We have a past, Portugal and I, and even though Northern Portugal is not very well known and has only fairly recently been discovered by walkers, it’s a place I first visited nearly 20 years ago. Hidden away in the golden hills and lush green valleys of the Peneda Geres national park are delightful villages where rural communities continue a lifestye that is centuries old. There is a wonderful sense of remoteness although, in reality, you are never more than a couple of kilometres away from a village or hamlet and you may walk for hours without seeing anyone else, spotting the occasional espiguero, strange little grain stores that look like tiny chapels and the gorgeous oxen, with their soulful brown eyes.

This walk starts in Soajo, a small village refurbished for the turn of the Millennium, and heads to Lindoso, with its well-preserved castle lording over the village, and then on to Brufe, via the wild Serra Amerela. It then heads to Campo Geres and then on to Emaus, along the old Roman Road with ancient mileposts along the way. The walk ends in Santa Maria do Bouro with its magnificent old monastery, now converted to a stylish hotel.

I last went in the autumn, and still remember the assault on the senses - the heavily perfumed smell of the grapes hanging on the vine and the most glorious of autumn colours.

The treat for those visiting in the spring is the taste of the zestiest of oranges straight off the tree. Salt-cod is a speciality, best searved with the freshest Vinho Verde.

Written by  Simon Scutt.

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