Exploring history in London & abroad with my camera
Villafranca del Bierzo, on the Camino de Santiago, is a wonderfully peaceful little town in the hills in the East of Léon in Northern Spain. If you only have two days in the town then do see these sights. The Church of Santiago is where the Camino enters the town on the way to Santiago. And…
The Baroque Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Villafranca
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Villafranca del Bierzo was founded in the 11C by French monks who belonged to the order of Cluny, establishing a Monastery where they could care for pilgrims who were walking the Camino de Santiago. Judging by the grand palaces in the Calle del Agua the town was also very prosperous and significant at one point…
Read More "The Camino de Santiago in Villafranca del Bierzo"
Las Médulas is a spectacular landscape about half an hour south of Villafranca del Bierzo, created when the Romans mined for gold, and now a World Heritage Site. The local population had already found the gold, but intensive open-cast mining started in c.25BC and this became the most significant gold mine in the Roman Empire.…
We settled into the Parador at Villafranca del Bierzo for three nights and it was a wonderful stop - comfortable, quiet, friendly and with excellent food - highly recommended if you are travelling in the area. The town is built along the River Burbia. It is a major stop on the Camino, the only place apart from Santiago…
Astorga, the old Asturica Augustea, was established as a Roman city and two important roads cross here - the Ruta de la Plata and the Camino de Santiago. The Ruta de la Plata was the road used to transport mined goods from the north (Gijon) to the ports in the south of the country (Seville),…
The week spent in Léon had been wonderful but it was time to move on to our next destination - Villafranca del Bierzo. The road followed the Camino de Santiago and we decided to look at Astorga along the way. From there we took a quiet, back road to Villafranca, a journey of c.132 kms.…
Read More "The Camino de Santiago from Leon to Villafranca del Bierzo"
I am reluctant to leave Léon, which is probably obvious! I was sad to leave after staying there for a week, and I am equally sad to stop talking about it and leave the photographs alone! However, I need to move on so these are the last thoughts, for the moment. The Cathedral drew my…
We stayed in an AirBnB in Léon and after a day's walking were too tired to go out for dinner - we also wanted to eat rather earlier than the average Spaniard! We shopped in a nearby Aldi, and a Carrefour Express which did very good bread. On the way into the town was an…
We were based in Léon and wanted a day out of the city so visited several remarkable monasteries. It was a wonderful day trip of c. 90 kms on easy roads. I have written about the monasteries in separate posts but I thought it would be interesting to draw them together, and anyway I don't…
