Or in my case a caminar en el campo. Within seconds of my front door is a track that skirts around my village through the olive groves. I walk this a route often, enjoying the tranquillity, wild flowers, rabbits, hares, birds and an occasional butterfly. I didn't see a single soul in the groves. I like that.

Chicória (Chicory)

The last of the poppies

I am in the heart of Andalucia’s olive growing region and no matter in which direction you turn you can see nothing but a green sea of olive groves.  If you don’t like olives then you’ll probably not enjoy this walk very much but I love it.  

Reserved for hunting

Caperones

The route takes a bit less than one hour which includes a visit to Frutas Mati for some fresh vegetables on the way back. Later I am going to cook something with the fresh and vibrant red and yellow peppers that winked at me in Fransisco’s shop.

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My son and my future daughter-in-law visited me in December 2012 as part of his 30th birthday celebrations in Spain. They were only with me for a few days but we crammed a lot in. And when we weren't walking then we were eating and drinking. Feliz 30 cumpleaños, Chris. Laguna Salobral viewed from the Via Verde OK, so this was at the coast. It was cold and a long way from the Via Verde

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The Vía Verde de Jaén is the old railway line which used to transport olive oil from Jaén to the coast, originally built between 1882 and 1893 which closed in 1985. It is close to where I live. The path is now asphalted or covered in packed grit covering 55km between Jaén and the Guadajoz river, a natural border between the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba where it joins the Vía Verde of the Subbética. 

The route starts in Jaén and passes by the towns of Torredelcampo – Torredonjimeno – Martos and Alcaudete.

One day in November 2012 I joined friends, Steve and Steffi with my neighbour’s son Ruben to search for the Roman Bridge on the via verde. We set off from Alcaudete old train station heading north towards Martos. It was good for us three English people to have Ruben as our guide as he spoke a little English and could explain the names of the trees and plants to us.

The weather was great, the views were spectacular and we found the bridge after several kms. And after the walk there was time for a couple of beers and tapas.

And Eddi Fiegel, of The Guardian wrote: Joggers in wraparound shades chugged past the bricked-up, graffiti-covered, 19th-century Martos station, and on the start of the path we encountered a few posses of cyclists and the odd dog-walker – but these were the last signs of human life  we'd see for the next five hours. 

And that's exactly how it is but on this day we walked in the opposite direction. 

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I enjoy walking.  Madeira Levadas, The Langdale Pikes, Cairngorms, La Vía verde del Aceite de Jaén or meandering through the local countryside.

Whilst living in Cumbria I’ve walked across Morecambe Bay many times with the Queen’s Guide to the Sands, Cedric Robinson, MBE raising money for charity. It is quite an experience and the route takes in 11 miles or so missing the infamous quick sands and of course it is done when the tide is out although you still have to ford a river or two.

One year my little sister and my nephew joined me in the knowledge that walking across the bay would mean that we’d miss the World Cup final. Not to worry as we raised lots of money for Everyman charity – stamp out male cancer.

Lil' Sis

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men with almost 41,000 new cases diagnosed each year, while testicular cancer remains the most common cancer in men aged 15-44. 

My 7ft nephew

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