North of Madrid – Changing Landscapes

Day 22 – Sunday 25 October 2026

Riaza, Segovia, Spain

What a difference a day makes! After miles and miles of olive groves and vast open plains, today we watched the Spanish landscape change dramatically as we made our way north towards Madrid.

The olive groves gradually disappeared, replaced by mile after mile of ploughed fields. I spotted a tractor working in the distance, looking like a little Dinky toy in the middle of all that open countryside.

As we passed Madrid, the scenery changed once again. The flat plains gave way to the dramatic mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama. What a contrast!

We also spotted our first rabbit of the trip, somehow managing to cross the motorway without getting squashed. Goodness knows how it survived!

And then there were the red kites. We saw so many of them gliding overhead, their feathers looking almost orange in the afternoon sunshine. Magnificent birds, and such a pleasure to watch.

Eventually, we arrived at our campsite near Riaza, at the foot of the Sierra de Ayllón mountains. The countryside is a lovely mix of wooded hills, mountains and autumn colours. It looks a great area to explore tomorrow.

Green grass! What a lovely sight after so much dry countryside. It almost felt like returning to civilisation, especially when we discovered the restaurant was open at seven.

After two nights off-grid, it was lovely to be back on a proper campsite with full facilities.

Tonight was also our first meal out of the trip, although it didn’t go quite as expected!

We scanned the menu, found the English version and ordered our food. Richard chose a chicken burger and I ordered steak. What I hadn’t realised was that I was expected to cook my own steak! Ha ha. So much for having a night off cooking.

Still, the steak was delicious. All it needed was a nice salad to finish it off. Perhaps we’ll have better luck tomorrow night.

Day 23 – A Cycle Ride with a Wild Surprise!

Monday 26 October 2026

Riaza, Segovia, Castile and León, Spain

Another glorious sunny day in Spain, and we were off on our bikes to explore the countryside around Riaza.

We’d chosen a route along quiet country lanes with a bit of climbing thrown in. The scenery was lovely, with autumn colours, open countryside and mountains in the distance.

And then we spotted something extraordinary. A whole gathering of vultures in a field! These enormous birds were scattered across the ground, and we stopped to watch. We even managed to capture one coming in to land on video.

We’ve seen plenty of birds of prey on our travels, but never anything quite like this. It was a wonderful sight and certainly made the ride memorable.

We finished our outing with drinks and tapas in the sunshine. Not a bad way to spend an October afternoon!

We’re really enjoying this area of Spain and have decided to stay a little longer. Tomorrow we’ll move Matilda from the campsite to the aire in Riaza, giving us another day to explore before heading north.

Another cracking day, and one of those unexpected encounters we’ll remember for a long time.

🇪🇸 Spain 2026

Day 24 – A Walk Of Two Halves

Tuesday 27 October 2026

Riaza, Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain

Another lovely day exploring the countryside around Riaza, although today’s walk was certainly one of two halves!

We drove up to park by the lake. I’d had visions of enjoying breakfast overlooking the water. Rose-coloured spectacles again! We couldn’t even see the lake.

We also had a rather amusing incident when a group of women parked next to us. One of them disappeared around the side of Matilda for a pee, completely unaware that Richard was sitting outside! Her friends were laughing their heads off. You couldn’t make it up!

After breakfast, we set off on our walk through oak woodland, which looked lovely, but unfortunately the flies had other ideas. They seemed to have taken quite a fancy to me, buzzing around my head and driving me absolutely mad. Richard didn’t seem to be nearly as popular!

Thankfully, things improved considerably when we left the trees behind and found ourselves in a spectacular rocky gorge.

What a change of scenery! Towering rock formations, wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and hardly another soul in sight. This was much more like it.

The walk through the gorge was stunning, and we stopped frequently just to take in the views. At one point, we spotted a bird of prey high above us, flying much faster than the buzzards and red kites we’ve seen on our travels. Was it an eagle? We’ll never know.

We followed narrow paths through the gorge, crossing a couple of interesting little bridges along the way.

“Hold onto the wires,” Richard suggested as we crossed one of them.

“Not on your Nelly!” was my immediate response. I wasn’t taking any chances!

The landscape was rugged and beautiful, with something different to admire around every corner. I was also fascinated by the stones, many of which had a lovely silvery, almost metallic sheen. Even the soil seemed to sparkle in places.

Eventually, we left the gorge behind, walking through a village high up in the mountains before dropping back down to Matilda.

What a difference from the first half of our walk! Those dreadful flies were soon forgotten.