Godolphin Hill 3 May 2025

I was at a loose end, as I often am being signed off with bi-polar. I thought why don't I explore somewhere local to my flat in Goldsithney. Godolphin hill sprang to mind as I've never been up it, although I'd recently been up Tregonning hill next to it. These two hills are quite noticeable and distinct when driving from Penzance to Helston along the A394 and also noticeable from many other parts of West Cornwall. 

I took the road from Goldsithney to Leedstown and turned right at the village of Townshend. The narrow lane winded through pleasant woodland and I came to the carpark at Godolphin house a national trust property. There was a small charge at the national trust carpark , I parked my van up in the shade. A car parked next to me and to my surprise a lovely couple I know from church ... Martin and Marguerite got out . We had a little chat..  they were visiting Godolphin house as they love the gardens there it's one of their favourite places. 

I studied the visitors map in the carpark and set off along the track after memorising  the directions. The track followed along the boundary of Godolphin house past woodland in the left and fields on the right. I noticed the woodland was mainly mature sycamore trees . The woodland floor was carpeted with a mass of bluebells , currently in full bloom . A beautiful sight common in the UK but rare in the rest of Europe. 

I looked over the wall into the gardens of Godolphin house but they were too far off to appreciate them. There were lots of outbuildings , many of them looked like they were no longer in use. 

At the end of this article I  have inserted a short history of Godolphin house which I copy and pasted off the National Trust website. 

I came to a T-junction in the path and headed right , uphill through more sycamore woodland. In the glades there were a beautiful combination of mainly Stitchwort which is grass-like with small white flowers, Bluebells ,Herb Robert and Red Campion, also interspersed amongst them Cow Parsley. 

 I came to the entrance of a grassy pasture where there was an enormous granite gate post with an irregular shape (rather than post shaped) . It might be the biggest gate post I've seen. Crystals of Kaolin, quartz and mica could be seen in the rock. White Lichen grew all over the post signifying how clean the air is here near the Cornish coast. 

I continued along the path, going uphill , quite a gentle incline, not too steep. I left the woodland area went through a gate and was now on moorland, covered with mainly dead bracken from last year ( the young new shoots were still small and not very visable) . Interspersed amongst the bracken were gorse, heather and the odd tree mainly goat willow ( Salix caprea) though I think I remember seeing holly and oak too. 

I was actually already on Godolphin hill at this point, but now the upper part of the dome-shaped hill was clearly visable, covered in moorland. I couldn't quite see the summit as the shape of the hill hid it . 

A bird of prey flew from left to right across the moorland at first I assumed it was a buzzard but as it came closer it had a different silhouette to a buzzard , longer narrower wings and I could make out some white in the wings. It was a Red Kite . Back in the 1970's and 80's this would have been an incredibly rare sight, seeing a Red Kite in Cornwall. They were on the brink of extinction in the UK with only a handful in Wales. However now they have made a spectacular comeback with the help of reintroductions of birds from Sweden, they are now common in many places "upcountry" .  They aren't yet really common in Cornwall but they are fairly regularly seen here. 

Between the 15th and 17th centuries the hill and many fields were given over to a deer park and rabbit warren. These rabbit breeding grounds were a source of high-status meat and fur. The deer park was used to farm for venison, but also would have been used for hunting as a leisure activity.

As I continued up the track ( it was slightly steeper now) I passed large rounded granite boulders that were scattered here and there amongst the bracken and alongside the track. I came to several patches of beautiful wood anemones  (Anemone nemorosa) with their dainty flowers, each having six delicate white petals.  

I reached the summit . The views were great all around . To the west were the Carns (granite hills) of West Penwith (the Lands End peninsula) , to the north-east was the long, flat , high area the Great Flat Lode where a lot of tin mining once took place. To the south was the sea with seaside villages such as Praa sands ,  Perranuthno and Marazion. I can't remember if St. Michael's Mount, Helston and Penzance were visable, but quite likely.  Also I could see Townshend where the road turns off and I could make out the wooded valley of the Hayle river and could follow it's course vaguely to it's source at Crowan, near Praze-an-Beeble. 

I looked in the direction of the neighbouring Tregonning hill and saw the engine house and chimney of a  tin mine I have read about previously " The Great Work Mine". In 1745  a pharmacist from Plymouth called William Cookworthy  was visiting this tin mine and found out about a very fine clay that was being mined on the nearby Tregonning hill. The clay was being used to repair furnaces. He realised it was ideal for the manufacture of porcelain and thanks to him this is where English china clay was first quarried in the UK and the clay from here was used to make the first British porcelain .  

Above is a tankard made by William Cookworthy, using kaolin mined at Tregonning Hill, dated March 14, 1768. It was the first piece of hard-paste porcelain ever produced in Britain.

