Coastal Walks in Andalucia. Guy Hunter-Watts
the form of some of the finest beaches along the Costa de la Luz. To either side of the Trafalgar lighthouse, near the spot where the naval battle took place in 1805, are long stretches of fine sand where even in summer you can escape the crowds.
Where to stay
Vejer de la Frontera and Los Caños de Meca – both are close to the start points of all walks in this section – have a huge range of accommodation for all budgets. The characterful Casa de Califa in Vejer is one of Andalucía’s most charming small hotels with an excellent courtyard restaurant. See Appendix C for hotel listings.
Maps
All five walks in the area are covered by IGN 1:50,000 quadrant Barbate 1073 (12-47).
Taxis
Vejer de la Frontera 956 450 185
Conil de la Frontera 956 440 975 or 629 991 682
Los Caños de Meca (nearest taxis in Barbate) 956 43 10 84
WALK 1
Santa Lucía circuit
| Start/finish | Venta El Toro in Santa Lucía |
| Distance | 11km |
| Ascent/descent | 275m |
| Grade | Medium |
| Time | 3hr 10min |
| Refreshments | None en route |
| Access | From the Cepsa petrol station just northeast of Vejer head along the N-340 towards Cádiz. Continue past the turning for Medina Sidonia then after 350m turn right at a small sign Santa Lucía. Follow a narrow road for 900m to Venta El Toro, to the right of the road, where the walk begins. |
This figure-of-eight route combines two waymarked walks close to Vejer, the Route of the Watermills and the Route of the Bee-eaters. The circuit begins in the sleepy hamlet of Santa Lucía where, since Roman times, the waters of the Peñas stream have been channelled past a series of mill houses. The first section of the walk is deeply bucolic as you climb past a 16th-century aqueduct.
After a short section of tarmac road, farm tracks lead you down from La Muela then up round the southern flank of the Abejaruco peak. From here you follow ancient bridleways back to your point of departure with views south to Vejer and its rice paddies and east towards the Grazalema mountains. By setting out early you’ll get back to Santa Lucía in time for lunch in one of the hamlet’s three restaurants.
The walk begins outside Venta El Toro in Santa Lucía. With your back to the restaurant turn right up the hill past a towering palm tree. Passing a cross continue straight ahead, then reaching a water deposit cut left up a broad track which leads to a junction and a sign Camino de Verde Cabra. Here cut right up a narrow path which leads up the right side of an aqueduct to reach an old mill fronted by a post-and-rail fence.
The Santa Lucía aqueduct near Vejer
Pass right of the building, angle right beneath a cast iron pipe, then continue up a narrow, leafy path which climbs to a flat area with a picnic bench. From here head straight on along a quiet minor road towards La Muela. After 450m you reach a fork. Here branch right, away from the tarmac, along a sandy track which arcs round the boundary fence of a quarry.
Passing the quarry’s entrance you reach a point where the fence cuts right by another sign Ruta Molinos del Agua. Here turn right. After 30m the track merges with a broader one which climbs in an easterly direction. Views open out towards the mountains of the Grazalema park. Bearing slightly right and levelling, the track reaches another junction next to a house with a line of cypress trees at its boundary (30min).
Farm track leading east from La Muela
Here turn right along a track which descends across farmland in a southeasterly direction. Vejer comes into view. Bearing right the track runs parallel to the A396 passing a signboard about drovers’ paths like the one you’re following: Los Caminos Históricos y las Cañadas. Some 250m beyond the sign the track angles left to meet the A396. Cross the road and turn right. After 75m angle through a gap in the crash barrier and continue on along a dirt track.
Just past a villa marked Muñoz de Begines cut left along a track which soon crosses a stream via a concrete bridge then reaches a fork. Take the left branch. The track runs gently up towards the Cerro del Abejaruco (named after the bee-eaters which nest here) where, reaching a fork, you should bear left, sticking to the main track. Arcing left and adopting a northerly course the track climbs to reach another junction (1hr 10min).
Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) are annual visitors to Spain where they come to breed after wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. They will eat any flying insect though their choice food is the honey bee: they can eat up to 250 in a day. The bee’s stinger and poison are removed by repeatedly hitting and scraping the insects on a hard surface. Bee-eaters nest in sandy banks as part of large colonies. They number among Europe’s most colourful birds and have an unusually liquid, burry song.
Here, cutting right past a sign Ruta El Abejaruco the track passes through a breach in the hillside, descends, then climbs once again to another junction. Here, bearing slightly right along the main track, you reach a third junction next to a pylon with a yellow warning triangle Alta Tensión. Here keep straight ahead.
The track soon descends, loops downhill, passing beneath electricity lines, to reach a junction (1hr 25min). Here, turning left along a narrow track lined with towering agave, after some 500m you reach a junction. Turning right past a low, white building after 150m you reach a damaged marker post. Here angle hard right and follow a narrow track down through dense vegetation to reach the spring of El Chorrillo (1hr 40min). From here retrace your footsteps back to the junction (1hr 25min) (2hr).
Agave-lined track leading to the spring at El Chorrillo
Reaching the junction head straight ahead and descend through a thick stand of bamboo then cross a (dry) stream. Beyond the stream the track climbs steeply past a modern house where it angles right, left, then right again as it passes the house’s entrance gates marked La Valdesa. From here there are views down to the rice paddies to either side of the Río Barbate. Crossing a ridge Vejer again comes into view. Merging with another track and angling gently right you shortly pass beneath another house with a sign Propiedad Privada. After steeply descending an ancient, cobbled track you reach the track you followed earlier in the walk (2hr 30min).
From here retrace your footsteps back to the A396. Follow the crash barrier left for 50m then angle back right for 30m then cross the road. Reaching a sign Vejer de la Frontera/Cantarranas cut left along a track across open countryside. Descending, then angling left then right, you reach the first buildings of Santa Lucía. Crossing a bridge over the Arroyo de las Peñas the track meets the road you followed earlier up to Venta El Toro. Turn right and climb back to your point of departure (3hr 10min).
WALK 2
Las Marismas de Barbate circuit
| Start/finish | Car park beside the A314 next to a sign for Sendero Marismas de Barbate |
| Distance | 12.5km |
| Ascent/descent | 15m |
| Grade |
Easy
|