Ermita de San Bartolomé – Camino del Cid

Sunday 02 October 2022

Distance: 15.6 km Time: 4:50 Ascent: 270m Descent: 250m – Wikiloc

I saw “The Templar hermitage at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula” on BBC in 2020 (here) and I wanted to go there.

Being equidistant from the eastern and western edges of the Iberian Peninsula, the Knights Templar considered this place to be the centre of the world. How did they know that almost 1,000 years ago?

It’s close to Burgo de Osma so we took a day off from the Camino del Cid and went by taxi up to the Rio Lobos Canyon Natural Park, 16 kilometers from El Burgo de Osma. From here we walked to the Chapel 4.8 k over the hill on a small path La Senda de las Gullurías, returning via the Senda del Rio Ucero footpath which follows the stream.

There was no accommodation available in Ucero so we stayed a couple of kilometers further away in a good hotel in the very small village of Valdelinares with a population of 6 – but there were more than that staying in the hotel!

At base of isolated cliffs, the 12th century Templar Chapel of San Bartolomé

Simple Romanesque/Gothic transition style with slightly pointed arches

Drawings inside the Great Neolithic Cave behind the Chapel show it was occupied in the Bronze Age

The Chapel framed by the walls of the Cave

Rock formation knows as “Beehive of the Monks” above the Ucero River

Ucero Castle guards the Canyon, built in the 13th and 14th centuries and traditionally associated with the Templars

Beehives in hollow logs – honey is a local product

We had a good lunch at *El Balcón del Cañón* restaurant while watching the Ucero River flow beneath the medieval bridge

We were walking back along the *Senda del Rio Ucero* footpath when we came to a steel gate …

… opened the gate and into the tunnel we went
It was part of the Roman aqueduct that brought water from the Canyon 18 kilometers to El Burgo de Osma. 133 meters long and tall enough to stand in, the peculiar shape is due to widening the foot of the tunnel to get more water through

Monday 03 October 2022

Distance: 14.8 km Time: 3:30 Ascent: 10m Descent: 10m – Wikiloc

Valdelinares (pop 6: 3 men and 3 women) is the only village in this area that we’ve seen built on top of a hill, at an altitude of almost 1,000 meters. The traditional architecture is respected to provide protection from the cold winds.

After spending the night in Valdelinares we returned to El Burgo de Osma on the waymarked Senda del Rio Ucero/GR86 path that follows the River.

Traditional house – the high part for the people, the low part for their animals

Autumn just beginning on the Senda del Rio Ucero

We walked through Sotos del Burgo (pop 92) on the way back.