vias pecuarias, verderas, canadas, caminos reales etc

[gavilan]

walking and wandering around here (Alta Axarquia)and looking at maps ... I have come across a number of different paths/tracks through the hills and sierras variously called via pecuaria, verdera, cordel, canada or canada real, camino real ... I think they were to do with the transhumance (movement of sheep from summer to winter pasture) and were established by the Mesta (ancient organisation of flock owners) and some were designated specific widths but dont really understand why or much about it all ... any body able to enlighten me?
many thanks
gavilan

[silver]

Realenga or cordel are roads for movement of sheep, or other animals from summer to winter pasture. I think that realenguas are 20 meters wide. There is one in Madrid city and every year they still drive the sheep/goats through the town.

[ron]

Have a look at
http://www.tbs.com.es/simplyspain/about ... res_1.html

[angel]

The veredas are ancient walking paths, originally laid by The Romans in cobbled stone. In some places the paths are still actually cobbled.

[Susi]

We have a via pequaria going past our house and when we bought the land we were told that they could reclaim the land to make this wider. Basically the via pequaria we have is on the ancient route from Granada to Malaga to take the livestock to market but nowadays this is much quicker and easier by lorry so we don't have too much to worry about.

We have tried our hardest to get a map of this route for walkers so if anyone has had any success please let me know.
Thanks

[gavilan]

thanks for all your helpful comments ... recently I did a walk from la fabrica de la luz near canillas de albaida which then linked up with a section of the old silk trade route called la vereda de granada ... fascinating to realise that these paths were used so much in the old days that there were even ventas built high in the mountains for the refreshment of man and mule ... my guide told me that he knew a man in the village who had walked that route every day 6 days a week for many years ...

[Lavanda]

[color=green]In some places the paths are still actually cobbled.[/color]

The whole of the Sierra de Montanchez in Extremadura is covered in these paths. Long parts of the Ruta de la Plata - the pilgrimage route from Granada to Seville to Santiago de Compostela - is like that as well.

Incidently, for all us walkers, I was interested to see that 10 years ago only 50 pilgrims walked the route from south to north - the 'common' route being along the top of Spain - but last year over 9000 pilgrims walked the route. The whole route is being rediscoved, signposted and promoted as much less of a people jam than the northern route.

I shall be giving it 'a go' some day soon ...

[campo babe]

We also have a vereda going past our house. The Medio Ambiente are in the process of reclaiming these tracks with money provided by the EU. Unfortunately for some people, like us, this means that they could reclaim the 10 metres of land between the front of our house and the track. The only way to get around this is for us to offer to pay a rent to them for the use of the land, and this is what we intend to do. However, it doesn't seem fair that we bought the land in good faith and it is registered in the Land Registry. The claim by the Medio Ambiente is based on tracks as they were 500 years ago.

[Lavanda]

OOOOOPS! I meant Granada to Merida OR Seville to Merida then the rest as stated. Sorry to those of you all keen to walk Granada to Seville ...