The Prado de los Pavas river gardens of Benavente were once part of the Castle gardens. The Botanical Gardens were created in this space in 2010. In the middle of this vast area of meadows is the Municipal swimming pools complex, and on the far side is Parque de la Pradera. The whole area is ringed by the canals of the Orbigo river and the river itself. Curiously, the planned conversion to today’s gardens was not popular at the time.
Botanical Garden – Prado de las Pavas
These gardens were created in 2009/10 with a grant from the ERDF Fund – the European Regional Development Fund. Here you can find chestnuts, walnuts, oak trees, and olive and pine trees. It is somewhat bare still, but it is also the end of the summer and perhaps in the future it will look more lush.
The canal appears to be an arm of the Orbigo River which in the past provided water to the castle – can this be true? How did the water get up the hill…? But it also powered the flour mill which still stands in the park.
There used to be many more flour mills in the town but apparently this is the only one remaining. It belonged to Don Felipe Gonzalez (of the Casa Solita, short post to come), but was subsequently sold to Sarbajo.
It is a good place in which to stretch your legs – flat with curving paths, lake canals. The old bridge, hidden away in a corner of the park, is thought to be Mediaeval in origin. We spent an enjoyable 1.5 hours here.
Swimming pools
In the middle of the gardens is a series of municipal swimming pools. The outdoor pools only closed two days after we arrived!
Park de la Pradera1
This is a wilder area of the parks, perhaps more like the original ‘Pradera’ of the late 20th century.
The Railway Station
The old Plasencia-Astorga railway was originally 347 kms long which opened at the end of the 19th century but closed in 1985. It was part of a line from Seville to Gijon which followed the line of the Via de la Plata, a long-distance path which runs through the park.
Gardens of La Mota
The gardens on top of the hill and alongside the Parador of Benavente are well-used by the people of the town. The temperature while we were in the town ranged from 30C-37C and it was very refreshing to walk under the trees in the evening.
The gardens which we visited in Benavente were very enjoyable and our enjoyment underlined the need for green spaces in an urban environment – or perhaps I am just biased because of all the work I have done on Green Lewisham and Green Greenwich!