradí, turn right - plenty of parking (but make sure your car is secure although we've never known of trouble there).
To go to Murcia, at the next roundabout after the above (under the motorway) turn left coming back on yourself down the dirt path (watch out for the lady working the old profession).
Along the river bank is also popular for cyclists. The odd car that goes down the river bank road too, presumably they have finca access. |
David from Algorfa suggests a walk along the Camino from the old Renfe building at Algorfa to the roundabout at junction 743 on the AP7 on Sunday, which took about 1 and a quarter hours walking
leisurely as it skirted the orange groves. Even though
it was close to the motorway, it was an enjoyable stroll and there
were quite a lot of interesting wild flowers and birds,
including a small heron like bird.
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The Walkway at Mar Menor San Pedro
More on Mar Menor |
| Here’s a walk for the very least able, even suitable for
those with wheelchairs and includes disabled WC facilities along the way. It’s the walkway out into The Mar Menor at El Molino de Quintín
and Las Salinas de San Pedro. The Mar Menor offers many of my coastal walks, as mentioned also on ‘10 places’, but this one is paved and perfectly flat for 2.7kms or 1.67 miles. On the many good days, even though the winter (my photo was taken today 5 Feb), there’s not a breath of wind and the ‘little sea’ is a flat as a pancake. The Mar Menor is the largest
'hypersaline' water lagoon in Europe, an area of some 170sq kilometres with a shallowness that always makes it a good 5 degrees warmer than the water of the Mediterranean. Along the walkway there are ramps to the waters edge where people dig for the therapeutic mud of the lagoon, renowned for its healing properties; there are also many wading birds to be seen, including Flamingos. |
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A walk above La Finca Golf Course,
this spectacular panoramic view of La Vega Baja + the
Cairn, is added by
Geoff from Algorfa.
There are two routes to
top. The route a) going up the left side of the mountain
does not officially give you access to the cairn at the
top although a hole under the high wire fence made it
possible in December 2006. Great views and abundant
flora up there. |
| Route a) From
the commercial centre go up the straight road past the
golf course (but don’t veer off to the right to the club
house. Continue on with the orange groves on your left
as the road becomes a track, (we ignored the no
admittance sign as we assumed that referred to vehicles)
bear left, then at the corner of the storage lake go
right and start the climb to the top. After rising
steeply the track levels out and bears right to reach
the summit at a gentler gradient. After reaching the
summit and enjoying the views, if you can get under the
fence it is possible to descend using the track of route
b)
Route
b) Head
towards Algorfa on the new road and at the roundabout by
the new white houses, which are the last of the La Finca
urbanisation, turn left up the road towards the large
green storage building belonging to the golf course,
passing a lake on your left. About 100 yards after the
storage building, just before the large piles of tipped
stone and rubble, turn right along a track that takes
you through an area that appears to be a tip for grass
and palm tree cuttings (amongst other things). Follow
the path/track as it weaves away from the tip across
open country, round the top of a gulley, then heads
towards the visible path that rises around the right of
the minor hill. The path bends round the hill and rises
steeply with a deep gulley to its left. The path
straightens out to climb less steeply parallel to the
edge of the mountain to reach the summit. After reaching
the summit and enjoying the views, if you can get under
the fence it is possible to descend using the track of
route a). |
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Another of Geoff's
suggestions is for an unusual morning’s walk along the valley of the Rio Seco. It is on the fringes of the urbanizacion of Pinar de Campoverde. You reach this by going first to Pilar de La Horadada, leave the town by the CV 925 then turn right at the first roundabout signposted Campoverde. Go right to the end of the urbanizacion and follow the signs to Area Natural and park by the visitor centre (open weekends only). Follow the plan from
on The Pilar de la Horadada website
simply click on Turismo then Area Natural. The website says it is about 2½ kms but it seemed longer. After passing through the valley there is still about a ¾ mile walk back to the car. The scenery is excellent and the going fairly easy but it can get hot in the valley so arrive early. It is an unspoilt area with (apparently) abundant wildlife.
The fact that this can include snakes (according to the information board in Spanish) can make it a little nerve racking if you are squeamish but none appeared during our walk. There are some nice beaches in the vicinity of Pilar de la Horadada to end the day rather more conventionally or alternatively turn right out of Campoverde urbanisation and go for a meal at the Restaurante Rebate which is just a few k up the road. |
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And two walks that take in Las Salinas - The Salt
Lakes
1) Walk near the Salt Lake at La Mata. The visitor centre near La Mata is signposted and accessed from the roundabout on the N332 coast road near La Mata. Park in the car park at the centre then follow the direction signs. Good views over the lake and some bird watching points on the route. The whole walk takes about an hour.
2) Walks near the salt lakes at Santa Pola -
The Santa Pola Website
provides two routes:
a) Access to the shorter of the two walks is from the Playa El Pinet which is at the northern end of the La Marina road off the N332. Turn towards the sea at the signpost to the beach then park in the newly created car park. Walk left from there with the salt lakes on your left. The route is marked with a right turn to reach the shore through the dunes area and back along the beach. Pass to the rear of the houses before turning right back to your vehicle. Only about 2 kilometres.
b) For the slightly longer walk access is at the southernmost end of the sea front road at Santa Pola, past the Playa Llisa. The route is marked and culminates beside the beach near the canal to the inner lakes from the sea. We walked back along the beach. About 4k in all. A slight deviation from the path will take you beside the salt works with their vast mountains of salt.
It would be best not to tackle either walk in the hottest part of the day. |
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more from Gary
and others
soon! |
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gary's easy ambles - www.san-miguel-de-salinas.com
© 2008 |
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