If you have been following my blog for a while you will know that one of the things we love to do whilst we are away is seeking out new off road cycle routes. Purely by chance one day I found a Via Verde on the website (link at the end of this post) that we hadn't yet discovered and it was close to the area we were planning to visit. So, we headed south, stopping for a couple of nights at the El Palomar camperstop to indulge in the free use of the washing machine and tumble dryer as well as a lovely walk through the fields alongside ancient irrigation channels built by the Moors hundreds of years ago.
After leaving El Palomar, it took us a while, but eventually we found the Via Verde at Agost and a huge car park right next to the trail - a perfect place to stay for a couple of days whilst we explore the area.
The Via Verde itself is 22km from start to finish, built in the 1920's as a railway link from Agost to Alcoi the Spanish civil war intervened and the rails were never laid. The impressive viaducts and half a dozen tunnels have only been used by the walkers and cyclists who frequent the trail these days. The rough gravel track heads steadily uphill through dramatic mountain scenery to Maigmó where it ends conveniently at a service area with a cafe/restaurant and then its downhill with hardly a pedal turn to get back to base!
The dark unlit tunnels add particular interest to the journey through the hills, we were glad of our bright cycle lights! It was strange being in the tunnels, although they were built almost a hundred years ago you had no feeling of the passage of time once you were inside, the interior being completely sheltered from the elements, it almost looked newly built.
On our first day at Agost we cycled the Via Verde from start to finish and back and on the second day we took the adjacent road up to the top of the trail intending to head back down on it, but the weather was against us and a cold wind brought light rain so we whizzed back down the hill to the cosy warmth of the van. Since we arrived here in Spain the weather has been colder than average but when the sun does come out, if you can find shelter from the wind, it can be lovely and warm.
The Via Verde itself is 22km from start to finish, built in the 1920's as a railway link from Agost to Alcoi the Spanish civil war intervened and the rails were never laid. The impressive viaducts and half a dozen tunnels have only been used by the walkers and cyclists who frequent the trail these days. The rough gravel track heads steadily uphill through dramatic mountain scenery to Maigmó where it ends conveniently at a service area with a cafe/restaurant and then its downhill with hardly a pedal turn to get back to base!
The dark unlit tunnels add particular interest to the journey through the hills, we were glad of our bright cycle lights! It was strange being in the tunnels, although they were built almost a hundred years ago you had no feeling of the passage of time once you were inside, the interior being completely sheltered from the elements, it almost looked newly built.
On our first day at Agost we cycled the Via Verde from start to finish and back and on the second day we took the adjacent road up to the top of the trail intending to head back down on it, but the weather was against us and a cold wind brought light rain so we whizzed back down the hill to the cosy warmth of the van. Since we arrived here in Spain the weather has been colder than average but when the sun does come out, if you can find shelter from the wind, it can be lovely and warm.
But having said that, I'm not complaining about the weather here in Spain-it's cold and snowy back in the UK!
Here is the link to this Via Verde:
Here is the link to this Via Verde:
http://www.viasverdes.com/en/itineraries/itinerario.asp?id=14
Very interesting info xx
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