Snow is possibly the last thing you expect to find when you visit Portugal, renowned for it’s 3,000 odd hours of sunshine a year and soaring summer temperatures.

However that’s exactly what we found when we ventured high into the Serra da Estrela mountains in central Portugal. Admittedly it was half way through February and as we were en-route to the country’s only ski resort at Torre, snow wasn’t that unexpected.

In fact our trip to the Serra da Estrela (Star Mountains), in our reliable old motor home, was with the express purpose of checking out the ski resort and trying out two snowboards we’d acquired.

Our journey to the base of the mountains at Covilha wasn’t long, arduous or in fact in snow. It was only when we navigated through the town, which appears to cling to the side of the mountains in places, did we spy our first fall of snow.

The road narrowed significantly and the twists and turns tested Mr H the driver to his limits. Visibility dropped the higher we climbed; a combination of cloud and a snow storm blowing in from the east.

We’d arranged to meet our travelling companions half way up the, what was becoming tortuous route, to Torre from where we would travel to the top together to try out the boards.

However by the time we made it to our friends’ location – a conveniently placed lay-by, large enough for two motor homes – afternoon had turned to evening, snow was falling rapidly and there was a wild easterly wind. So on the advice of the friendly and helpful snowplough driver, returning home downhill, we decided to stop the night.

The road he said was inaccessible, but would be in the morning at around eight o’clock. All night we pondered his prophetic abilities until that is, 7.30am, when he not only honked his horn loudly, but also knocked on our motor home doors.

If we wanted to beat the traffic to the top then we’d best follow quickly. You see the mountain road from Covilha to Torre, which even in the best of weather can be described as dangerous, closes over night in winter to reduce the number of accidents.

The road isn’t illuminated and is quite narrow in most places. Craggy rocks jut out on one side of the road and steep, seemingly bottomless drops are on the other.

By morning the snowstorm had blown itself out and the sun poked through fluffy white clouds providing us navigators with spectacular glimpses of rocky slopes swathed in snow, which are the Serra da Estrela in winter.

The ski centre looked magnificent as we crested the peak; puffs of snow billowing off the yet unskied/snowboarded runs in the early morning breeze and there was not a person in sight.

We parked up the motorised homes and set out to purchase passes, but found everything closed and would be until 9am. So we parked up the vans, spent a little time photographing the snow, the view and anything, which moved.

When we turned round there were cars everywhere, disgorging old, young, middle aged, all dressed for the weather and ready to ski – salopettes, gloves, hats, goggles and suitable jackets.

The Ski Parque at Torre, which is Portugal’s highest location at 1,993 feet, isn’t the largest of resorts in the world. There are only nine runs – one black diamond for advanced skiers, four red runs for intermediates, two blue for novice skiers and two green runs for absolute beginners.

There are four ski lifts for ferrying you from bottom to top and it’s a great place to go if you’re new to skiing or snowboarding. Mr H and I are no strangers to skiing. He’s skied in Europe and I’ve been lucky to do so on several continents.

I like to think I can slalom like the late Sarah Burke, but having sustained a broken wrist and thumb on my last outing and as we’d never attempted snowboarding before, we decided the sledging run was a safer option – for us and other serious skiers and snowboarders.

You see aside from the snowboards we hadn’t really come equipped for this snow related sport. None of us had the first clue on how to snowboard and weren’t really dressed for the sport or the weather - flimsy fleeces, jeans and inappropriate footwear.

Snowboarding is, I found out very quickly, completely different to skiing. Instead of being able to control where you go and how fast with each individual leg, now they had to be in sync, something I found impossible to master, even on the relatively none existent incline of the sledging run.

Having both of your feet tied to a board when you’re used to controlling movement by individual legs, is very difficult, especially when you have your own personal support team on hand to comment and laugh when you land face first in the snow.

For several hours we surfed (more over fell in all different forms while snow board was attached to feet) down the slopes, eating more snow than is probably healthy, though dusting ourselves down after each sporadic spurt.

