Thursday 28 September 2023

Serpa

A Tiny Alentejo City with Several Layers

So Where are We, and Why are We There?


Portugal
Serpa
As has been our habit for some years, we headed north for a couple of days in the less touristy Alentejo as a prelude to our regular fortnight in the fleshpots of the Algarve.

This year our chosen destination was the small city of Serpa, the population centre of a municipality of the same name which lies between the Spanish border and the regional capital of Beja (visited 2018). Many readers may never have heard of Serpa, but Serpa cheese is one of only a dozen or so Portuguese cheeses with Protected Designation of Origen status, and for a committed turophile, that is reason enough to visit.

Southern Portugal
Serpa can be found half way between the regional capital of Beja and the Spanish Border

As ever, we landed at Faro Airport and once through the formalities and equipped with a hire car we joined the A22 Motorway (Autoestrada/Freeway etc) heading east. After 50km, just before the Spanish border, we turned towards Serpa, 80km north as the crow flies. We followed the main road for much of the journey, but eventually that veers off towards Beja and we took a more rural route to our destination.

Serpa: The Basics

The Municipality of Serpa covers 1,000km² but has a population of only 13,000 at the 2021 census, an 18% decrease in 20 years. The City of Serpa has 6,000 inhabitants, maybe more a small town than a city, you might think, but city status was granted in 2003. Many modestly sized Portuguese towns have become cities in recent decades, the criteria for the upgrade are deliberately vague and allow plenty of wiggle room. The intention is to boost the local economy and self-confidence, though city status means little more than a change of letter head.

The area is largely agricultural, and although Portuguese farms were slow to mechanise in the middle of the last century, they have been busy catching up, with the inevitable decline in agricultural employment. On the plus side Serpa is two hours’ drive from Lisbon and is a popular location for well-off urbanites' second homes.

During our time in Serpa we found it was a city of layers, like an onion, so instead of going through our stay in chronological order, I intend to peel Serpa, removing the newer layers one by one until we find evidence of Roman occupation.

Peeling the Serpa Onion: (1) Surroundings

My clever analogy almost falls apart at the start. No-one peels an onion by first examining the soil around it, but cities and onions are products of the soil, so it important to look around.

Like most old settlements Serpa is on a high point, which was useful for photographing the surroundings. Serpa sits towards the eastern edge of the vast Alentejo plain, the bread basket of Portugal throughout recorded history. The land is beginning to change here, but wheat grows to the north and west, and like every other Alentejo town, Serpa has its grain silos.

Serpa grain silo, with Beja on the horizon on left

On the next major rise it is possible to make out the white buildings of Beja, some 25km northwest.

Looking south and west the crops being to change, with the muted green of olive trees and the brighter green of oranges replacing the cereals.

Olives, oranges and distant vines, serpa

On the gentle slopes beyond are the vineyards of the Encostas de Serpa, not (yet) a protected name, the wine is designated Vinho Regional Alentejano, but the use of the name suggest ambition.

Encostas de Serpa Syrah
A soft, fruity wine for convivial swilling

(2) The Onion Skin and First Layer

The skin of the onion is made up of the N260 which by-passes Serpa on the east and north side and the Circular Interna da Serpa which, despite being named ‘Interna,’ largely follows the edge of the built up area to the south and west.

Lining the Circular Interna are schools, the stadium of Serpa Football Club, two supermarkets (Intermarché and Lidl), an open-air 50m swimming pool and a couple of factories. On the N260 there is a car wash.

The first layer is fatter and juicier on the southern/western side. It includes a modern municipal market. We reached Serpa too late for the market on our first day, but took the opportunity to rehydrate at the café.

Rehydrating at the municipal market, Serpa

Serpa Cheese

One room is dedicated to a display about Serpa cheese. There is little see, but plenty to read, so here is the essential information:

Serpa cheese information room, municipal market

Like most Alentejo cheeses, Serpa is made from unpasteurised sheep’s milk, curdled using an extract from the cardoon thistle. It is a semi soft cheese (amanteigado (lit: buttery) in Portuguese) with a pronounced tang. For more see TheAlentejo: Eating and Drinking 2023.

