These were two short walks in Soria which were very enjoyable; it is a good town for gentle exploring!
The walls
At the end of the 13th century Sancho IV of Castile decided to build an outer ring of walls around the town. These remained in place until 1812 when General Duran ordered the demolition of the walls during the War of Independence, i.e. the Peninsular War. Today only a few sections remain but it was good this time to see that a long section is being rebuilt on the Hill of Miron.
The walls1 were 4,100 metres and there were six gates and three postern gates into the town.
We walked up through the middle of the town to the Puerta de Najera because there is a good view over the town from this hill, and because we had noticed some reconstruction work on the walls.
The walkway leads to the Hermitage of Our Lady of Miron.
Chunks of masonry lie next to the line of the walls and a considerable section down the hill seems to have been restored. It must be difficult to understand how to reproduce Mediaeval building methods and this must be a very big and expensive project but surprisingly I couldn’t find anything on the internet
The view over the town is interesting. You look down over bare hillside – was this once a farm? and on the opposite hill is the Paradore and La Glorieta.
Convent of Santa Clara
This little circular walk is not on the tourist agenda – it was just fun!
We started at the Convent of Santa Clara, just behind our AirBnB. The Convent was confiscated by Mendizabal in the mid-19th century and has since been used for administrative purposes.
Nuestra Señora del Espina
The Church of our Lady of the Thorn dates from the 16th century and stands next to the cemetery, although there may have been a church on this site much earlier. Sadly the church was close. The strange shape in the foreground below is a very old elm tree. From here a path leads onwards up the hill towards the Paradore and the Castle.
Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
La Glorieta, the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stands just under the Paradore of Soria, overlooking the town. The City Council commissioned the statue in 1940, and the first statue was replaced by a second, in an attitude of blessing over the city. The views over the town are interesting.
These two walks in Soria were easy and enjoyable ways of just ‘being’ here, and of course it was always good to end in ‘our square’ with a little refreshment!
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