I headed back down the hill , as I re-entered the woods I spotted  two red admiral butterflies fluttering in a glade . Lower down in one of the car parks a Song thrush loudly sang it's beautiful melody. I headed back to my van via a different route through the woods and crossed over a small clear brook.

Part 2. 

The day-trip was not over however as on the way , just before reaching Godolphin , I had spotted a lay by in the valley of the Hayle river . On the way back I decided to park at the layby and study Google maps. I walked along a track through more woods and came to a lovely spot next to the river. The grass banks have been used by picnickers for many generations I'm sure. Near the river on private land was a small lake covered in lilies and other aquatic vegetation. Across the river was a campsite on a farm. I could hear children playing and it brought back my childhood memories camping with my parents and sister. 

From there I followed a narrow track that entered into lovely pine woodland .. I love pine trees. The track went up and down over old mine workings. Deeper into the woods the trees transitioned into mainly broadleaf species, mainly Oak if I remember correctly. I came to an offshoot of the Hayle river that meandered through the woods, it was very idyllic , the water being clear, shallow and clean.  

And so ends this day trip to Tregonning hill, I hope you enjoyed reading. 

History of Godolphin House (borrowed from National Trust website.)

The medieval period

In the medieval period Godolphin Hill was probably common land to several local hamlets and used as a source of rabbits and seasonal berries. Evidence of surface mining and streaming have been found across the estate dating to this time.

A rising powerful family

It was during the medieval period that the Godolphin estate started to form. A rising powerful family called Godolgun acquired the land around the 12th century and built a defended house on the land around the late 13th century to early 14th century. Moated homes were built at the time to protect stock and produce from common thieves.

A defended house

Evidence of a defended house here comes principally from two sources. In 1478 William Worcestre included ‘ruined’ Castle Godollan in the settlement of Lodollan (Godolghan), in his list of Cornish Castles. Then, John Leland, writing in the late 1530s, tells of a ditch, and a pile of principal habitation of the ‘Godolcans’. 

Tudor and Stuart history

Between the 15th and 17th centuries the family name changed from Godolghan to Godolphin. This was seen as a more agreeable name to the English elite with whom the family had increasing ties. 

Mining intensified in the Great Work area as the tin lodes became exploited, leading to a great increase in the Godolphin family's wealth.

A deer park and rabbit warren

The hill and many fields were given over to a deer park and rabbit warren. These rabbit breeding grounds were a source of high-status meat and fur.

The deer park was used to farm for venison, but also would have been used for hunting as a leisure activity. 

View across fields at Goldolphin House, in Cornwall, with abandoned pit head buildings in the foreground

The Napoleonic Wars

Some of the boundaries surrounding the estate were built by prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. The Duke of Leeds had connections with prisoner of war camps and was able to source labour to work on the land.

These boundary styles are very rare and, outside of the Godolphin estate, they can only be found at Morvah in Cornwall and around Dartmoor prison in Devon.

The Duke of Leeds

In 1909 the 10th Duke of Leeds made a special visit to Godolphin. This was only the second visit, on record, that the Dukes of Leeds made to Godolphin in the 134 years they owned the estate.

A book was created to mark this event, with all the farm tenants listed in it, which can be found in our collections.

A special gift

This visit was quite an event; all the farm tenants at Godolphin pooled together some money to purchase a silver greyhound. The Duke was an all-round sportsman and was noted for breeding and racing greyhounds.

A world heritage site

On 13 July 2006 ten mining landscapes across Cornwall and West Devon were announced as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From 1700 to 1914, the metal mining industry played a vital role in transforming the way of life in Britain. It provided essential raw materials to feed the Industrial Revolution.

Mining at Godolphin continued up to the 20th century, although it flourished around the late 18th century, much earlier than other Cornish sites.

Trip to Ponferrada, the Barcena Reservoir and Cubillos del Sil , Northern Spain.

I had been travelling around Northern Spain and my next stop was Ponferrada , a city I knew nothing about except that a major river called the Sil ran through the city. I was interested in seeing this river as 50 miles to the East is a scenic area called the Canyon del Sil. North of this high canyon is a region of forest and countryside that I have read is full of abandoned villages . That morning I took the train from León . As I left León the countryside changed from open arable fields to dry sandy coloured hills /small mountains  scattered with Pine and other trees. It became more densely wooded approaching Ponferrada and as we arrived at the town we crossed a bridge over a deep wooded river valley, almost a canyon,  with the town on one side . I happily realised that this was going to be quite a scenic area. 

I got off the train and set off on what was going to be a fairly long walk through the city to the hostel I had booked. 

