Matilda on Tour - Mountain Roads, Forest Trails And Autumn Colours

From Olive Groves to Mountain Pines

Day 17 – Tuesday 20 October 2026

🇪🇸 Mesones, Sierra del Segura, Albacete – Spain

We had torrential rain hammering on Matilda last night. The promised rain had certainly arrived! No blue skies this morning either, but it was moving day and, thankfully, by the time we got cracking, the rain had stopped.

As we were heading high up into the Sierra del Segura mountains, we decided to stock up on supplies before leaving the area. Our first stop was La Carolina, where we filled up with fuel, did the supermarket shop and found a cash machine.

It’s so handy having George along on these trips. He found us the cheapest fuel, gave us links to the supermarket and bank, and generally made life that little bit easier. It was good to see La Carolina again too, this time at a more leisurely pace.

The journey today took us through over 100 kilometres of olive groves. They stretched as far as the eye could see as we rolled up and down the undulating roads. Every hillside seemed to be covered in olive trees, with little villages perched high above us, surrounded by yet more groves. It really was quite a sight.

Eventually, the motorway came to an end and the road began climbing into the mountains. What a change in scenery! The olive groves gradually gave way to a much more rugged landscape, with mountains rising around us and some incredible views along the way.

As always on these trips, I never quite know what to expect when we arrive somewhere new. You can look at photographs and read reviews, but until you actually get there, you never really know.

Well, we’ve arrived at Camping Río Mundo, near the little village of Mesones, in the Sierra del Segura, and what a lovely surprise.

The campsite is great, surrounded by tall pine trees and others showing off their autumn colours. There’s plenty of space around us, with yellow and brown leaves scattered across the ground. It’s a lovely setting, and wonderfully peaceful too.

No worrying about noisy neighbours here. We haven’t got any!!!

There’s a small village just down the road and a few interesting places to explore over the next couple of days, including the famous waterfalls at the source of the Río Mundo.

For now, though, we’re settled into our new spot, enjoying the peace and quiet and looking forward to exploring the area.

Day 18 – Up, Up And Up To The Río Mundo

Wednesday 21 October 2026

Mesones, Molinicos, Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

A peaceful night high up in the mountains, just the thing for a great night’s sleep.

Blue skies soon appeared and, after a bit of bike maintenance, we were off.

Today’s route was up, up and up! Nine miles of climbing through spectacular mountain scenery, with our sights set on the source of the Río Mundo.

The scenery was absolutely fabulous. Towering mountains all around us, enormous pine trees stretching high above our heads and the autumn colours adding another dimension to the already spectacular views.

The roads themselves make this perfect cycling country. Beautifully smooth tarmac, hardly any traffic and, when a car does come along, the drivers give us an enormous amount of room, often crossing right over to the other side of the road to pass. I really do think this is the safest place I have ever cycled.

Eventually, we left the main road and turned onto a narrower one, snaking our way further up into the mountains towards the waterfall.

We locked up the bikes and walked the final kilometre to the viewpoint, looking forward to seeing the spectacular waterfall we’d seen in photographs.

The Río Mundo emerges from a cave deep in the limestone mountains, tumbling down an 80-metre rock face when the water is flowing. Quite a sight, apparently. But not today!

After the dry summer, there was little more than a trickle making its way down the rocks. Rather underwhelming after all that climbing!

Another path led off to one side, climbing higher to a second viewpoint. It was quite a long drag up, and once again the waterfall wasn’t particularly impressive. However, the surrounding mountain scenery was certainly worth it and I was glad we had made the effort.

We took a different path down following the river along a more natural path back down towards the bikes. We both agreed that, despite the disappointing waterfall, the journey had been well worth it.

And then came the reward for all that climbing!

The ride back was an absolute joy. Mile after mile of fabulous downhill cycling, flying through the mountains on beautifully smooth roads, with hardly a car in sight. It was one of those descents you just didn’t want to end.

We stopped in Riópar, a town just a short hop from the campsite, for some well-earned refreshments. Sitting outside in the warm sunshine, surrounded by spectacular scenery, was such a lovely way to round off the ride.

The weather had been perfect. Blue skies all day, although the headwind on the outward journey had made things a little chilly at times. Now, with the climbing behind us and the sun still shining, we couldn’t have asked for much more.

Back at Matilda after another fabulous day exploring this beautiful corner of Spain, I’m thinking we’ve found another wonderful place.

Day 19 – Another Day, Another Walk!

Thursday 22 October 2026

Riópar, Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Another day, another walk, and what a walk it was!

Seven miles, taking us way up into the forest, with spectacular scenery from beginning to end.

Our route initially followed the river through some lovely open countryside. The walking was easy to begin with, giving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy the autumn colours. Tall trees were turning beautiful shades of yellow and gold, standing out against the clear blue sky, while grasses and shrubs lined the narrow paths.

High above us, the old village of Riópar Viejo sat perched on its rocky hilltop. What an amazing setting for a village, and a wonderful sight from down in the valley.

We also came across a small herd of cattle grazing amongst the pine trees, safely contained behind an electric fence. They were magnificent animals, with enormous horns, but very docile. They hardly gave us a second glance as we wandered past, far too interested in their grazing!

It really was a lovely start to the walk.

And then we hit the hill!

The climb was steep and relentless. We needed plenty of stops along the way, but we took our time and managed it without any major problems.

As we climbed higher into the forest, the scenery became even more beautiful. Tall pine trees towered above us, their bright green crowns catching the sunlight. The sun streamed through the branches, casting wonderful shadows across the paths and bringing out all the different colours of the woodland.

The walking was wonderfully varied too. One minute we were following wide, easy forest tracks, the next we were picking our way along narrow, stony paths. It all added to the enjoyment, even if our legs were having to work rather hard!

Every so often the trees opened up, revealing enormous stretches of pine forest covering the surrounding hillsides, with mountains rising beyond them. It was quite spectacular.

There were lovely little details everywhere. The forest floor was covered in fallen pine needles, and amongst them were ferns turning the most wonderful golden colour. One in particular caught my eye, its bright orange-gold leaves standing out beautifully against the darker woodland floor.

Along the way, we came across Campamento San Juan, a youth adventure camp tucked away amongst the trees. There were buildings, open spaces and even a climbing wall on one of the buildings.

The place was deserted, presumably quiet for the season, but the sign advertised school programmes, mountain accommodation and adventure activities. It reminded us of the outward bound centres back in the UK. I imagine it would be quite a lively place when full of youngsters!

After what seemed like an awful lot of climbing, we finally began our descent.

The forest continued to delight us, with sunlight filtering through the trees and the paths winding down through the woodland. Eventually, we emerged into more open countryside, where the autumn colours were just as lovely as they had been at the start.

Golden trees, grassy meadows, distant hills and cattle grazing peacefully. Such a contrast to the steep forest tracks we’d been walking along earlier.

And I had one more little treat today. I spotted my first red squirrel of this trip! They really are the cutest little creatures, and I was delighted to see one.

Seven miles, a fair bit of climbing and some truly spectacular countryside.

What a fabulous walk. This part of Spain really is beautiful.