27 October 2022 – Jalon to Alcalali

 This was the first walk of our newly formed U3A Valley Ramblers group

Very pleased to have thirteen on our first walk

Particularly as the group was only formed five days ago

The aim is gentle walks of about three hours

Similar to our Summer Walks, but avoiding any difficult terrain

Lynn and Barry joined us from our Monday Ramblers

Plus Sarah who has walked with us before

We also invited Clive and Jean our neighbours

The remaining six were all new

Everyone seemed to mix together very well

And it felt very similar to our regular Monday group

We were fortunate that it was a little cooler than it has been recently

All of these walks are new and I recorded them on my Garmin satnav

We finished the walk at bar Can Tallarina in Jalon

Temperature – 24-27c

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9 km

 

 

 

24 October 2022 – Parcent to Murla

We had planned to walk from Castells to the Arches today

However a forecast of 28c decided us to opt for an easier valley walk

Despite the heat there were 14 of us walking today

We arranged to meet in Parcent car park

However Terry rang me to warn that the road was closed

I rushed down and found that they were working on the bridge between the font and the car park

I was able to redirect about half of the group to park in the village

The rest had come through the village and could get to the car park

We eventually got going about half an hour late

It was not as hot as I had expected

And a cool breeze made it quite comfortable

However it was hard work climbing to the Ermita

On the way back we found this memorial to a loved pet

Also this splendid new gate, decorated with two metal bulls heads

The same house also had too very friendly “guard” dogs

Fortunately it was downhill all the way after our picnic at the Ermita

And some very welcome shade as well

I was surprised to find so much water in the river, as it has not rained for more than a week

On the way back we arranged for Jan and Annie to meet us at the cooperativa

Where we all had a very well deserved cold drink

Time taken – 5 hours

Distance – 11 km

Total ascent – 320 metres

Temperature – 24-29c

 

 

17 October 2022 – Montgo Iberian Settlement

 

There were 18 of us on today’s walk

I was looking forward to this one

Because it is nearly three years since we last did it

This is one of a number of cancelled walks due to Covid

There should have been 20 on the walk

But two cancelled on Sunday due to the heat

When we started the walk it was cloudy with a pleasant breeze

Probably about 22c, pretty normal for this time of year

This made for very comfortable walking

Even the climb to our picnic site was not too challenging

It was still cloudy when we arrived and almost chilly

But the sky cleared as we had our picnic

And the sun was soon shinning

It also made for better photos

As always everyone was reluctant to restart the walk

It was only a short walk to the remains of the settlement

Where I shared my very limited knowledge of the history

Then I had to find the very overgrown route off the hill

This is where my satnav earns its keep

Lovely walking back through the woods to the cars

Time taken – 5 hours

Distance – 9 km

Total ascent – 309 metres

Temperature – 22-25c