10 May 2010 - Tormos to Campell

It hardly seems possible that it has been seven days since we last met in Tormos car park, and abandoned the walk due to heavy rain. Today was warm and sunny, and with a nice cooling breeze. There were nine of us today, and it was nice to see Sue who is on a short visit of just two weeks.

After walking through Tormos we are soon out in the open country again. In the middle distance you can see the wall of the leper hospital at Fontilles, which is our first objective.

We did not stop at Isbert Dam, but climbed uphill to the path leading to the tunnel. Both were built for the train which moved the building materials to build the dam.

The tunnel is quite wide, and high enough to walk comfortably. It is very dark, even though the exit can be seen soon after entering the tunnel. It’s necessary to walk single file as there are lots of obstacles hidden in the dark.

After short water break its uphill again, this time a steep climb to Fontilles

As we reach the road to Fontilles we are all ready for a short break and a chance to recover from the climb. By now the clouds have hidden the sun, which is a great advantage as we have another hill to climb.

We leave the road before we reach the hospital and start climbing again

This is only a short climb and we soon reach another road. Ever since our first walk in this area, we have noticed the decorative cairns. I say decorative, because they serve no purpose other than to adorn the side of the road.

This particular group of cairns are new, and were much admired. Someone must spend a lot of time maintaining and expanding them. I am sure that many people, like our group, appreciate their efforts.

We soon leave the road and enter the woods again. The path is not so steep now, though there are more obstacles in the form of trees which have been blown down a few years ago. Most have been cleared off the path, but it is a shame to see the damage which was caused.

There was some discussion about whether we should have our lunch at the font, particularly as it is well provided with seating. However we were a little early and we had a much better location in mind. You often find locals collecting water from these fonts, and we took the opportunity to fill our water bottles.

It was only a short walk to our lunch spot, and along the road lovely views through the trees down to Campell and the coast

It was not yet 1pm when we arrived at the church where we had planned to stop for lunch. But it was close enough, and we were all more than ready for a break. After so much climbing on a hot day we were all pretty hot and tired.

Since our last visit the area around the church has been tidied up and the trees cut back, so we had an excellent view to enjoy with our sandwiches.

As always Campell was quiet and peaceful. It’s not unusual to walk through the local villages and not see a single person. The main road through the village is very narrow, so care has to be taken to avoid the occasional traffic.

As we leave the village we join a path which leads downhill towards Tormos. This one was very overgrown and rocky, so we had to take care to watch where we put our feet

As we walked beside the dry river back to Tormos we passed a group of lively horses. Jan had one apple left, which they enjoyed. I would not think there is much passing traffic here, but they were seemed quite relaxed with our presence.

Finally a nice walk through the orange groves to Tormos and the end of the walk.

In the past we have found that the bars in Tormos were often closed on Monday’s, so we were relieved to find this one open. The few Spanish customers were all inside, so we had the outside area to ourselves. Perfect end to a perfect walk.

Next Week
A new walk for the group, Castell d’Axia from Pedreguer. This is the walk we did last Friday with David and Rosemary. Meet at 10am at the information board below the church, the same place we met in March for the Font d’Axia walk.