Queijo de Serpa

Jardim Abade Correia de Serra

A short walk away is the Jardim Abade Correia de Serra, a pleasant garden opened in 2017 with winding paths, shady trees, a pond or two….

Jardim Abade Correia de Serra, Serpa

…and a surprise cactus grove.

Cactus, Jardim Abade Correia de Serra, Serpa

It is a good place to sit in the shade, switch on ‘Merlin*’ and find out what birds it hears. Many are familiar, but it in Serpa I logged my first Green Sandpiper (they can be found, in the UK, but not by me – yet), Short-toed Treecreeper and Spotless Starling.

(3) Outside the Walls

The ancient olive trees opposite the garden’s entrance hint that we are on the edge of an older layer of town. Amongst the olives is a statue of José Francisco Correia de Serra for whom the garden is named. Born in Serpa in 1750, he was a scientist, diplomat and polymath. He made important contributions both to botany and geology, played a crucial role in the creation of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and served as a diplomat in the United States, 1816-20.

José Francisco Correia da Serra

Some parts of this layer are characterised by small squares with roads branching off at all angles. We stayed at the charming Hotel Beatriz in one such square, Largo San Salvador. Small and family run (I think) the interior was bright, modern, spotlessly clean and comfortable. I have borrowed a photo from their website as I failed to take one myself….

Hotel Beatriz, Serpa

…but I do have a nighttime photo of the church across the square.

San Salvador

Finding the hotel was a problem, partly because the satnav misplaced it slightly (corrected now), but more because the road arrangements are not satnav friendly. ‘In 50m turn half-right’ sounds straightforward but when you get there and survey the collection of roads and tiny passages, you wonder ‘which is half-right? We failed twice, the road system spitting us out onto the Circular Interna.

Elsewhere in this layer we encountered long, straight roads like the Rua dos Lagares (Street of Wine Presses), where orange trees shaded the pavement…

Rua dos Lagares

…and dogs watching from balconies.

Dog on a balcony, Rua dos Lagares

While roads off to the right seemed to narrow once they had passed through an arch. We were clearly walking along the boundary of a, walled city.

Street into the walled city from Rua dos Lagares

The Aqueduct

The wall turn turns right at the end of Rua dos Lagares, and behind one of Serpa’s fine old olive trees, suddenly turns into an aqueduct.

Lynne, an olive tree and the Serpa aqueduct

Above a spring on the street corner, a pump once lifted water up to aqueduct height…

The pump, Serpa aqueduct

…and fed it across a series of arches and past two towers….

Through two towers

….and into the Palácio dos Condes de Ficalho (Palace of the Counts of Ficalho).

Serpa Aqueduct enters the palace

Sources agree the wall is 11th century, some say the aqueduct is, too – but that seems unlikely. The authoritative looking Structurae dates the construction to 1690 which looks right.

Most aqueducts, the Evora aqueduct being the closest, bring water from a distant source into a city for the benefit of all. This expensive and ostentation stonework built by the Melho family, later Counts of Ficalhio, brings water 200m from a spring to their own house. I would like to think it was, at least a ‘workfare’ project, but I can find no information on the matter.

(4) Within the Walls

Inside the walls is an unreliable grid of narrow streets, many pedestrians only.

Serpa: inside the walls

Most wandering will arrive at the central square, home to the Camara Municipal and the Restaurant O Alentejano where we dined twice – once on purpose and once because nowhere else was open.

Serpa Camara Municipal

Our third evening meal (at Molhó Bico) was nearby so many of my photos were taken in the dark. Our Serpa dinners are discussed in The Alentejo: Eating and Drinking.

There are places where wandering narrow alleys late at night is asking for trouble. Serpa, its streets bathed in sodium yellow light, seems almost misty, but utterly benign.

Elderly local lady on a mission, Serpa

Mario Beirão

On a (daylight) wall we found a poem by Beja-born Mario Beirão.

Poem on a wall, Serpa

My improvement(?) of Google Translate's version reads:

Oh, I do not know how to pronounce the wonder
That bewitches Serpa at night when round
Her walls the past and a choir in waves
Foam and crash at the gates of Seville

Perhaps some punctuation would help in line 3, and the reference to the gates of Seville is beyond me. I lack context and knowledge of Portuguese colloquialisms. Help, anyone?

