Two Rivers or Not two Rivers? That's the question An AWW Re-run 20th May 2026

Or could it be deja vu all over again?  It doesn't seem that long since we were at the cafe in the rain, pondering the merits of walking and avoiding river crossings.

So we had the question and the answer was, well yes and no. There were two rivers but this time we got to cross one river twice and Rafa got to paddle in the other. Also it was a little different to January’s walk as it was much warmer.

As I hadn't told the whole truth at the beginning of the walk (the ascent was actually 525 metres) I was quite relieved when the vote was to take the easier, shorter up. A much better idea really.

Don't all good walks start from bus shelters!

Left to right: Julie, Kieran, Steve, Karen, Jan, Rafa, Fiona and Martin Tony behind the camera.

And what do Burnley girls use for protection during sex? Yes, a bus shelter!! Although the offical version of that joke is girls from Wigan

As on the previous Bengado valley walk, it was all going so well for the first 3 minutes then Tony, who had been with me when we recced the route, led the front walkers astray. I managed to get everyone back on track.

Not so different to January’s walk as with with all good or terrible walks it started with negotiating or navigating down the overgrown single footpath. Very overgrown as I hadn’t had time to get the bush trimmed . The very brave and adventurous group, when they were offered a choice of wide, easy track or more of the same, chose to continue on the overgrown path and cross the puddle which had been a raging torrent in January. Off along the Bengado valley. It wasn’t the uphill out of the valley that had been recced originally but still it was up. Onward and upward.

Uppy and downy but probably more uppy.

Then.... Just what you expect on a walk in the hills, an office chair and a teenager/old ager sitting to take a selfie. Take a letter Mr Spicer. "Dear Sirs, This walk is ……. " (feel free to add your own comments). As on the January walk we missed the boundary stone marker between Sao Bras de Alportel and Santa Catarina Fonte de Bispo, but nobody complained about walking over two municipalities.

We went down to the river to pray. No, come on, not us. We went to paddle in the cool water. A bit of a change from January.

A pleasant spot for lunch.

But after lunch... Everyone knows that if you're at the valley bottom, you're going to be climbing back up.

Yes we did walk over two municipalities and it felt like it!!!

Tony is formulating his garden plans for Chelsea next year so there are lots of photos of flowers. They do look lovely though.

Shade and a welcome drink before the last short climb up my .......... shady but overgrown path.

Back at the cafe for that well deserved drink.

The all important stats:

Distance: 14.42 kms

Climb: 483 m

Moving time: 3 h 27 mins

Total time: 4 h 28 mins