An early start and drive to Puerto Serrano to cycle the Sierra Greenway. We would take a taxi from Puerto Serrano to Olvera (complete with our bikes) and cycle back to Puerto Serrano before spending the night at the hotel at the start of the trail in Puerto Serrano.

Vías Verdes / Greenways are the product of converting disused railway lines into cycling and walking routes. Easy, accessible, far removed from motorised traffic and with hardly any steep slopes, they are specially recommended for nature lovers and people who enjoy outdoor exercise.

There are already 7.600 kilometres of disused railway lines throughout Spain and the Olvera to Puerto Serrano ranks as one of the best not only in Spain but throughout Europe.

No trains ever ran along the 36 Km of the Sierra Greenway route which lies at the foot of the southernmost mountain range of the Iberian peninsula,  between the towns of Puerto Serrano and Olvera in the province of Cadiz.

We will absolutely return in a future year and camp at a site near Olvera to cycle the route again and explore some of the natural beauty of the region.

This outstanding route, running parallel to the banks of a number of rivers, passes through some truly spectacular scenery such as the Peñón de Zaframagón (Rock of Zaframagón), home to one of the largest colonies of griffon vultures in Europe. In fact there are some 200 breeding pairs present at the Rock.

 

The Sierra Railway, which was to run from Jerez de la Frontera to Almargen, was a project conceived at the turn of the 20th century. It had been the dream of generations of people living in the Guadalete basin and on the higher land near Olvera.

The military were also keen to have a railway link between their bases at Cartagena and Cadiz. With the blessing of all, work began swiftly under the auspices of dictator General Primo de Rivera.

The Spanish Civil War brought the work to a halt, and once the war was over the austere post-war years were not the best time to re-launch the project. Finally, in the mid-sixties, the project was finally and definitively abandoned following a report from the World Bank.

All the stations, tunnels, and viaducts had been built but no tracks had ever been laid.

Of the 119 kilometres of this vast project, only 21 kilometres from Jerez to the Jédula sugar plant ever went into operation.

Tracks were laid as far as Arcos de la Frontera but only test trains ever ran on them. A family of railway workers lived for a few years in the station buildings as if waiting for a train that was never to arrive.

 

The journey took most of the afternoon but the ride was taken at a very leisurely pace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was fully deserved and the steak didn’t disappoint!