Toledo

19th April.

Cordoba to Toledo via Ciudad Real.

Arrival at Toledo 46946 km



When I got back yesterday evening from sightseeing around Cordoba, I put the satellite dish up on the van and tuned in the channels. And lo.......... let there be - BBC! Well BBC prime to be exact, but I'm not going to quibble as I had a whole eveing of English language programmes that wasn't just the news! The site was really busy when I arrived back and it seems to be a very popular spot. It's certainly situated handily enough within walking distance to see Cordoba, But I dunno.... a lot of folks just seem to sit around....

I got up about 9am and had some breakfast, having remembered to hit the Mercadona on the way back last night for a few bits and bobs. I packed everything away and was on the road by about 10; Maisy providing the directions as per usual. I queried the price of the camping at reception but was told "you pay for the place" when I asked about pricing it individually. I think, yet again, I may have been conned slightly. I suppose their thinking is that you're taking up a space that could be occupied by a family, thus netting them about 25e, but they do list the individual prices for motorhome, persons and electric, and most other places are quite happy to price it this way. Anyway, I'm no gonnae greet aboot it any more, it wuz only fur the wan night.....

I headed out the A4 autovia and then veered north on the N420, which is a single carriageway road that goes up into the Sierra De Anjujar National Park. Scenery on this road was stunning. It doesn't climb crazily steeply into the hills, just a gradual climb, but very picturesque. At one stage I had to stop and take a photo of a hilltop town that was so pretty. The panoramas contunied the whole way until just outside Puertollano, which was a wee bit bizarre. Out of nowhere appeared a large chimney that looked like a cooling tower and then a lot of railway tracks and what looked like a coal mine! Just a whole lot of industry that suddenly appeared on the lanscape, and once clear of the town, disappeared again....

Ciudad Real was passed through without any problems, but it didn't really look all that worthwhile for stopping. I had pulled over just before the city on a disused bit of road so that I could grab a quick sandwich and drained off the grey tank while I was at it. So by the time I hit the city proper, I'd already consulted the map and made the decision that if there wasn't anything worth stopping for, I'd head on to Toledo. I'm glad I did.....

On the approach to Toledo, the road goes from Autovia to single carriageway, with a horrenous surface. They are doing works there though and it looks like they're extending the Autovia towards the city. Once on the inner approaches, I spotted a large car park with a few motorhomes parked up in it, so I reckoned that would be as good a place as any to stop off and get my bearings. I parked up Hermione, taking up her usual 2 spaces and wandered up to the old city walls and up the hill towards what I presumed was the old town. A bit of a climb, but worth it, not only as I found a net cafe half way up the hill, but also because at the top of the hill it opened out into a large square.


Toledo is stunning. Cordoba was nice, Seville was very nice, but Toledo is fab. The old town sits on a steep hill, bounded on 2 sides by the curve of the river Tajo and on the remaining curve by the city walls. It was obviously built to be difficult to break into! A lot of the fortifications remain and the gates into the city, and once inside, it is a rabbit warren of cobbled streets and hills, and it seems that every time you turn, another building of note looms ahead. The Cathedral is huge and seems to appear out of nowhere from the end of a laneway into a large open entrance to it.

I had a snoop around and stopped in at the tourist info cabin and picked up a map. I plan to have a proper look early tomorrow. I headed back to Hermione and hooked up Miasy and keyed in the post code for the campsite that I'd got off the net. To my surprise, the campsite was listed under the post code and Maisy took us right there. It's a really nice site, quite busy though and I had to check for a decent pitch to be able to back Hermione into easily. I got parked up and right next door ther is an Irish plated motorhome. A biggie - even bigger than Hermione. There is an Australian family who are touring for a year in a Euramobil 810. I chatted for a while and then got stuck into a much needed clean out of the carpets and then sat down for a beer or 2 and some bread, cheese and pesto. The sun is out, it's about 25 deg C still at 6 pm and hardly a cloud in the sky. Does life get much better?