However when the sun began to sink behind the snow covered peak we headed indoors to the conveniently located bar adjacent to the tower, which provides the location with it’s name après-ski, Portuguese style.

We opted to try the local, alcoholic aperitif, Ginjinha de Serra da Estrela. It’s mighty fine drink, created by fermenting locally grown cherries in equally locally distilled firewater (Aguardente). Shot glasses were filled on more than one occasion, as we had no need to drive and we settled back to enjoy the spectacular view of the sun setting and skiers departing for the day.

I can wholeheartedly recommend visiting the Serra da Estrela as a place to go, especially during the short ski season it experiences. If not to marvel at the magnificent views, try out some of the trails through the rocky granite peaks but for the warmth of the welcome you receive from the locals.

And if you’re in Portugal i Roxy Snowgirls 2012 n the next few days (9^th, 10th, 11^th March 2012) it’s a good idea to head to Torre to see some real snowboarding experts in action when the Roxy Snowgirls Snowboarding Championship slides into town.

The event showcases some of the best snowboarding, female talent around and it’s an opportunity to learn to snowboard with people who know what they’re doing.

For more information on the Roxy SnowGirls visit: http://www.purofeeling.com

I like castles there is no doubt about it. From fairytale chateaux to austere fortifications; ones with drawbridges, dungeons, gatehouses, keeps and moats; built in stone, brick and even sand, I’m not fussy.

I am, if you like, a bit of a castle fan.

It is perhaps because I was born and bred in a castle – Barnard Castle, an 11^th century Norman fortification sited on a promontory overlooking the River Tees in the North East of England.

Admittedly I was born in the town bearing the same name and not the castle itself thought I did spend an inordinate amount of my childhood scaling the battlements; exploring dungeons and helping my sister look after our pony, Bob whose paddock and stables were inside the grounds of the castle. In fact I spent so much time in the castle, now a Grade 1 listed building, it was almost a home from drafty home.

Before moving to Portugal my partner and I visited a huge number of castles and chateaux across Europe and Northern Africa in our two-year, time out, motor homing tour.

In France, due to my poor navigation, we had to manoeuvre a very wide motor home through a not very wide medieval castle gateway and later fell in love with the stunning chateau at Samur.

In the Czech Republic we tried to visit as many as we could, but only managed 30 of their reported 2,000. In Poland we went on a Teutonic Knight pilgrimage and ended up at Marlbork, an amazing and enormous brick construction, the largest of its kind in the world.

We will, we’ve been told, be allowed back if we don’t detach ourselves from the organised group and explore areas of the castle not officially open to the public such as the staff tea room as we did last time.

So as a castle fan you can imagine my glee upon moving to Portugal to find there were lots of Castelos to discover and explore. In fact only a few kilometres from our then home there were more castles than I could count on both hands.

Portugal has an amazing number of castles up and down the country, more than I could hope to mention here. So I’ve listed my favourite castles in Portugal and they are not only worthy of a visit, they are a must if you’re in the central and Northern regions of the country.

Castelo do Almourol – this fairytale structure, based on Roman foundations, but rebuilt by the Knights Templar in the 12^th century, is strategically situated on an island in the River Tagus (Rio Tejo) only a short drive from the equally historic town of Tomar in central Portugal.

Accessible only by a small, but colourful ‘taxi’ boat, this castle makes for an interesting day out. Watch out for the Templar inscription above the entrance arch, I think it’s in Latin, but not quite sure.

The castle, made a national monument in 1910, has not been officially resided in for some time. However I found out to my detriment it is still fiercely defended by a swarm of wasps on the second floor of the keep.

Castelo Templário – constructed by the Knights Templar in the 12^th century this stunning masterpiece is a tour de force of the stonemasons’ art situated in Tomar, central Portugal. The Castelo Templário was the warrior monks’ European headquarters for many year and is in fact the only castle the Knights Templar completely constructed in Portugal, so a must see for anyone interested in Templar history and architecture.

