6 April 2017 – Orba Castle

Thirteen of us again today, though not the same thirteen as last week!   It was nice to welcome Helen and Roger back after a break of about one month.

We had a light rain shower last night, though it was worse on the coast, so we were a little worried how it would be this morning.

In fact it was dry but cloudy when we met in Parcent, and the sun made an appearance before we reached Murla.

It is a very easy walk from Parcent to Murla and after a banana stop in the square everyone was still quite fresh when we reached the bottom of Orba castle.

We have always considered this one of the more difficult walks.  Not because the hill is particularly steep, but there are no paths.

We went up the long way (the green/white route), with a steep climb right at the start

We have done this walk quite a few times before, so we had a good idea of the path.  But it is still difficult in parts.

So we were quite relieved when we reached the castle without getting lost

There is quite a bit of space around the ruins of the castle, and we choose one of the sunnier parts…..

……….This group opted for the shadier side

 

……Helen and Roger went for the views

We came down the direct, and unmarked, route.  This involves a difficult section right at the start.

We know the direction we want, but there is no path and the area is very overgrown

Despite a recce a few weeks ago I still managed to lose the track 

But fortunately I realised quite quickly and found correct, but very overgrown, track

Then the easy stroll back to Parcent

And this time the river was dry, unlike our last visit during our Almond Blossom walk

A lovely walk and we were really pleased that everyone managed it without any problem.  Indeed they all seemed to enjoy it

Thanks to Nick as always for the walk stats