Beirão (1890-1965) was a neo-Romantic poet. Although highly regarded by some, he was a supporter of the tyrant António de Oliveira Salazar whose Estado Novo held back Portuguese development from 1932-74.

Museu de Relógio

Two small blocks from the Camara Municipal is the Museu de Relógio, the Museum of Timepieces (Relógio means both clock and watch.)

António Tavares d'Almeida (1933-2021) collected clocks and watches throughout his life. Part of his collection is in the Museum of Time in Évora, but most of it is in Serpa where 3,000 exhibits fill ten rooms of a 16th century nunnery.

There are inexpensive watches….

Inexpensive watches, Serpa Museum

….and more expensive watches.

Seikos can cost £2,000+

I know little about expensive watches, I cannot imagine why someone should pay £30,000 for a wristwatch, which is seen by few, recognised by even fewer and needs to be insured. I wear a cheap Casio, which keeps perfect time for a couple of years (what more do I want a watch to do?), then the strap breaks and I buy another. I aspire to nothing more - except repairable straps.

There are long case clocks and cuckoo clocks,…

Long Case clocks and cuckoo clocks, Serpa

…wall clocks, mantlepiece clocks and more.

Wall clocks and mantlepiece clocks, Serpa

Being in a room full of clocks when they all strike the hour, starting at different times and chiming with different notes and tempos, is a delight – though not one I would enjoy 24 times a day.

Approaching the Castle

Most of the area within the walls lies below the surrounding city, but just north of the central square a set of stone steps takes you to higher ground. Near the bottom of the steps we paused for coffee at a tiny café - two tables outside, two more inside. Here a café con leite - a traditional Portuguese coffee close(ish) to a cappuccino, though less frothy, rather stronger and much smaller than the travesty of the Italian original sold in swimming pool sized cups throughout the UK and North America - costs 0.70€ (that is £0.60, or $0.80). The touristy Algarve is rather more expensive.

Coffee break Digression over, we continue up the steps past the clocktower…

The Clocktower

…to a small square dominated by the Parish Church of Santa Maria.

Santa Maria, Serpa

Down the side of the church a narrow lane gives access to the innermost layer of the onion….

To Serpa Castle

(5) The Castle

As the previous photo shows, a portion of the keep has fallen over the entrance.

Fallen keep, Serpa Castle

There was a Roman fort on this site, but most existing walls were constructed by the Moors. Serpa is 20km from the Spanish border, so it is hardly surprising the castle was once garrisoned by Castilian forces and the city’s first Foral (charter) was granted by the King Alfonso X of Castille in 1281.

Despite the Christian kingdoms being in alliance against the Moors, they were not above taking a swipe at each other. By the time the Reconquista was completed in Portugal, Serpa was in Portuguese hands and a new Foral was issued by King Diniz of Portugal in 1295.

The castle was strengthened and enlarged, but saw little military action for the next 400 years. It remained largely unchanged, tall stone walls with a keep and tower or two, surrounding a square courtyard.

Serpa Castle from the top of the remaining tower

In 1701 Charles II of Spain died without an heir. There were two claimants and the European powers lined up behind one or the other and went to war. Portugal tried to remain neutral, but geography was against them. In 1703 they were persuaded to join with the Grand Alliance of the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain and the Durch Republic. The Alentejo became something of a battleground and an engagement in 1707 resulted in the semi-demolition of Serpa’s keep. It has not been repaired, the time of castles had passed and it was quite safe as it was.

There is little to see but you can climb he tower and walk most of the way round the walls.

Walking round the walls

Several views beyond the city were used in Part (1), but there are also good views of the aqueduct….

The aqueduct

…and the church and clocktower.

Clocktower and Parish Church

At the start I promised to peel Serpa starting with the modern town and ending with evidence of Roman occupation. And that is what we have reached.

Decorative Roman frieze, Serpa Castle

On display in the castle courtyard are seeral pieces of stonework and a decorative frieze from a Roman villa in the nearby village of Brinches.

And Finally…

…we arrive at the end of this post. Serpa is a tiny city, it is also a quiet city – it has little to attract a party animal or adrenalin junkie; but for people who take pleasure in the understated grandeur of rural Portugal, Serpa is a gem. And a fine cheese, to boot.