Castelo Templario, Tomar, Portugal The castle complex consists of a number of buildings, including the UNESCO listed Convento do Cristo, the round church believed to have been modelled on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

The castle has continually evolved over the centuries to create a visual timeline of architectural styles and a delight for anyone with an interest in photography.

My advice if you visit is to do so on a Sunday when admittance is free and remember to take your camera battery. I’ve been to the Castelo many times with my partner who loves photography, but has a mind like a sieve.

On each and every occasion we visited the Castelo he has managed to leave the battery to his, large, all singing, all dancing camera at home and ends up using my not so singing and not so dancing compact, then delights in telling me how bad mine is!

Óbidos Castle – a superb example of a walled fortress, just inland from the Silver Coast (Costa da Prata), around an hour north of the capital, Lisbon. The medieval fortress surrounds a particularly quaint town with rather a lot of tourist, though tasteful, outlets inside its walls.

The Castelo de Óbidos was built on the remains of a much earlier Roman fortification. And in fact the name Óbidos it is believed derives from the Latin oppidum for fortified city.

You can, if your nerve and head for heights allows, scale the castellated battlements. However, if like me you have developed a fear of heights it’s best to stay where you don’t need a guardrail to continue to walk.

I and the countless other visitors now know it’s not easy to pass someone who refuses to move from the two foot stone platform they’ve wedged themselves into, secured by nothing more than fingernails for over an hour as they are fearful they’ll fall onto pointy rock formations below as there is no handrail.

(As I a child had had no fear of heights or of falling, but as an adult I do. It is perhaps too many bones broken, dislocation of joints, sprains and other such things in climbing related incidents, which have made me so fearful.

However it does curtail a jaunt around battlements these days as my fear only clicks in once I am mid climb up a set of unprotected stairs. Though I do provide my partner with some excellent ‘retreating’ shots as I scurry (sorry way too quick of an adjective, slowly flump), step by step with as much surface area of buttocks on stone.)

Although visiting the Castelo de Óbidos is fun at all times of the year if you truly want to get a feel of what life would be like in the 12^th century, mark July /August in your diary as this is when the town hosts its’ annual Mediaeval Fair (19th July – 12th August 2012).

Heraldic flags are hoisted and costumes are donned for a two-week long spectacular where knights joust, jester juggle, minstrels serenade and merchants will attempt to sell you any number of mediaeval souvenirs. Pigs are roasted on the spit and rustic taverns serve wine from tankards not glasses.

It’s an amazing event and enjoyable for young and old. And if you don some 12^th century attire there is every chance you’ll get in for free. (for more information on the Mercado Medieval visit www.cm-obidos.pt)

Guimarães Castle – is in Northern Portugal and possibly the most Portuguese of all Portuguese castles. Constructed in massive grey granite blocks, atop equally large grey granite boulders the castle domineers the small city’s skyline and the nation’s birth.

It was at Guimarães Castle the Portugal, we all know and love, was born, though the austere looking fortress was around over a century and a half before this date.

Built it is said, by Dona Mumadona Dias, to defend Christians from Moorish and Norman attacks. However the original castle was torn down and a new one erected by the Count of Portugal and when in 1147 on the creation of the Kingdom of Portugal it became the official residence of the royal family.

Guimarães Castle is a definite must see if you want to get a feel for where Portugal was born and given Guimarães is the European Capital of Culture for 2012, taking a trip there this year will ensure there will be plenty of other things to keep you entertained.

However, again if you are fearful of heights and the pain inflicted in a fall off one, don’t scramble up the granite steps to the walkway, which can be ever so slightly slippy when damp. I only managed five steps before I scuttled back down on my bum but the view was magnificent even at this lowly height.

Tag Archives: central Portugal

S is for snowboarding in Portugal

Snow is possibly the last thing you expect to find when you visit Portugal, renowned for it’s 3,000 odd hours of sunshine a year and soaring summer temperatures.

C is for Castles in Portugal