The Road from Santiago

  From the photos and the map it may not seem we have done a lot but in fact we have gone up 300m. We passed a viewpoint, Mirador Valderrama.  Be the first person to review it. I must admit I do rather like this uncompromising landscape.  Are we going to go subtle with softly fading features, no.  Nature went, this will be a valley.  We will put it so it is clear. Steep slopes here.  Flattish fields here. It feels very early Computer game generated - or maybe D&D where the DM wanted a valley away from the castle but couldn’t be bothered with what happened either side the route the party would tale out of town.   That's it, so let's have a bit more on Frias.    I have found it frustrating that there is not a single, concise History.  It tends to get a bit vague.   Everyone starts of well, mentions it being the smallest city in Spain and then get distracted.  It does have a Jewish quarter.  Mentions of Jewish inhabi...

  This really is a day to see what a wonderful example of a valley this is.  Look at the bordering hills.  Marvel at the flattish fields.  Feel awe at faded sunflowers.  Wonder what is there to look at……… We will go near the church of La Santisima Trinidad.  Streetview doesn’t and there isn’t a review.   Looking back. That’s it.

  Let’s be honest, Spain is what a fighting fantasy Mediaeval landscape should be.  Today, we will confirm that by wandering around Frias - but first, the Ebro. The Ebro is 930km long and is the second longest river in Iberia.  It rises nearby and will run down to the Med.  Of its famous 1938 Battle, much later.  We are going to cross the 12th century bridge. The defences were added in the 14th. Frias is everything you would want of a Mediaeval settlement.  Take a large lump of geology.  Add a castle and a church [so, no hamlet, in fact a city since 1435] and then allow it to grow some post Middle Aged spread as the populace built houses on the plain below.  We are going the wrong side of the town for the hanging houses and the like look at this https://www.ciudaddefrias.es/lugares-de-interes   The town had numerous episodes of fisty cuffs, including with Napoleonic troops.  Diverse monasteries and chapels were built.  The chief of ...

  We are going through Lomana.  It has a church so it is a village of 15 people.  It also has a castle and a Junta Administrativa.  It is almost a city! The Castillo de Lomana is a 15th century lump of fortress, built by Alonso de Bonifaz - whose ancestor, an admiral, was more important than he was.  It is currently falling down.  The church is dedicated to Saint James the Apostle.  Wiki reports ‘ In the 2007 local elections​ corresponding to this minor local entity, no candidates were presented.’ We briefly go on the BU-530 before turning off the road and off Streetview as we enter Santocildes.  Apparently 8 people live here, but it has a church, so it is a village.  A 19th century work claimed.... ‘ Place in the province, territorial audience, general captaincy and diocese of Burgos (13 ½ leagues), judicial district of Villarcayo (5), municipality of the valley of Tovalina (1/2). Located on flat land, with good ventilation and cold, but hea...

  What is a hamlet and what is a village.  I ask this because we are going across the wide open spaces.  Everyso often a small reverlet offers a little light relief but it is buildings we crave.  Are these villages?  Are they really only hamlets?  Were they villages that used to be villages? The Cambridge online dictionary defines a hamlet as ‘ a small village , usually without a church ’  This is not very helpful.  It says a village is ‘ a group of houses and other buildings that is smaller than a town , usually in the countryside :’  Again.  It is a bit in the eye of the beholder.  To be honest Collins is not much more helpful but they are certainly keen on being church-less. Wiki says ‘ Village or Tribe – a village is a human settlement or community that is larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town. The population of a village varies; the average population can range in the hundreds. Anthropologists regard the number of...