I walked from the station along a road that was pleasantly lined with Lime trees. Then I had to turn left and go through a tunnel under the railway line. I was now in the city proper and followed my map along the roads in the direction of the River Sil. The city roads in Ponferrada were lined on either side with buildings averaging 5 to 10 stories high,  mostly apartments above with shops on the ground floor ...  this is typical of city roads in Spain. I came to a busy roundabout called Plaza Luis del Olmo which has a fantastic, round, multiple-jetted fountain in the centre. I wondered why many cities in Spain can afford to have so many lovely fountains, most of which actually work ... quite a contrast to most cities in Britain . Our fountains, if we have any, are usually not functional and full of litter with the exception maybe of the ones in the tourist areas of central London .

Luis del Olmo , whom the plaza was named after, was born on January 31, 1937 in Ponferrada. He is an actor, known for Tres Días de Libertad (1996), Los Embarazados (1982) and Las Siete y Media musical (1973). He's a prestigious Spanish journalist who has worked mainly in the radio. His program "Protagonistas" was broadcast for more than 30 years.

I crossed the roundabout and continued along the Avenida el Castillo until I came to the river Sil.

My plan was to follow the riverside walk upstream to the next bridge where I would have to cross over the bridge to get to the area of city where my hostel was. 

The riverside walk had trees and shrubs on either side of the path and down below to my right was the River Sil . The distance from the source of the Sil, as the crow flies, to Ponferrada is 40 miles but that doesn't take into account all the meanders. The Sil is already quite wide and deep here, even though it's waters have many miles yet to travel before they reach the confluence with the river Minho near Ourense. 

On an elevated plateau of rock on the opposite bank of the river, above the stands of mature trees I could now see the Castle of Ponferrada, the Castillo de los Templarios. It is certainly a decent size castle, I  took measurements using Google earth,  the maximum length of the castle is 180 metres and the maximum width is 90 metres .

The Templar Castle was commissioned by King Ferdinand II in 1178 AD. It was built to protect pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. The castle was named after the famous Knights Templar, who defended the town in the 12th century. The Knights Templar were highly skilled warriors and played a significant role in the Crusades. 

I walked upstream along the riverside path , the river to my right was very clear and although quite deep I could see the bottom. It contained plenty of aquatic vegetation , streamer weeds etc. and I guessed the water quality is quite good as it mainly passes down through wooded mountain valleys, with few industrial areas.

I came to the bridge that Ponferrada is named after .. the Puente Cubelos ( Pons Ferrata ). Pons Ferrata means Iron bridge . It is a 19th century stone bridge built in the place where there was once a medieval bridge that was strengthened with iron. This bridge is on the Camino Santiago route and for hundreds of years many thousands of pilgrims have crossed the river here on their way to Santiago de Compostela to the west. 

This is the bridge I had to cross to get to the area of city where my hostel was located. I had to climb quite a large flight of stone steps to get onto the high bridge . As I crossed the bridge I stopped halfway across and took in the great scenery , the castle up on my left , the dark deep river below and the main city to my right. Down in the river I spotted a large trout of about 3lb swimming against the current near the surface. 

Next I spent a considerably long time finding my hostel in the maze of streets near the castle. I didn't have any internet so couldn't use Google maps. In the end I went in a bar and the bar lady used her phone and showed me where to go. I thanked her and said I'd be back for a beer later that evening. 

My hostel , Albergue el Templarin , was good value just £12 for a bed in a dormitory, this hostel mainly caters for pilgrims.  The receptionist, a young lady was very friendly and helpful . I put my rucksack in the locker provided and, keeping my promise, headed back to the bar I visited earlier to relax and watch the Euros football semifinal ...Spain v France . final score 2-1 to Spain . They would be playing England in the final .  

Above : Albergue El Templarin, the Hostel I stayed at in Ponferrada. 

After studying the maps I was very keen to visit the very large,  raindrop-shaped reservoir just north-east of Ponferrada called the Embalse de Bárcena. That evening whilst watching the football I also researched online what the best way would be to get to the reservoir. I would need to get a bus to the village of Cubillos del Sil,  which is located just about a kilometer from the reservoir. The bus leaves twice a day from  Ponferrada bus station.

The main, oval section of the Embalse de Bárcena measures 3 miles in length and 1.3 miles wide . However there is a long narrow offshoot to the north that's approx a further 3 miles long. 

The Barcena dam, located on the river Sil upstream from Ponferrada , was built in 1960 , and holds 341 Hm3 of water. 

Next morning I set off for the main bus station which was a fair distance from my hostal. In the end I caught a local town bus to the bus station to save a long walk. 

I had quite a bit of time to spare when I got to the bus station so I walked a couple of blocks further to the large shopping mall.. the Centro Comercial El Rosal. I was having problems with my phone, the data wasn't working . I went into the Vodafone shop there and the chap got it working.  

