30 March 2026 – Alcalali to Jalon Play Area

20 on today’s walk

There were 24 booked in

But four cancelled, all after 0800 on Monday

This has happened most weeks over the past couple of months

I think it may be because the group has gotten so large

Resulting in more having to cancel for genuine reasons

However they are often the same members doing so week after week

This is very unfair to those on the reserve list

Obviously it is too late on Monday to offer it to one of the reserve

It may be that some members really are too ill to walk once or twice a month

But then perhaps a group who walk every week is not a good fit for them 

I have reminded all members why it is important to cancel early if necessary

Hopefully this problem will solve itself

The temperatures today were similar to last week

But it was sunny and felt much warmer

It really feels like Spring is here

We changed to summer time yesterday

So it seems reasonable to expect higher temperatures

But it was quite chilly when we met this morning

We soon warmed up once we started walking

P21

And it was very pleasant in Bar Toni after the walk

Temperature – 10 to 14c

Time taken – 3.5 hours

Distance – 9km

28 April 2026 - Paul and Jan 20 Years in Spain

To mark 20 years since we moved to Spain, we had a meal at Victoria Station in Parcent with friends from our Monday Ramblers walking group.   We had an excellent meal and a lovely afternoon.  Thanks to everyone who joined us, and in Particular to Mike who organised the meal.  

23 March 2026 – Parcent to Murla

 

We have 16 walks, which I try to do in sequence

However I do have to take into account the recent and future weather

If it is likely to rain I pick a walk which starts near a suitable bar

If there has been a lot of rain I tend to avoid any walks which require crossing a river

This walk requires to cross the river Gorgos twice

Consequently we do not attempt it after heavy rain

There has not been any heavy rain for about four weeks

So I felt it was safe to do it today

There is no bridge, but there is a ford which is usually dry

However when we reached the river it was deeper and faster running than normal

It was not dangerous to cross, but we would get our feet very wet

About two thirds of the group wanted to ford it anyway

But a considerable number were not very keen

Pierre suggested improving the ford by using nearby rocks

I agreed he could try, whilst I went to recce an alternative crossing

It was soon obvious that there was no easier crossing without a considerable detour

 

When I returned about half of the group had crossed

I was prepared to abandon the walk if anyone refused to cross

However having seen how easy it was to cross all were prepared to give it a try

We distributed our available walking sticks and everyone has two each

There were also plenty of willing hands to assist the crossing

And all managed it without getting too wet

We then had to check our regular return ford

It required a little work similar to the first ford

But again all recrossed without any trouble

Despite the difficulty I think everyone enjoyed the extra challenge

Temperature – 12 to 14c

Time taken – 4 hours

Distance – 9km