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Go back to holiday categories > Family Activity Holidays > Cycling along the Greenways - A Family Adventure Holiday in Spain

Type: Family Activity Holidays
Price: From Ł550 per week

Discover an inland area of outstanding rugged beauty with plenty of adventure for the kids. An ideal Family holiday away from the crowds. Traffic free cycling along the Greenways or 'Vias Verdes'.

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THE AREA
Nestled into the Ports de Beceite Nature Park, the Vilar Rural Hotel in the village of Arnes is a perfect base for your family holiday with an action packed week.

This was once the ancient kingdom of Aragon and every village bears witness to past riches, with stately town halls, and monumental churches. Known as the Terra Alta, these high lands are full of vines, olives and almonds. The region is effectively separated from the coastal regions by the El Port mountains, a chain of inter linked limestone steep sided valleys. Even today with improved road access, the region still maintains its own identity, and a dialect of catalan is still spoken by some of the older inhabitants.

A young Pablo Picasso found this an area, when based in Barcelona and in poor health, where he could connect to a basic earthly beauty. He went away invigorated and visited again, producing some of his earliest sketches and paintings inspired by the local people and landmarks.

THE HOTEL
The Vilar Rural is a new 4 star hotel set up specifically for family holidays. Set in olive and almond groves with the village of Arnes on one side and the mountains on the other, it is ideally situated for setting out on any amount of adventures.

Generously proportioned rooms all have en suite facilities and many rooms have connecting interior doors, ideal for keeping an ear out for the children.

The hotel has several large salons, a couple of bars, a gymnasium, and a 25 metre swimming pool with a retractable covering. There is also a toddlers pool, and a small farm where kids are able to help look after the animals. There is a daily club running activities designed for children of all ages.

THE ITINERARY
We have a range of activities suitable for all ages. The outstanding landscape of limestone mountains provide a perfect area for hill walking, canyoning (with instructor), and nature walks. The nearby former mines railway, now converted to a Greenway or 'Vias Verde' for bicycles offers the perfect safe environment for letting your children loose on two wheels.

Day 1 Arrival Reus airport and transfer to hotel.

Day 2 Drop off and cycle back to hotel on Greenway.

Day 3 Walk into the hills where there are plenty of opportunities to for dipping into the mountain streams as pass through impressive gorges.

Day 4 Drop off at Horta de Sant Joan with time to visit the pretty hilltop village where Picasso sojourned. Cycle along the Greenway through tunnels and bridges far above the river Canaletes until it flows out into the mighty Ebro river.

Day 5 Kayak under instruction down the Ebro river from the impressive Miravet castle.

Day 6 Canyoning under instruction in the streams and falls of the Ports de Beceite Nature Park .

Day 7 An introduction to rock climbing under instruction in the nearby Nature Park.

Day 8 Transfer to Reus airport.

More Information

When to go: All year round
Transfer Options: Reus Airport
What's included.: Half board in twin, double or adjoining rooms all with en suite facilities. All bike hire iincluded. Kayaking, canyoning and rock climbing under qualified supervision.
Quick Info: Purpose built rural family hotel with pool, gym and sauna.
Centre Based: Yes

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Mad English in Sierra de las Nieves

Not many hardy souls make it out in these sorts of conditions, especially when they are supposed to be on holiday. Neil and Claire aren't your average walkers, keen on stretching their legs in out of season conditions whilst holidaying in Andalucia, Spain.

"I'll take you on one of my special walks close to the village of El Burgo" I told them. Little did I realise just how special the day was going to be. After a short drive, we hiked up through the mist till we hit the tree line. Another half an hour of walking brought us to a saddle where the path hopped from one side of the mountain to the other. "We'll be a bit exposed for a short way" I commented. Within a minute our windward side was all but frozen by a bitter horizontal driving rain. Before we could regain the shelter of the trees and the leeward side of Sierra Prieta, both Neil and Claire were forced to stop and don waterproof trousers and swab their lenses.

Climbing through the pines, the mist was thick, but on the odd occasion it cleared briefly, pierced by the surrounding pinnacles, and the views dropped steeply down the valley to our right. All too soon the rain turned to sleet and then to snow. By the time we gained the pass to Yunquera and cleared the forests I knew it was time to call it a day. The summit of Sierra Cabrilla, a further 200m ascent with no path and steep drops would have been a foolhardy undertaking to say the least. A good friend and fellow guide, once told me how some clients complained about not getting to a summit. "Well at least you'll be alive to talk about it when you get home" was his considered reply!

There were no such complaints on this day when I announced taht we would go no further. So I whipped out the camera and this was the result..what a day!