My bus left Ponferrada at 14.30 and only took about half an hour to get to Cubillos del Sil. I asked to be dropped off as near to the reservoir as possible, so the bus driver dropped me just before Cubillos and showed me which way to walk. It was a bonus having my phones data working at last, as I was able to use google maps to find my way around. 

To get to the Embalse I had to follow a long, quite straight road . Houses were along one side of the road and on the other side was a fenced- off area of trees and grassland , in the distance was an enormous industrial area with large buildings and two very tall chimneys . 

This is the Compostilla thermal power plant. This power station opened in 1961 or 1972 ( varying sources) and subsequently expanded until 1985. It had fairly recently closed, in June 2020, when its capacity was just over 1,000 MW (Megawatts). The huge complex occupies a total area of about 375 hectares. The plant has five thermal units: units 1 and 2 have been completely dismantled, while work is underway on the others.

 Owned and operated by  Spain’s biggest electric utility company Endesa.  It was developed with 1.3GW installed capacity comprising five coal-fired units commissioned between 1961 and 1985.

Also close to the road I noticed a storks nest high up on a pole just visible amongst the trees. I walked along the straight road past spaced out houses on the left . It was another very hot day. I came to a roundabout and all around me was dry scrubby countryside . I could hear Spanish trance music being played from someone's garden. In the distance all around were big mountains. I felt I was in the middle of nowhere, In a place I knew nothing about , it was a weird yet good feeling. 

I continued straight across the roundabout and before long the reservoir came into view . The road came to a very large gravel car park . I could see this spot is a popular picnic area at the weekends , however there was only two cars this particular week day.  To the left and right of the carpark were two areas of mature pine woodland . The woodland on the left was much larger and followed along the lake shore quite some distance.The high hills next to the lake were also covered in large areas of pine forest.

I walked through the pine woods on my right till I  got to the lake shore. As is my usual custom I walked along the shore and scanned the water for signs of fish. The reservoir was extremely high ... probably at it's maximum height with water spilling over onto the grass . I came to a small area of reeds and pondweed in middle of such I saw the dorsal fin and back of a small mirror carp maybe only 1 or 2 lb. It was feeding head down into the mud. Further along was a small shoul , five or six , young largemouth bass. 

I headed back under the pine  trees to sit on a picnic bench and chill for a while. These were mature pine trees probably 65 years old , tall with a minimum trunk girth of two feet. The bark was deeply fissured. The species was probably Pinus pinaster, the Maritime pine, common in northern Spain . 

I continued along the lakeside a couple of hundred metres  till I came to a square concrete building covered in graffiti which I think was the pumping house to pump water into the power station for cooling. 

From here was a good view of the power station. I then walked back along an access road in the direction I came from . Pine forest was on both sides of the road. I noticed a round concrete water-storage tank high up on a bank in the woods . Upon examination it was empty. I thought to myself it would make a good little dwelling if a tarp roof was put over it . Anyone living there would be safe from wild boar etc.,  protected by the concrete walls.

When I got to the end of the access road I noticed, in a field of long grass , an abandoned bungalow . There are many abandoned buildings in rural Spain in the 20th century many people moved to towns and cities when it became a legal requirement for children to go to school.

I went and had a close up look at the house which was locked and had been recently given new doors and boarded up to improve the appearance. It was empty inside. I then noticed another similar abandoned house set way back in the same field. I went and looked at that house , it was less secured and youth had been in and drawn graffiti all over the walls.

After looking at the ababndoned houses I thought it might be interesting to look at an abandoned train station nearby . I found two train hangars and had a snoop around them .. I decided they might be useful if I ever needed a place to sleep rough. 

I next started to walk past the roundabout mentioned previously into the actual village of Cubillos del Sil . 

I came to some traditional old Leonese buildings on the outside of the village ... see photos below. 

 The roofing tiles are particularly interesting as they are made of slates in different shapes and sizes. But also the stone walls are an assortment of different coloured and different shaped stones , some are round river stones, probably taken from alluvial soils near the river Sil, others are more angular , maybe quarried from the nearby mountains. 

I sat down on a bench near the old houses and a local old timer came around the corner and we started chatting in Spanish.  He's lived here all his life and used to work in the power station.

My bus was due to arrive in the village at a certain time that evening , I had a beer in one of the bars then  waited at the bus stop in the village for my bus. After maybe an hour of waiting it became clear that the bus wasn't going to turn up . This was probably due to the fact that, unbeknownst to me, the approach road was closed due to there being a big show on in the village later that night , the bus had probably been diverted an alternative route that I was unaware of. 

