Why pioneering winter walkers are turning their attentions to The Algarve
A recently charted 260-kilometre route is drawing out-of-season holidaymakers from the beaches into Portugal's glorious hinterland.
Think of the Algarve. Think Golf. Think Beach. Think Summer Heat. Try again. Think English summer walking - with much less rain. Think carpets of spring flowers - in January and February. Think walking all day without seeing more than a handful of people. Think: a walker's paradise.
Why the Algarve has not been discovered by walkers is something of a mystery. True, until very recently, there have not been many marked routes. True, also, the available maps are often inadequate and badly out of date. But there are paths and tracks by the thousand; the terrain is ideal, the climate right for at least eight months in the year, and the views spectacular.
There are walkers too, though they are mainly ex-pats - the Portuguese have only relatively recently discovered the joys of motoring, and walking is still, for many, a working mode of motion. There are groups catering for most levels of stamina and enthusiasm that go out on a weekly basis from September to the end of May. Some of them guided. Most of the local authorities (Camaras) are now producing self-guided walks using leaflets and marker posts. One or two offer guides as well.
And now there is the Algarve Way. Grandly named the Via Algarviana by an early (Portuguese) enthusiast, the title has stuck, and is being used in all the related publicity. This long-distance route covers some 260 kilometres, from Alcoutim on the Rio Guadiana (the Spanish frontier) to Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape St Vincent), where Portugal's southern and western coasts meet in dramatic fashion.
Planning
The V.A. is the result of over ten years of planning, discussion and activity involving a number of individual ex-pats working sometimes independently, sometimes in concert with Portuguese and Spanish environmental and outdoor activity groups. It is not the first attempt at a long-distance route in the region; one was created in the 1980s, the Mocarabe Way, based on an old pilgrim trail, but it has never proved popular.Nor, it must be said, is the present walk an officially recognised trail. It broadly follows the line proposed for GR13 as far as Aljezur near the west coast, and then links with a section of Euro-route E9 down to the Cape. But it does exist - it is marked and described, and the information is available. It has been walked and tested, and guidance is to hand.
The current route is the brainchild of Maurice Clyde, a former Sussex police officer and passionate walker who threw all his energies into this and similar projects from the early '90s, until a major stroke rendered him hors de combat in 2002. Under his leadership, a first route was researched, and walked in both directions by members of the Algarve Wednesday Walkers, who still undertake strenuous weekly walks in the area. A crossing was also made on horseback.
In 2002, a solo walk was carried out (with some local assistance) by Kevin Nawn, an American academic working in Istanbul. The route remained somewhat undefined, however, and no written description was produced, in spite of the fact that a symbolic first marker post was placed at Alcoutim in 1999.
Mountains
The work was taken up in the winter of 2004-5 by another two experienced British walkers. Terry Ames had only just finished building his own home in the central Algarve. David Littlewood had become a regular winter visitor, and had walked sections of the V.A. with Kevin Nawn.Between January of 2005 and the end of February this year, building on previous experience and advice from other Wednesday Walkers, they first re-walked the whole route, introducing new sections where development had overtaken the original tracks, and then went back over the ground, marking, taking bearings and writing notes.
Having completed these tasks, the descriptive leaflets were prepared, together with waymark charts and maps.
The Via Algarviana is a walk with something for everyone. There are mountains to climb - not huge but interesting - rivers to ford and cliffs to negotiate, as well as rolling hills, deep hidden valleys and wide expanses of fields, terraces and cistus-covered heath land.
The Algarve is dotted with picturesque small villages and historic towns, a number of which are encountered along the way. Those allergic to tourist honey-pots will be pleased to know that the southern coastal strip is avoided altogether. The ocean is met on the largely unspoiled west coast.
Depending on the time of year, both flora and fauna are fascinating and varied, adding extra interest to the journey.
A sizeable percentage of the walking on the V.A. is on wide dirt tracks, a number of which still double as motor roads (albeit with very little traffic). There is, unavoidably, some tarmac to cover, but once again the amount of motor traffic is very light, and the scenery does compensate.
The rest of the underfoot is a mixture of gravel tracks, old donkey-cart roads, hunters' trails and very British-looking footpaths. And unless barred by fences or locked gates, access is open to all.
