Soria lies on the River Duero which becomes the River Douro in Portugal, debouching into the Atlantic at Porto. The river is 897 kms long, rises in the mountains north of Soria, and meanders across Spain until it crosses the border with Portugal to the west of Zamora. The River Duero in Soria provides a wonderful riverside walk.
Westwards from the bridge over the River Duero in Soria
I believe the Tourist Office may publish walks along the Duero but we just ambled in both directions from the Mediaeval Stone Bridge, trying to absorb what Machado may have felt, and this is what we found.
It looked as though this was a sluice gate, controlling the water flow into a mill, but there were no signs or notices. The small building on the hill in the background is the Parador in Soria.
Monastery of San Polo
The Monastery was a Templar establishment and together with San Juan de Duero, on the other side of the bridge, protected the entrance to the city. The building is late-12th early-13th century, but in 1312 the Knights Templar were suppressed and all their properties transferred to the Crown. Very little remains of the original buildings.
The Sotoplaya Public Laundry
The Wash House of Lanas was just that, a place which washerwomen used as a laundry.
Eastwards
The path eastwards from the Mediaeval Stone Bridge was slightly more open, with views towards San Juan de Duero and up the hill to the remains of the Mediaeval walls.
Exploring is tiring and anyway I needed regular, very small amounts of food to stay on my feet so we visited the Parador of Soria, on top of the hill!
The River Duero in Soria is a very important part of the town and seems to afford much enjoyment to local people.
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