So now I was stuck for the night in Cubillos del Sil , a fairly remote village, I was on a budget and didn't want to pay for a taxi back to Ponferrada. I went back into the bar and asked the landlord whether it was safe to walk back to Ponferrada alongside the lake and river Sil, he said it would be dangerous in the dark mainly due to jabali ( wild boar) roaming the wooded area I would be walking through, it was also a long walk . 

I decided that if I couldn't think of any alternative by the end of the evening then i would stay in the train hangars I had looked at earlier.

Meanwhile I thought I might as well go and look at the show which was now underway in a big grassy area in the middle of the village. 

There was a large stage with lots of lighting and maybe 20 singers /dancers covering well known songs of the last three decades, some in Spanish some in English .

The village green started filling up with many locals  as the night progressed with especially lots of teenagers , I expect quite a lot of the people came from Ponferrada nearby. There were market stalls around the green selling, sweets,  burgers etc   I bought myself a jumbo hot dog

The performers were in colourful modern costumes and danced and sang well, getting the audience to participate. 

I stayed watching the show till around midnight then made my way out of the village to the abandoned train hangars. Thankfully I had my head torch with me. There was a piece of ply wood near the back of one of the hangers and a blanket caked in areas with dry mud. It looked liked someone else had slept here quite a while ago. 

I was a bit nervous / over-paranoid about wild animals coming into the hangars ( wild boar, rats etc.) whilst I sleeping. There were lots of small bits of railway sleeper  scattered through the hangar so I collected them and lit a small fire near where I was going to sleep. I then settled down onto the plywood, using the  blanket as a mattress and my coat as a blanket. I drifted off to sleep for a while then woke after some time and added wood the fire. Then I went back to sleep for the rest of the night.

I woke at about 6 or 7 am after not a bad night's sleep, considering. The birds were singing and it was a lovely morning in the Spanish countryside. I went for a walk and found more abandoned station buildings including the main train station. If I were to follow the paths of the old tracks towards the mountains I would come to a series of tunnels which emerge out at intervals alongside the reservoir. Hopefully  I will visit again ( next time maybe with fishing gear) and will explore these tunnels and the forest around them , and also do a bit of fishing for trout, carp and bass.

The bus turned up in the morning and I got back to my hostel in Ponferrada . The girl who works there was wondering where I had gone for the night being as I had booked for the hostel. I told her what happened and she looked surprised and a bit sorry for me . Recently I was looking at my booking history on booking.com and noticed that they never charged me for the night I got stuck in Cubillos, so wow thanks to that hostel I'll definitely come back there God willing. Later that day I got a coach west to Oviedo in Galicia and that may appear in another chapter or a different book. 

So ends my adventure to Ponferrada, Cubillos del Sil and the Barcena reservoir. As I already said I hope to visit this region again soon and hopefully do some trout fishing. There's a chap on YouTube who's channel is called "Old School Hisma" who fishes in the rivers and lakes of this region, some of these rivers are beautiful set in deep wooded canyons , and full of trout , inspiring me to come back. 

Reinosa and Embalse del Ebro, Northern Spain.

I have been for a few years fascinated by the Embalse del Ebro when studying maps of Northern Spain . 

It is a very large, vaguely whale-shaped reservoir nestled in the Cantabrian mountains . It is located approximately 

45 Miles south of Santander. The  border seperating the regions of Cantabria and Castille-and-Leon runs through the middle of this large man-made lake.

The mountains around the lake are pretty big , some around the 2000 metre mark, but from the lake they don't appear so large as the lake itself is also high above sea level. 

The maximum length of the lake is about 11 miles and the maximum width is just under 3 miles. I spent considerable time on Google-maps-street-view exploring the roads in the area, some of the roads  were surrounded by woodland mainly of Oak and Pine, also there were large sweeping areas of grassland and pasture.  Another interesting fact about the Embalse del Ebro  is that the mighty River Ebro has its small beginnings a few miles west of the lake before continuing its long journey across the width of Spain to the Mediterannean coast where it spills into the sea near Tarragona. 

Then in the summer of 2024 I had been spending a month exploring Northern Spain and decided it was time to visit the lake and its surrounding countryside. Reinosa is the nearest town of any size, it is located to the west , very close to the lake. I was currently staying in a hostel in Santander and the easiest way to get to Reinosa was likely to be train.   

I booked a hotel in Reinosa for two nights .. "Hotel Abrego" at a good price 30 euros a night and boarded the train early the next morning . 

The train journey was very scenic indeed , it left the flat coastal plain of Santander and gradually the built-up industrial  area transitioned into  lush green countryside . The train gradually climbed up through the valleys of the Cantabrian mountains. Copious amounts of forest were on both sides of the track and as we got higher there were vast sweeping views across the valleys down below. 

