Home > Holidays > Horse riding > Catalan Coast & Hills > Travel diary

A Week’s Riding in Catalonia

By Johanna Armitage

My trail ride last November from Can Jou in the Catalan hills down to the Gulf of Leon was my first riding holiday with Inntravel. Can Jou is one of our most popular riding centres, and customer feedback is always extremely positive, so I was really keen to experience one of the rides for myself.

At Barcelona airport, I made my way to the arrivals hall and, sure enough, a driver was there as promised waiting for me and the rest of the mixed nationality group, which I soon learned included two vets, an IT expert, the manager of a group of holiday cottages, and a lady from the British Racing School (needless to say, she was an excellent horsewoman). We were dropped off at St Jaume de Llierca, where Mick Peters, who owns Can Jou, collected us for the final and somewhat hair-raising leg along the bumpy dirt track that leads to the farmhouse. We arrived in time for a late (by English standards, at any rate) dinner around a long dining table warmed by a crackling log fire.

Fortunately we didn’t have too early a start the next morning – breakfast was at nine (at least in having dinner late the Spanish have breakfast late, too). There was even time to explore the farm and admire the wonderful views (warning: do not take your camera out of your bag at Can Jou as there is a friendly but very big dog who likes nothing better than to chew cameras, including mine!) before Mick talked us through the route and the general routine for the week. We then strolled over to the stables to be paired up with our mounts for the week. Mick chose a 9-year-old mare for me. Like the other horses, she was a fit, forward-going and very agile Andalucian.

Having been shown how to tack up correctly, we set off through the wild, Mediterranean ‘jungle’ that surrounds Can Jou. Even though it was November, the temperature was in the mid twenties (later in the week it even reached 30°C). It didn’t take me long to discover that my mount, as one of the older horses, liked to be at the front whenever possible, and that despite being of a generally kind nature, she had a mild dislike of some of the other horses, which she would butt out of the way if they dared to push in front!

We stopped for lunch a couple of hours later at a panoramic spot at the top of a mountain with views over the medieval village of Santa Pau on the other side. After a leisurely picnic, we rode down towards Santa Pau, emerging from the woodland into a flat, fertile valley where the white beans for which Santa Pau is famous are grown. Having taken the tack off our mounts and brushed them down (something that, as well as tacking up, riders are expected to do every day), we went to our hotel, Can Mención, which overlooks the ancient village square and enjoyed a pleasant pre-dinner drink on the terrace while discussing how pleasantly tired yet satisfied we all felt.

Knowing our mounts reasonably well by now, we were able to lift the pace a lot more on the next day’s ride, as we continued along the valley past beech woods and farms. We enjoyed several canters in the morning, eagerly encouraging our horses to go faster each time the cry of “Totter!” was heard from the front of the group. Mick being rather unconventional, he led the way into the ancient town of Besalú by fording the river rather than crossing the fortified bridge. After lunch in the town centre, we had an hour or so afterwards without our horses to explore the medieval square and the narrow alleyways. From Besalú, we rode on to Can Felicia, a pleasant farmhouse with an outdoor pool and another huge dog, this time a Great Dane. We ate dinner round a large table with our charming hosts – delicious pasta followed by crème catalan (custard with a caramelised top dusted with cinnamon).

The following day we started out across flat plains (cue: frequent cries of “Totter!”) before heading back into the mountains. We saw an eagle circling overhead as we rode along the forest track, and also caught frequent glimpses of the mighty Pyrenees. Our destination was La Central, an isolated hotel in a tranquil spot by a small river, where the only noise was the honking of the geese on the water. The restaurant specialises in fish dishes. On our first night, some of the group opted for sea bass, while others, including myself, enjoyed a wonderful trout dish. After our circular ride through more Mediterranean landscapes the next day, we were treated to a starter of salmon smoked on the premises. Cava was consumed in rather large quantities on both nights, ensuring that the hotel stuck in our minds as our favourite hotel along the route!

Leaving La Central, we rode through meadows, farmland and olive groves, admiring the sweeping views of the coast from the hill-tops. We also passed several strangely-shaped rocks – these are landscapes that inspired Dalí. Together with day two, this was my favourite ride of the trail because of the varied scenery and the fast pace. We stayed at Can Canet in the centre of Castellón de Empurias, an interesting walled town with narrow, winding streets and a moat on one side. The hotel is much larger than the others on the trail, but is comfortable, with an outdoor pool and lounges with period furniture on each floor. It has a good restaurant whose specialities include fish soup and grilled trout.

On our last day, we climbed high into the hills before finally descending to the coast, where we enjoyed a thrilling gallop along the beach before our picnic on the cliff-top. Afterwards, we stripped off and swam in the sea with our mounts. Yolanda, a Dutch lady who had kept us entertained all week with her acrobatics, had trouble controlling hers. Being quite a playful animal, it was determined to get her as wet as possible, even trying to roll with her at one point! After drying off, we said goodbye to the horses and were taken by minibus to nearby Cadaqués, an atmospheric fishing village, once home to both Dalí and Picasso. After a couple of hours to explore the village and buy souvenirs from the many craft shops, we celebrated the end of the ride with an enormous and very delicious paella, accompanied by lots more cava, needless to say!

Since Johanna holidayed in Catalonia, the route (now named the Wine Coast Trail) has changed slightly, though the trail remains a great introduction to the different landscapes of Catalonia and two of its natural parks. A wine-tasting session is now included, and over the course of the week you will sample many of the region's wines.

< To the top of this page