*The Merlin ap is produced by Cornell University and is a free download. Download a bird database for where you are - in this case the Iberian Peninsula - and the ap will record and identify the birds you hear. You can report your findings, and the ap keeps a 'life list' of the birds you have heard,

Tuesday 5 September 2023

Pontcysyllte and Chirk: Dee Valley Part 1

A Thomas Telford Aqueduct and a Much Changed Medieval Castle

Where are we Going, and Why are we Going There?


Wales
Wrexham
I am unsure if Lynne has entirely lost her Welsh accent, she certainly sounded Welsh when we first met, but 1974 was a long time ago. In those days I sounded noticeably London (or, more precisely, Slough), but that has faded after five decades in the English Midlands.

Despite long absence, our roots are in Wales. At 15, Lynne left Cardiff for Solihull when her father relocated from Cardiff to his employer's Birmingham Office. I left Porthcawl for Southampton before my third birthday when my father went to work at Fawley Oil Refinery. He moved to head office in London in 1955, settling the family in Iver in Buckinghamshire, which accounted for my London twang - which survived an expensive education.

The reason for this pre-amble is that tomorrow is Lynne’s birthday, and to celebrate we are heading (not for the first time) for a short break in the Principality. It was not a long trek, our first stop, at Trevor, is only 35 miles from home, as the crow flies, about 70 minutes as the car drives - the roads are not fast, and the route is not straight.

The County Borough of Wrexham and its position in Wales
Map by Nilfanian (with additions) includes ordinance survey data (crown copyright) reproduced under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Trevor

Trevor is a compact village of some 1,440 people within the County Borough of Wrexham but separated by green fields (for the moment, at least) from the urban sprawl south of the city - Wrexham was awarded city status in September 2022.

Sitting on the edge of the Dee Valley, some way above the river, Trevor has strategic importance. Offa’s Dyke, the 82-mile-long earthwork built by King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-786) to keep out the marauding Welsh runs past Trevor, as does the Llangollen Canal built just over a thousand years later to link together those whom Offa was so keen to keep apart.

Trevor canal basin

Originally just a branch of the Shropshire Union canal, the Llangollen Canal runs from Nantwich in Cheshire to just west of Llangollen. As the commercial value of the Shropshire Union waned, the touristic vale of the Llangollen Canal waxed. 11 miles of the canal, from Chirk to Llangollen form a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the main reason for that starts (or finishes) at Trevor.

Pontcysyllte

Building the short northbound section between Chirk and Trevor involved crossing two rivers. The Ceiriog just outside Chirk required a small aqueduct, while the much deeper Dee Valley required more thought. Various work-arounds were considered, but in the end Chief Engineer William Jessop decided to grasp the nettle and attempt one long, tall aqueduct. He asked Thomas Telford, the greatest road and canal engineer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries to make it happen.

The foundation stone of what was to become the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was laid in 1795 and by 1805, using only the strength and power of men and horses, it was finished. By walking to the end of the Trevor canal basin anyone could survey one of the greatest engineering feats of the age. Indeed, anyone still can, so we did.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

They put the canal in a cast iron trough, 1007 feet long, 11 ft 10 ins wide and 3 ft 3 ins deep. And that (307m x 3.6m x 1.0m in proper units) was just big enough for the standard narrowboats that plied the canals 200+ years ago, and still do today.

A narrow boat completes the crossing, Pontcysyllte

Behind the narrowboat, like ducklings following their mother, was a flotilla of kayaks.

Followed by a flotilla of kayaks.

19th century, narrowboats did not move themselves, they and their one or two barges had to be pulled by a horse, so a towpath was required for Dobbin to plod along. Obviously, traffic across Pontcysyllte was one way at a time, so only one tow path was required – and it now provides a walk way for tourists.

Lynne sets out along the towpath

The aqueduct has 18 piers, and at river level they are 126 feet (38 metres) high - not including the ironwork. The view from a boat is more dramatic, there being no railings and your feet may possibly be above what little parapet there is. From the safety of the towpath, however, the Dee is a delightful river, winding its way through verdant woodland…

The River Dee winding through verdant woodland

…but like all such rivers it has short stretches of turbulence.

