26 January 2026 – Lliber River Walk

24 of us today, all pleased to get out walking after a miserable week

We have had a week of storm winds and heavy rain

Fortunately the forecast for today was dry and overcast, but no rain

I had planned a different walk from Lliber for today

But the valley is often very muddy and rain soaked

We have even been unable to use paths due to deep water in the past

So I changed it to this walk, which is the least likely to be affected by the recent heavy rain.

It turned out much better, we even had a little sunshine for our banana break

It was nice to welcome Barry and Linda back on holiday

And also two new members, Ian and Wayne

I have had plantar fascilitis, ankle pain, for many years

It flared up again after last week’s walk

I rested for three days and it seemed ok

But it returned as soon as I start this walk

By the end of the walk it was very painful and I was limping

I even had to let the rest of the group go ahead towards the end of the walk

Whilst I had a rest before finishing very slowly indeed

Fortunately they all know the way to the bar

And I suspect they would have left me behind anyway

Last time this happened I could not walk for three or four week

But I have not waited so long to see make an appointment with my podiarist

I am hoping that he can sort it out much quicker this time

Temperature – 18c

Time taken – 3.5 hours

Distance – 9km

19 January 2026 – Parcent Circular

 

I was very impressed that 15 of us turned up for today’s walk

The weather has been very wet all week

And today’s weather forecast was no different

However we had to cancel the first walk of the year two weeks ago

And I was very reluctant to do so again

Quite a few members had indicated they would rather meet whatever the weather

So I changed the planned walk from Alcalali to Parcent

This is because the bar in Parcent is much more suitable for a wet day

Lucky I did because it started to rain before we could even start the walk

So we went directly to bar Cooperativa instead

We waited for about half an hour for the rain to stop

As soon as it did we set off on a figure of 8 walk

The aim was to remain as close as possible to shelter should it start to rain again

The first half was to the Parcent font, which we managed ok

We then set off for Alcalali ermita, but it started to rain just as we got there

We waited to see if the rain might stop again

But it looked like it might get heavier

So we donned our water proofs and set off back to Parcent

Fortunately it did not get any worse

Though we were quite wet by the time we reached Parcent

We returned to the Cooperative for a hot drink and to dry out

Everyone agreed that it was better to risk the weather, than remain at home looking out at it.  

12 January 2026 – Jalon to Alcalali

There were 24 of us for the first walk of 2026

This included two new members Peter and Julie

It also included Philip and Sue who are visiting for a month

Last week should have been our first walk, but was cancelled because of a forecast of heavy rain

Just as well we did cancel, because the forecast was correct

It was lovely to meet up again after a longer than festive break

We walked from Jalon more than usual in December

This was because we had more rain than usual

And Jalon has more options if it is raining when we meet

However this was one of our standard walks

And included the road climb up to the pipeline

Some members found it a challenge after the Christmas break

But everyone managed it ok

Most members started the walk well wrapped up

But it was not long before layers of clothing were removed

It turned out to be ideal walking weather

We had a water stop every half hour or so

So I was quite surprised that we completed the walk on time

We had our after walk drink at bar Claudia in Jalon

They have agreed that we can use the room upstairs

So we have plenty of space for the larger group

And don’t affect the rest of the customers

 

Temperature – 16c

Time taken – 3 hours

Distance – 9km