Road to travel in Spain that covers a distance through to the Bosque area in North Spain?

Question

It is a walking road that goes from Southern Spain to the North. Shirley Mclaine did this walking tour. It has a specific name. What do you call it.

Answer 1

Hi, there are sevral routes that cross Spain, from south to north and viceversa, they are marked as so and can be easily followed by foot. One of the above answers points out Vasque areas instead of Bosque area (woodlands) since often there are spellin mistakes, she has assumed... however I rather not assume anyything although after her reply I am not exactly sure of what you mean now. However I will try to answer your question.

One famous route is la "Ruta de la Plata" this is a route that vcan be found itin touridsts maps and programs. It is based on the roads travelled by andalusian pilgrims on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Galicia, the nothern and most oocidental area of Spain above Portugal.

Legend says that this route was also used by different armies like the one of Almanzor who brought all the way to ythe South the Century old bells his army ripped off from the cathedral of Santiago (other route El Camino de Santiago goes from France through all the noorth of spain to end also in the city of Santiago). You can check this other Route here below:

Other armies  like Carthaginesian,  Roman etc used it and hence part of the route travels through old roman calzadas or vías. It is very beautifull and it was preffered often since it was a way to avoid the main route that left andalusia through the Despeñaperros Gorge. This huge gorge was a haven for bandids and there were so many places where few men could hold an entire army just bu pilling boulders and dumping them on them, hence why for safety and spead the other route Via de la Plata or Ruta de la plata, was a good way to leave Andalucia without the risks of geographical handicaps.

The route follows a natural terrain through andalusian woodlands, extremadura, salamanca etc. It is full of milestones, real ones wich indicate the route and today also some symbols have been added so caminantes and bikers can use it from north to South and viceversa. You can find more info about the route, its path and monuments, as well as milestones, maps photos, taril and indication systems...it is in several idioms and I pasted their text below yet photos, maps and downloads can not be posted here so go and double click below either 1st link to english page and 2nd link to Spanish page:

http://www.rutadelaplata.com/index.asp?M...

http://www.rutadelaplata.com/index.asp?M...

  

If the 1 link doesnt take you directly to the english language pages, though it shopuld, just go to second link choose on top letf side your language, english and then choose also top further left in red margins with these option below:

The Ruta de la Plata

The Cooperation Network

Municipalities on the Trail

Information and Suggestions

Tourist packages

Opinion Board

News and Events

The Ruta de la Plata

In Roman times, and especially during the reigns of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, a grand access route was created in the west of the peninsula that linked the Cantabrian coast with the lands of the south of Hispania. Goods, troops, traders and travellers moved in continuous transit along this trail, which favoured the spreading of Roman culture, its language and way of life, at the same time as facilitating the control of the territory that the administration of the Roman Empire required.

This trail continued to be used over the centuries, both by Arabs as well as Christians during the Middle Ages, and went on to play an important role in the communications network of the Iberian Peninsula. The riches of the historical past of the Ruta de la Plata, whose name derives from the Arab word balat (paved path), are evident in the innumerable remains that mark its course, affording one of the most interesting collections in our historical Heritage.

Throughout their empire, the Romans built several thousand kilometres of roads that formed a complex communications network made up of diverse types of thoroughfares.



The importance of the route, together with the geography of the places through which it passed, determined to a certain extent the building system chosen in each case.

Nevertheless, the majority of Roman roads share a series of common features. In their construction, the land was excavated until reaching a firm level that acted as drainage and as a base for the upper layers, made up of earth and stones, which provided a solid structure.

   Finally, large flagstones were used to pave the road, giving it the characteristic appearance of Roman roads, whose remains have on many occasions lasted until the present day.                                                  

  The passage of Roman roads often meant that other work was needed in infrastructures to facilitate their passage through places with difficult terrain. Side retaining walls or calzos -from which the name calzada (road) is derived- were built on the slopes of mountainous regions, whereas constructions ranging from small drains up to large bridges were built to ford streams and rivers. Some of these constitute veritable feats of engineering, employing complex systems of falsework in their construction.

The mastery of building techniques in Roman times is evident in the construction of large bridges, which 2,000 years later remain as grand monuments at the same time as fulfilling their original function.

During Roman times, long-distance journeys were carried out on horseback or in diverse types of carriages.

These were generally rudimentary vehicles, which meant that journeys were slow and it was necessary to realize numerous changes of relays. As a result, diverse types of resting places were distributed along the thoroughfares; the simplest were those known as mutationes or small posts destined solely for resting and provisioning and changing horses.



But there also existed other, more important establishments, called mansiones, that offered the traveller other services and which often coincided with towns. On other occasions, the continuous transit along the road meant that a town would also grow around these mansiones.

In order to know the distance travelled and that remaining until the next resting place, travellers along these roads were provided with the so-called miliarios. These consisted of large, cylindrical milestones that included not only information pertinent to road signs, but also other aspects related to the road, such as its period of construction and the name of the reigning emperor or the repairs carried out on the road.

The communications system in the Roman world achieved considerable importance, affecting other aspects such as religion, there being minor gods to protect travellers and routes. On occasions, small altars dedicated to these gods, known as lares viales, were placed next to the roadway.

I think this is the one you are looking for. There are many such routes for travelling on foot, horse or bycicle in Spain but from your question I believe this is the right one. Other routes like e.g. El Camino de Santiago that goes from France through all the north of spain to end also in the city of Santiago. You can check this other Route here below:

http://www.caminosantiago.com/web_ingles...

Best regards

S

Answer 2

Never heard of it, but if you're going to the North, visit La Val D'Aran and Andorra too, not just the Basque region.