Turbulence on the River Dee

Horses never had to pass each other on the towpath, but humans do, which can be a careful process for those whom age has rendered less confident of their balance – and on a working day, after schools have re-started, such people may be in the majority.

There are no passing places on the towpath

As we discovered 11 years ago in Myanmar, once you have reached the end of U Bein's magnificent teak bridge, there is nothing to do but turn round and come back. And so it was here

Once you have reached far end, there is nothing to do but turn round and come back

The Llangollen Canal, Failure and Success

Despite Telford’s genius, the Llangollen branch was not a success. The plan was to continue north to industrial Wrexham where a new reservoir would keep it topped up, but that never happened. Canals were creatures of the industrial revolution, they could move fuel, raw materials or finished products in bulk cheaper, faster and safer than horses and carts, but they cost money to build, and sometimes the money ran out. The canals modern success with tourists would have bemused the industrialists of Ruabon and Brymbo who profited little from their investment, but perhaps Thomas Telford should be pleased his work is still appreciated.

At Trevor the canal turns west following the line of the Dee to Llangollen. Although no longer navigable, it continues westwards until meeting the river at the Horseshoe Falls, which keep it topped up. We would visit the falls on Thursday, but this is the appropriate place for the photograph. The falls are well signed, but it is unclear why, the word ‘underwhelming’ hardly does them justice.

The Horseshoe Falls at Niagara are a little bigger

All surviving canals are leisure facilities, but they still attract interesting feats of engineering. As an imaginative – and perhaps over-elaborate - solution to an old problem, The Falkirk Wheel – see the Falkirk post – takes some beating.

Pronouncing Pontcysyllte

The word looks forbidding and is not easy on a tongue tuned only to English. English readers will (or should) spot the problems immediately, Americans, (this blog’s largest group of visitors) might, not unreasonably, feel bewildered. Syllables one and three are stressed and the pronunciation is roughly PONT–kih-SILL-ter. Simple, except the double LL, is a ‘voiceless lateral fricative.’ And if that means as little to you as it does to me, go to Google Translate, write We arrived at Pontcysyllte, translate into Welsh and listen.

Pontcysyllte to Chirk

On the short journey to Chirk (pronounced: Chirk) we crossed the bridge over the Dee shown in one of aqueduct photos, and enjoyed the view from the valley bottom.

Pontcysyllte from the River Dee bridge

Chirk (Y Waun in Welsh) is a border town of some 4,500 people 3 miles south of Trevor. It was a colliery town, until the last pit closed in 1949.

Chirk Castle

We did not visit Chirk, but went straight to Chirk Castle a mile to the west.

Chirk Castle History

Lovely vistas abound around Chirk and its castle. Unfortunately, after walking up from the main car park, the visitor’s first proper views of the castle involves a lot of bins.

Chirk Castle waste disposal area

Fortunately, better views are not hard to find.

Chirk Castle

Fyvie Castle, started 1211
Is Chirk a medieval castle transformed into a country house, like Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire, or a country house like Castle Drogo in Devon, made to resemble a castle on a whim of a rich man? As most English castles were slighted after the Civil War ended (1651), it could well be the latter, but the location tells another story. The castle is half a mile from the English/Welsh border a fault line that much occupied King Edward I. The first Chirk Castle castle was built in 1295 on Edward’s instructions and became the administrative centre for the Marcher Lordship of Chirkland.
Castle Drogo, started 1910
Whether there was ever a keep or a curtain wall, I do not know, but it does not seem to have seen action.

Border problems became history and in 1593, the castle was bought by Sir Thomas Myddelton, a wealthy self-made merchant who wished to turn the castle into a family home. To that end, he inserted the first mullioned and transomed windows, thus acknowledging the castle was no longer a military stronghold.

His son, another Thomas supported Parliament in the Civil War, but became a Royalist in 1659 in plenty of time for the Restoration of the Monarchy, when he was allowed to repair the Civil War damage.

The castle remained in the Myddelton family until ownership was transferred to the National Trust in 1981.

Inside Chirk Castle

Inside the walls is a large courtyard, partly occupied in part by the café. The rooms of the castle surround the courtyard and the visit starts in the Cromwell Room. They are proud of their collection of Civil War muskets….

The Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

… but there are also leather bottles…

Leather bottle, Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

…and hats which have more peaceful uses.

Hats, Cromwell Room, Chirk Castle

We ascended the stairs….

The stairs, Chirk Castle

… and mounted at the top is what appears to be a hollow log.

Part of London's first clean water supply

The plaque underneath informed us that this is a relic of London’s first clean water supply. Between 1609 and 1613 the New River Company built a 61km pipeline to London from springs in Hertfordshire and this section of piping was unearthed at Clerkenwell in 1895. The project engineer had been Sir Hugh Myddelton.

Next door is a drawing room which looks supremely elegant. Unfortunately, it does not look supremely comfortable, nor supremely warm in the winter, nor particularly light when the sun sets…

Elegant drawing room, Chirk Castle

…but that was 18th century life for the rich – it was much worse for the poor, and they could never gaze up at a ceiling like this.

Sumptuous ceiling, Chirk Castle

We went through to the long gallery. Every house had to have a long gallery in the 17th and 18th centuries, and this one is as long as most.

Long Gallery, Chirk Castle

It is also full of treasures, none finer than the King’s Box, a gift from Charles II after the Restoration. It is made of ebony with inlays of tortoiseshell and ivory.

The King's Box, Chirk Castle long gallery

In 1631, Sir Thomas Myddelton handed the castle over to his son. Back downstairs we saw the room described at the time as Sir Thomas Myddelton, his owne room.

It looks Spartan to the 21st century eye, but it was well furnished at the time and included Sir Thomas’ ‘Great Bedstead.’ With its curtaines valance and curtaine Rods, featherbed, bolster, I pillowe, 1 Blankett. one Tapestrie covering. It was valued at 3 pounds, 10 shillings, maybe £1,000 now.

Thomas Myddelton, his owne room

Next door, the stucco in the Magistrates Court is the only surviving pre-Civil War decoration. It was never a courtroom, but derives its name from the plaster figure over the fireplace, presumed to be a personification of Justice.

Pre-Civil War representation of Justice (maybe), Magistrates Court

Outside the Castle

Outside there is a formal garden, which has changed since 1920, but is still recognisable…

Formal Garden, Chirk Castle, photographed 1920

…and beyond drifts of flowers and views into the green Welsh hinterland.

Informal garden, Chirk Castle

Leaving Chirk we headed for Llangollen.

Llangollen


Denbighshire
Llangollen is a town of almost 4,000, 3½ miles up the Dee from Pontcysyllte. It is the main feature of the next post, so here I will only observe that it has two of those testing double ells. Best bet for the uninitiated is to pronounce ‘ll’ as if it were ‘thl’ (this does not work for Pontcysyllte because it lacks a vowel after the ‘ll’). An evenly stressed Thlan-goth-len is an acceptable approximation to Llangollen.

We checked into our hotel and then walked beside the Dee, a popular place on a September evening pretending to be still summer.

The Dee at Llangollen

Dining in Llangollen

We intended to eat at the Corn Mill as it had been recommended by a neighbour for its food and its open-air riverside dining space. Perhaps predictably, it was fully booked. A nearby alternative had a sign on the bar saying ‘Cash Only.’ Amazed that such a place should exist in 2023, we set out to find an ATM or another restaurant, whichever came first. For a moment I feared a re-run of last year’s Newtown debacle, but Llangollen, though smaller, receives many more visitors and has many more restaurants.

Fauzi’s Café Bar and Pizzeria was a brightly lit café just across Castle Street. Lynne chose scampi and chips, because sometimes she feels nostalgia for the 1970s. Her only regret was that it had not been served in a basket.

Scampi, Fauzi's, Llangollen

I had smoked haddock and prawn risotto, the poached fish sitting on a poached egg atop a well-made risotto with a rich seafood flavour. I liked it a lot.

Haddock and Prawn Risotto, Fauzi's, Llangollen

We drank an inexpensive but robust Italian white and felt pleased with our choices, and our day

Lynne's Birthday Jaunts


2019: Forest of Dean

2021: Liverpool

2022: Newtown

2023: Dee Valley

Part 1: Pontcysyllte and Chirk
Part 2: Llangollen (coming soon)

2024: Caernafon

Caernafon and Seguntium (coming soon)