Eventually after approximately an hour I arrived at Reinosa station. 

The first thing i wanted to do was have a coffee and a bit of breakfast but it was still early , not even 9 am and I couldnt find anywhere open in the town. As I wandered along the main street of town I got my first impressions of Reinosa. It had a pleasant mountain town atmosphere it seemed neither run-down or poor but neither did it have a luxurious expensive feel like some Spanish coastal resort cities. Some of the buildings did have a slightly Alpine look about them that you might see in the Swiss mountains. Many of the older building were made of grey-coloured stone . 

Further along the main road I came to a bridge over the River Ebro . How small and shallow it looked compared to the last time I saw the river Ebro at Tortosa on the east side of Spain where it is a huge river.   

I found my way to my hotel and noticed the bar adjoining it had just opened so I had my coffee and  breakfast - Pan Tostada aciete con tomate.

I checked into the hotel , my room was small, but clean and comfortable. I left my rucksack and fishing rod in the room and set off to explore the town. 

What I really wanted to see was what fish species were living in the river . The river here was clear , quite fast running and well oxygenated , it was shallow with varying depths but maybe averaging a foot deep. its width varied but probably averaged about 3 metres in town . The water had come down  underground off the nearby mountains , it welled up as a spring  at a place nearby called Fontibre. 

As I stood on one of the bridges in the centre of town I scanned the river upstream , which was pleasently lined with trees. In a calm area of the stream under the trees I saw tell tale circular ripples of fish rising to take insects off the waters surface . These were undoubtably brown trout. I wandered further down the river and from the walkway I could see several small brown trout , heads facing up-stream, swimming with the current in the fairly shallow water about two feet deep.  

I explored around Reinosa a bit more , there's a very nice old chuch in the centre  -  Parroquia de San Sebastián, pictured below.

The main body of this Baroque temple dates from the 16th century and is said to have been built by the stonemason Pedro de la Peña.

In the 18th century (1754–1774), the tower, portal, and dome were added.

I headed back to my hotel as my aim was to get a bus to the Embalse del Ebro , and do a bit of fishing whilst there .  There's only one or two buses a day heading  from Reinosa to and from the villages along the lake.  After studying the map I decided that the best village to head for was "La Poblacion" as it was located right on the banks of the lake, whereas the other villages along the bus route were further inland.

I arrived at the bus station and boarded the bus - a minibus.  There was only two other passengers, two youngsters in their early teens. They proved to be quite useful later as I couldnt understand the bus driver what time and where I would be picked up in the evening , these two spoke some English and translated for me. 

Soon after we left Reinosa I got my first views of the lake , the "tail part " of the whale ( if you remember I said the lake was vaguely whale shaped) . This area of the lake was serpentine in shape following the valley of the river Ebro . The countryside around was mainly open fields with the mountains in the distance and forests on the mountains. It was a hot, sunny, typical Spanish day -  very bright with large open skies . We came to the main body of the lake and it was vast, like an inland sea, and not long after we crossed a long modern bridge and arrived at La Poblacion. The bus droppped me off outside a large bar/resauraunt next to the lake named "El Corloto" .  It was hot and I was thirsty so I went in and ordered a nice cold beer. A friendly local old-timer started chatting to me in Spanish and advised me about where was good to fish and what fish were in the lake . He said there were some big trout,  but not that common , it was mainly Carp and Black Bass that people caught in this area of the lake. He advised I start fishing by the long bridge I had just crossed.

It was so hot I was considering whether to abandon the idea of fishing , there were no trees for shade along the banks of the reservoir . I might be more comfortable just staying in the air conditioned bar but then I had the idea of seeing if I could fish actually under the bridge in the shade . Off I set with my fishing gear , when I got to the long road bridge I walked to the centre so I could get a good view of the lake and decide which bank to fish . The bridge crossed a wide inlet of the lake . I noticed three White Storks standing in the grassland on the far side of the inlet , such beautiful birds . Nearby is a bird observatory. 

On the nearshore of the inlet I could see carp moving about in the weedbeds pushing the weeds apart as they moved through them . However access to the bank looked difficult , therefore I decided to head to the far bank and crossed the bridge.

There was a jetty near the bridge and as I started to acclimatise to the heat I thought I might try spinning for Trout or Bass from it . There was a bike and some clothes on the end of the Jetty I looked out and saw a man swimming a good distance off .. these must have been his. Later when he got back I had a  pleasant chat with him though I cant remember much of the conversation except that he's lived here all his life.

I set up my rod and put on a lure and started casting in different directions and reeling in my lure.  After about half an hour trying at different depths I hadnt had a bite, I was getting very hot out in the open so decided it was time to move under the bridge and ledger for carp instead using some bread I had brought along as bait.   

