A good turn out for our first Monday Club walk of the year. The weather was also kind, with bright blue skies. It’s hard to believe that just over a week ago we did our New Years Day walk in the artic conditions of Rothbury.
The Bernia circuit is a lovely walk, and it has recently been made more accessible with the addition of good route marking and even information boards – in English.
The walk starts with a serious uphill walk. There is little opportunity to enjoy the views, except during the occasional pause to let your breathing settle down a little.
It is not necessary to climb to the summit; there is a tunnel through the mountain. The short stop to adjust packs was a good opportunity for a group photo. The tunnel is quite wide enough, but low in parts. It is not possible to walk upright, and even bending a haversack is likely to catch the roof.
It’s never very dark inside, and you can soon see the exit hole with its fantastic view of the coast towards Benidorm.
Everyone is quite pleased to leave the tunnel and be able to stand upright…..
…..and to enjoy a banana stop with such excellent views.
The change from one side of Bernia to the other is striking. The climb was on the shaded side of the mountain.
But you as you leave the tunnel you are met with brilliant sunshine. Mind the breeze was cool enough to need jumpers.
There is now a long, but reasonably level, walk just below the summit to the abandoned fort.
This path used to be quite difficult to follow, but there has been a lot of work done in the past year to improve and sign the path.
This path used to be quite difficult to follow, but there has been a lot of work done in the past year to improve and sign the path.
There are still difficult sections, like this scree section. But even here the path is marked.
We reached the abandoned fort at 1.03pm, not bad for our expected 1pm lunch stop
We had enjoyed clear skies throughout the walk so far, but now the clouds began to appear. Without the direct sun, the strong cold winds ensured we did not stop too long for lunch.
The long walk downhill to the cars is on a very good path
An excellent walk, and one which we always enjoy. We had been warned that there were a herd of bulls loose on the Bernia, but fortunately we did not meet up with them. Though in parts we did have to be careful not to step in amble proof that they were around.
Next Week
Meet at the hipicia at 10am for the popular Granadella circular walk
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