20 April 2017 – Castells Serrella Castle

Thirteen of us again today, all looking happy now that the first climb is out of the way

Welcome to Barry and Jane joined us for their first walk with the group today

Much cooler today than last week, particularly with the usual Castells temperature reduction

Just as well because we had more uphill walking than usual

This is the first time we did this walk as a group, and I had warned them that some of the uphill parts were quite challenging.

Although the outstanding scenery makes up for the extra effort

Even the downhill parts were difficult due to the track surface

So everyone was quite relieved when we approached the end of the final uphill section

I had promised them a spectacular spot for our picnic lunch

I had also warned them that it is often colder in Castells, so they all came prepared and were well wrapped up

Despite the extra cover it was too cold to linger for long over lunch

It is downhill all the way back and we were soon sheltered from the cold wind

They then discovered that it is even more difficult going down than it was coming up

Although sheltered from the biting wind, we still needed our jackets 

Janet looks impressed that Alan has chosen an even more difficult descent than the official track

Even the last part of the walk requires care, it looks like Roger (at the back with David) has just avoided a fall

Jan was not so lucky, she lost her balance and slid gracefully to a sitting position

I think there may have been some more near misses, but we all arrived safely back at Castells without any injury

This is one of those walks where you need it to be warm enough to enjoy the breaks, but cool enough to tackle the uphill walking.   Today was perhaps just a little too cold for comfort at lunch, but otherwise ideal for walking.

Thanks, as always, to Nick for the walk stats