Exploring with my camera
Our days in the Alentejo always included a castle and so after walking we visited Amieira do Tejo, a Mediaeval village high above the Tagus River in beautiful countryside. Amieira and its castle were built as part of defences along the Tagus River … Continued
We visited Crato, down the road from the magical Pousada of Flor da Rosa, to see the castle of Crato and try and trace some of the town walls.
The Alentejo around Flor da Rosa is beautiful – rolling hills, abundant water, Roman bridges, prehistoric tombs, and endless flowers. I often went out for an hour in the evenings, with the camera.
Flor da Rosa is a small village in the Alentejo dominated by a 14C Templar Monastery which is now a Pousada and the Church. I walked round the village late one afternoon, just getting back to the Pousada and under cover as the … Continued
We enjoyed wonderful walks in the Alentejo with the help of our new book from the Tourist Office – Chão da Velha, Carreiras, Montalvão, and Galegos – and our base during these days was the Pousada Flor da Rosa.
At Galegos there are several routes for walking. We set off on a figure-of-8 walk that included a smugglers route, a Mediaeval road, and wanderings amongst the oak and chestnut trees in the hills close to the Spanish border. PR4-MVR, 5.9kms, c.2.5 … Continued
Near the border with Spain the Alentejo is wide, open, and empty. Lush, green grass covers soft hills, and cork oaks and olive trees are everywhere. Surprisingly there are few sheep and cattle – farming here seems very ‘quiet’ and unobtrusive – … Continued
Montalvão is a small, remote, hilltop village (and castle) close to the border with Spain. We were there to try out another of the walks, the PR7-NIS, in the new book published by the Portuguese Tourist Office. The walk is across the hills … Continued
We parked in Carreiras and set off on our second walk with the new book. The walk follows the Mediaeval Road which connected Portalegre and Castelo de Vide in the valley below the Serra de São Paulo, and returns just under the crest of the … Continued
This was our first walk using the new book of walks which we were given in the very helpful Tourist Office in Nisa. The book is not on the internet, and can’t be bought in a bookshop. Various town councils list … Continued