Top of the World

Wednesday 1 April

From Peniscola it was a short drive of approx 53 miles to the medieval fortress town of Morella, which is 1070 metres above sea level. What the journey lacked in mileage it made up for in “interest” as a series of very tight hairpin bends took us up into the hills. John commented that the image on Snoopy Satnav looked like a small intestine! I was fascinated by the way the hillsides had been terraced and stabilised with dry stone walls.

We stayed on the aire, with a stunning view of the castle from our 'van window. 

We walked into the town past the Gothic aqueduct, which once supplied the town's water and headed straight for the tourist office for a map. 

After a bit of a wander through the streets past the ornate cathedral 

and a walk along the Alemeda Promenade, we came to the entrance to the Saint Francis Convent and the castle, which looms high above the town. Much of the convent is just remains of walls but a lot of the cloister walls are intact and the church has been restored and is now used for concerts and exhibitions. Its huge size is impressive and its simplicity striking. Then on to the castle, where you visit the three floors in a spiral fashion. Explanatory panels are helpfully written in English too. The third floor is accessed by 98 steps to bring you to the courtyard at the top from which there are wonderful views in every direction – over the monastery, bullring (which we had passed in the town but was not accessible) and town walls. 

We retraced our steps to the town and then made our way back to the 'van via different streets.

Not your average Santander branch!

There were a total of around 16 'vans on the aire that night and we all suffered another cold one! Nonetheless, John was determined to take a photo of the castle during “the golden hour”, with the rising sun casting its warm glow on the walls; I chose to stay under the duvet, awaiting a cup of tea on his return!