  

I sat in the shade of the bridge for an hour , my ledgered bread was cast just beyond the furthest patch of water weed . I couldnt see any sign of carp moving where I was, though frustratingly I could still see a few carp far off near the opposite shore. I watched the three storks quite nearby they didnt seem to be doing much , maybe they were waiting for the cooler evening when the frogs and other food items would start to appear .

After no bites for an hour and a half I was getting thirsty and decided to have a break . I headed  back to the village and went into another bar/restauraunt further in the village but still next to the lake .  After a relaxing drink in the shaded terrace I went for a wander into the back garden and down to the lake shore . It was here I noticed amongst the aquatic weed numerous young Large-mouth Bass chasing fish fry into the shallows . Time to set my rod up again! These Bass were only about 15 cm max. in length but I thought it might be fun to catch a few . I scaled down my tackle to a small jig hook and an artificial silicon worm attached . I cast out near to the shoul and soon I had a lovely fat little bass on the bank . Followed over the next half an hour by a few more . 

Just then a carp of about five pounds cruised past. I thought why not try the artificial worm on the carp as I've read that Spanish carp are more voracious and predatory  than Northern Europe, perhaps because of the higher water temperatures. 

Sure enough, as I dropped the worm not far from the carps nose he rushed at it took the lure in his mouth and tore off at high velocity , my rod bent over violently and the reel screamed  but before I knew it the carp was buried deep in the weed bed . I tried for ten minutes to get the carp out but to no avail . The hook came out and that seemed like a good time to call it a day. The next day I planned to try the river Ebro for trout. 

Next morning I headed with my fishing rod to the area of river in the middle of Reinosa where I had been watching the trout. I planned on experimenting using a silicon worm on a small hook . I spotted several trout in the same place as the previous day and started drifting the worm past them. After several attempts the trout were showing no interest in the worm. Just then a chap in his thirties approached on his mountain bike. He informed me that it is not permitted to fish the river in town on Thursdays! This seemed an unusual rule we don't have in the UK and was wondering if he was winding me up. However I gave him the benefit of the doubt and brought my lure in. 

I decided to go for a walk downstream and observe the fish. Maybe when I got out of the town area it would be ok to fish. Further down the river I saw under a bridge shouls of what I thought were trout. I was surprised to see such large shouls of them. Later on in the day I discovered (from the same chap on the bike) that these were actually Boga ... Spanish Nase , of which there are several species in Spain. They have a very similar body shape to trout but if you look carefully you can see they have a different mouth shape. Also on closer observation you can see these members of the carp family also have larger scales than trout. This is not to say that the previous fish I had seen were not trout.. they must definitely were as I could see them properly and identified the red and brown spots on their body, typical of brown trout.

I followed the river out of town through some fields and arrived under a dual carriageway bridge. The river was considerably wider and deeper here due to a tributary that had joined the river where the fields were. There were lots of trees along the bank and it was pleasantly shady and verdant. It was here below the bridge that I met the chap on the bike again. He didn't seem bothered that I had gone back to fishing and said he wanted to show me a stretch where there were lots of fish. First though we walked to a nearby wooden bridge and looked down at several shouls of fish, the same species I had seen earlier and thought were trout , he told me they were Boga as I mentioned earlier. Here it was easier to see them and I could see the distinctive underslung mouth typical of Boga or Nase. We tried fishing them for a while , taking in turns with the rod,  first with bread as bait , then with a silicon worm but they didnt show much interest in the bait. I needed a smaller hook and smaller bait, 

I resolved that next time I visit Reinosa I will come better prepared so I can catch my first Boga .

Next we walked downstream to the place he wanted to show me , we went past the road bridge  and came to an open part of the river , it was wider and deeper here . Immediatly we saw several large, dark, torpedo shaped fish swimming back and forth  in mid water. These were barbel about 3 or 4 lb I guessed. 

Again we tried  fishing for them but they too didnt show interest in either of my baits . 

When my new friend left I revisited all my previous spots and tried using a spinner to tempt any trout that were about  ... there were definately a few about rising for insects . I ended up back where we had seen all the barbel and noticed a very large brown trout lying on the river bed , it was in distress struggling to move and gulping for water . My guess is that it had been caught by someone earlier but left out of water too long . I actually managed to lightly hook it on a fin and brought it in close to study it . A beautiful golden fish with brown and red spots circled in white , about 2 lb in weight . There wasnt much I could do to help  , what a shame,  but I said a prayer for it that it might recover.

I decided to pack up fishing and just continue to explore downstream , I came to a group of Romany gypsies that were having a picnic , they saw my telescopic fishing rod pokeing out of my bag and said in Spanish "no fishing on Thursdays!" ... so my friend hadn't been making it up .

