![\"3\"](\"http:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHotel L\u2019Algadir, a family run concern was spotlessly clean, welcoming and ideally positioned for exploring the vast Ebro Delta National Park.<\/p>\n
After a short break we made our way to MonNatura, a visitor centre packed with information on the diversity of flora and fauna of this important western European wetlands area; en route we encountered a multitude of birds feeding from the watery rice fields.<\/p>\n
There are thought to be more than 300 species of birds either resident or visiting the National Park and a vast network of observational points has been strategically placed to help visitors observe\u00a0them. This is\u00a0a bird lover\u2019s paradise and being an enthusiastic bird spotter, I was in my element, especially at the sight of so many leggy herons and colourful flocks of flamingos. The day was rounded off with a cookery demonstration by the hotel’s owner and passionate chef Joan Capilla (with a little verbal translation\u00a0from his affectionate father) and a delicious, gastronomic tasting menu of local produce was enjoyed by all.<\/p>\n We spent a\u00a0relaxing morning cycling around the Les Olles Lagoon and Port d\u2019ILLa of the Ebro Delta region. Perhaps relaxing and cycling are not two words one would normally put together,\u00a0but when the ground is flat and there\u2019s a multitude of wildlife to distract and delight, the effort is minimal and each stop visually memorable.<\/p>\n Through lush-green paddy fields, marshlands and rice fields we sped to an awaiting boat ready to escort us to the mussel fields and oyster farms of the salt-water lagoon.<\/p>\n Here we booked in to the luxurious Hotel Parador de Tortosa, a medieval\u00a0Zuda castle with spectacular views of the ancient town and banks of the Ebro River. More than 2,000\u00a0years of history make up the cultural and historical heritage of Tortosa; a city which has been declared an area of artistic and historical importance.<\/p>\n We were given an early evening, informative tour of the town and majestic cathedral by the local tourist representative and I was struck not only by the beauty of the architecture but the fact that it was relatively tourist free; further reaffirming my view that Southern Catalonia is delightfully unspoilt and one of Spain\u2019s best kept secrets.<\/p>\n At this point, confidence in my cycling proficiency had reached a peak and I was treasuring every minute of the cycling tour. We rode\u00a025 kilometres along the Via Verde; the Green Way route of the disused Zafan Valley railway and now used solely by walkers and cyclists. This off-the-beaten track, rich in orange groves and lined intermittently with fig, olive, almond and pomegranate trees had a majestic backdrop of mountain scenery.<\/p>\n We cycled\u00a0through long dark, atmospheric tunnels and past pine-scented forests and I was constantly reminded that \u2018life doesn\u2019t get much better than this\u2019.<\/p>\n Lunch was in\u00a0the Wine Cathedral, a Modernist-style building designed by the architect Cesar Martinell, a disciple of Gaudi, in the pretty village of Pinell de Brai. We sat outside soaking up the sun, devouring a light lunch and sampling the local wines. Our last hotel was on the fringe of one of the most picturesque villages in the Terra Alta region, Horta de Sant Joan. It was at Hotel Les Capcades that we were treated to the most delectable of tasting menus by its\u00a0resident female chef. The\u00a0crispy lamb chops, duck cannelloni and mandarin ice cream courses\u00a0were delicious.<\/p>\n Earlier in the evening we visited the Picasso Centre in Horta, where the painter stayed in 1898 and returned again in 1909, marking the start of the Cubism period.<\/p>\n Our Headwater tour was coming to an end and my faithful bike had to be\u00a0returned. With a lunchtime flight we had just enough time to visit the majestic Templar remains of Miravet Castle, situated on top of high rocks overlooking the Ebre River in the pretty village of Miravet. As one of the biggest fortifications in Catalunya, it gave commanding views of the surrounding areas and was simply breath-taking.<\/p>\n Headwater offers three holidays to Southern Catalunya.<\/p>\n For details about\u00a0Cycling round Ebro river visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C06SC.htm<\/a><\/p>\n For Undiscovered Southern Catalunya visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C08SC.htm<\/a><\/p>\n For Discovering the Ebro Delta visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C07SC.htm<\/a><\/p>\n All trips run from April to October 2017<\/em><\/p>\n LOUISE MIDGLEY\u00a0explores one of\u00a0Spain’s best kept secrets\u00a0by bicycle There\u2019s a memorable scene in the award-winning film \u2018A Room with a View\u2019 where the young, free-spirited, George, can be heard singing his creed as he hangs precariously from the gnarled branches of an olive tree in the Tuscan hills. \u201cJoy, Beauty, Espoir” he chants; just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" \r\n<\/a><\/p>\nDay Two<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Later after a delicious duck paella lunch, we continued our journey to Tortosa, the capital of Terres de l\u2019Ebre by four-wheeled transport.<\/p>\nDay Three<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nDay Four<\/h4>\n
Factfile<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t[\/et_pb_text]
\n\t\t\t[\/et_pb_column]
\n\t\t[\/et_pb_row]
\n\t[\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOUISE MIDGLEY\u00a0explores one of\u00a0Spain's best kept secrets\u00a0by bicycle<\/h3>\r\nThere\u2019s a memorable scene in the award-winning film \u2018A Room with a View\u2019 where the young, free-spirited, George, can be heard singing his creed as he hangs precariously from the gnarled branches of an olive tree in the Tuscan hills.\r\n\r\n\u201cJoy, Beauty, Espoir\" he chants; just the words that popped into my head as I freewheeled through some of the most stunning countryside and villages of the Terres de L\u2019Ebre region in southern Catalonia on a Headwater cycling tour.\r\n\r\nRiding through this quiet and unspoilt region of Spain was in complete contrast to fighting for your space on many of our British roads. Here, with the sun on my back and wind in my hair, the security of wide, virtually empty, designated cycle paths filled me with a childish excitement I hadn\u2019t experienced in\u00a0years.\r\n\r\nI was pedalling with a small group of journalists and our Headwater guide, all of whom were more proficient cyclists than me but I surprised myself by holding\u00a0my own (and my handlebars) with little effort, because the majority of routes were flat and the hired bikes top of the range.\r\n
Day One<\/h4>\r\nAfter an early flight, we arrived at Barcelona airport and were transferred by mini bus to the first of three hotels booked for our four-day adventure.