I continued  along the river to a park area with lots of big trees for shade a couple of attractive Spanish ladies were throwing balls for a Wolf Dog /Alsatian cross ... when it saw me it went absolutely beserk , barking aggressively . They quickly put it on the lead and they recommended I pass quickly they said its a dangerous dog . 

At the far end of the park area I was looking for a footpath to continue along the river but it seemed like the riverside path discontinued at the park. There was a small farmhouse next to the corner of the park and suddenly  four  tiny dogs came hurtling out of the driveway  and surrounded me, yapping and nipping my heals . An elderly lady, the dogs owner, emerged and just stood watching as these dogs harrassed me and bit at me , no words of command . After these two experiences in the space of ten minutes I concluded that  dog owners in Reinosa dont know how to train dogs or they train them to be aggressive. I walked away and the little dogs gradually lost interest and stopped chasing me. . 

I was now at the edge of a village named "Requejo" I entered the village , my aim now was to explore a large area of pine forest which I had seen on google maps which was not too  far from the village . I was feeling very hot and a bit tired from walking as it was another hot sunny day so I sat in the shade of a bus shelter for a while . After half an hour and a good drink of water my energy came back  and I set off through the village and turned right along the country lane that eventually led to the pine forest . After a while I crossed a cattle grid , there was some farm buildings and the lane turned into more of a track. Up ahead of me was a huge savannah of pasture . Behind it, quite far off was the forest . Scattered across this vast sweeping pasture were herds of horses  running free, and more worryingly herds of Cattle ... with enormous long horns similar to highland cattle . I have a phobia of large domesticated animals , I was chased by an aggressive stallion once and another time a herd of cows chased me across a field . 

There were no fences separating the track from the livestock I could see this wasn't going to work , I tentatively approached a few hundred yards along the track and got quite near the closest horse but it was no good , my fears got the better of me although the lovely pine forest was tantalizing and tempting me in the distance I turned around and headed back . I would have to think of another way to get to the forest next time I visit Reinosa , maybe hire a car ( I had just seen a car with some youths inside drive out of the forest and down the track and past me ).

I don't remember what I did that evening when I got back to Reinosa but next morning I got the train back to Santander, where I noticed one or two of the trains in Santander station were absolutely covered from top to bottom in Graffitti .. we dont see this on British trains as they are stored more securely when not in use.

And so concludes my first trip to Embalse del Ebro and the town of Reinosa.     

https://youtu.be/-aI6EXfQS0k?si=GQ3eUY_s5RfzDGjW

https://youtu.be/opmIWq1I0rM?si=Tgc8Qltrms4hSxVf

https://youtu.be/tbqnCCTd2tY?si=K4wBBzFJIE_7qcVf

https://youtu.be/D-T4vZbfK5c?si=cfXVYhvXom-r8oYy

Camp ibex Update - journal 21 march 2025

Now sleeping in zeds office at the back of the " big shed "

Raining first part of the morning.

When rain subsided I started digging out more earth (to eventually become a pond) on the marshy woodland floor below zeds office. The earth was put in several 4 litre pots and three ten litre pots and carried up next to office ready to have plants and cuttings put in if it started raining ..  I could do it indoors to stay busy. 

Created a toilet cubicle in zeds office garden - Z.o.g in case Gemma does stay which she's saying she wants to. 

Cut brambles and buddleia in front of the big bamboo in  zog , also cleared brambles under the left hand apple tree at  zog . 

Went down into n the woods below zog with new chainsaw and started coppicing and processing a few willows  to start allowing sun in and also the thick straight trunks might get used as living fence posts as the boundary fence has fallen over there. Rotted. 

Moved some plastic pallets out of zog and also various rubbish. Moved some of the rotten pallets onto the rotten timber pile . 

Cut back a load of brambles etc in the top garden.

Planted a Jonagold apple ( £6.50 from B&M ) in top garden at back near the goat willows on bank. Subsequently used my new electric chainsaw to cut back the nearby goat willows and buddleja to ensure the new apple tree gets plenty of light and space to grow. Also pollarded to shoulder height three dead eucalyptus trees to ensure they don't fall onto apple or any other plants . One in particular is right next to apple tree. 

Moved four big lorry tires onto top garden for possible use as potatoe planters. 

When dusk arrived and it also started raining I went in the zoffice potted six small Gunnera plants into six four litre pots , put in lots of deciduous eleagnus ( umbellata?) cuttings into the ten litre pots and also some shrub-rose cuttings in the ten litre pots (might be a wild rose not sure yet I haven't seen the flowers). 

Not sure if I've missed anything out but definitely a productive day.