<\/a>\r\n\r\nHotel L\u2019Algadir, a family run concern was spotlessly clean, welcoming and ideally positioned for exploring the vast Ebro Delta National Park.\r\n\r\nAfter a short break we made our way to MonNatura, a visitor centre packed with information on the diversity of flora and fauna of this important western European wetlands area; en route we encountered a multitude of birds feeding from the watery rice fields.\r\n\r\nThere are thought to be more than 300 species of birds either resident or visiting the National Park and a vast network of observational points has been strategically placed to help visitors observe\u00a0them. This is\u00a0a bird lover\u2019s paradise and being an enthusiastic bird spotter, I was in my element, especially at the sight of so many leggy herons and colourful flocks of flamingos.<\/a>\r\n\r\nThe day was rounded off with a cookery demonstration by the hotel's owner and passionate chef Joan Capilla (with a little verbal translation\u00a0from his affectionate father) and a delicious, gastronomic tasting menu of local produce was enjoyed by all.\r\nDay Two<\/h4>\r\nWe spent a\u00a0relaxing morning cycling around the Les Olles Lagoon and Port d\u2019ILLa of the Ebro Delta region. Perhaps relaxing and cycling are not two words one would normally put together,\u00a0but when the ground is flat and there\u2019s a multitude of wildlife to distract and delight, the effort is minimal and each stop visually memorable.\r\n\r\nThrough lush-green paddy fields, marshlands and rice fields we sped to an awaiting boat ready to escort us to the mussel fields and oyster farms of the salt-water lagoon.\r\n\r\n
<\/a>Later after a delicious duck paella lunch, we continued our journey to Tortosa, the capital of Terres de l\u2019Ebre by four-wheeled transport.\r\n\r\nHere we booked in to the luxurious Hotel Parador de Tortosa, a medieval\u00a0Zuda castle with spectacular views of the ancient town and banks of the Ebro River. More than 2,000\u00a0years of history make up the cultural and historical heritage of Tortosa; a city which has been declared an area of artistic and historical importance.\r\n\r\nWe were given an early evening, informative tour of the town and majestic cathedral by the local tourist representative and I was struck not only by the beauty of the architecture but the fact that it was relatively tourist free; further reaffirming my view that Southern Catalonia is delightfully unspoilt and one of Spain\u2019s best kept secrets.\r\nDay Three<\/h4>\r\nAt this point, confidence in my cycling proficiency had reached a peak and I was treasuring every minute of the cycling tour. We rode\u00a025 kilometres along the Via Verde; the Green Way route of the disused Zafan Valley railway and now used solely by walkers and cyclists. This off-the-beaten track, rich in orange groves and lined intermittently with fig, olive, almond and pomegranate trees had a majestic backdrop of mountain scenery.\r\n\r\nWe cycled\u00a0through long dark, atmospheric tunnels and past pine-scented forests and I was constantly reminded that \u2018life doesn\u2019t get much better than this\u2019.\r\n\r\nLunch was in\u00a0the Wine Cathedral, a Modernist-style building designed by the architect Cesar Martinell, a disciple of Gaudi, in the pretty village of Pinell de Brai. We sat outside soaking up the sun, devouring a light lunch and sampling the local wines.
<\/a>\r\n\r\nOur last hotel was on the fringe of one of the most picturesque villages in the Terra Alta region, Horta de Sant Joan. It was at Hotel Les Capcades that we were treated to the most delectable of tasting menus by its\u00a0resident female chef. The\u00a0crispy lamb chops, duck cannelloni and mandarin ice cream courses\u00a0were delicious.\r\n\r\nEarlier in the evening we visited the Picasso Centre in Horta, where the painter stayed in 1898 and returned again in 1909, marking the start of the Cubism period.\r\nDay Four<\/h4>\r\nOur Headwater tour was coming to an end and my faithful bike had to be\u00a0returned. With a lunchtime flight we had just enough time to visit the majestic Templar remains of Miravet Castle, situated on top of high rocks overlooking the Ebre River in the pretty village of Miravet. As one of the biggest fortifications in Catalunya, it gave commanding views of the surrounding areas and was simply breath-taking.\r\n
Factfile<\/h4>\r\nHeadwater offers three holidays to Southern Catalunya.\r\n\r\nFor details about\u00a0Cycling round Ebro river visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C06SC.htm<\/a>\r\n\r\nFor Undiscovered Southern Catalunya visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C08SC.htm<\/a>\r\n\r\nFor Discovering the Ebro Delta visit:\u00a0www.headwater.com\/holidays\/cycling\/spain\/C07SC.htm<\/a>\r\n\r\nAll trips run from April to October 2017<\/em>\r\n\r\n[mappress mapid=\"185\"]","_et_gb_content_width":"","_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[41],"yst_prominent_words":[9481,7044,9478,9477,9484,9470,9479,9485,9483,2839,9480,9471,9474,9476,9472,9473,9482,9469,9475,9468],"class_list":["post-22568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-travel-2"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 18:17:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22568"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26543,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22568\/revisions\/26543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22568"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=22568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}