Campervan Therapy

It’s what I love about campervanning: even the most prosaic task can become an unexpected adventure. So, when Fran the Van needs some minor medical operations and we have to take her back home to Brownhills, the dealer in Newark-on-Trent, we’re going to be on the road north. That’s when our friends, Mary and Martin,…

The Mouro being a tributary of the Minho, we think Lamas de Mouro qualifies for our tracing the Minho odyssey. But a wrong turn at a tricky roundabout on the N202 from Paderne sends us up a vertiginous road to Cousso, a mountain hamlet and a dead end, nothing in front of us but the…

We’re sad to say goodbye to Covas, so the night before we leave we treat ourselves to a local bust-a-gut meal at Flôr Fontela, 500 metres from Parque Campismo de Covas. The area is rightly known for the quality of its chargrilled steak, along with mountain cheese, succulent olives and the freshest salad. We both…

We drive 21 kilometres along the sinuous N301, from Covas to Caminha, a small seaside border town between northern Portugal and Spain. Finally crossing out of the defensive ring of mountains which surround Covas, we’re assaulted by busier roads than we’ve seen for a week. The bustle of Caminha is also a shock as we’ve…

We follow the signs from Covas Village, cross the ancient bridge and follow the walking signs along the road that runs above the Couro’s dramatic gorge. There’s times I can’t make out the river snaking so far below. A sudden cooling on a bend in the sun-drenched road and a tributary tumbles down into the…

So, we follow the red and yellow signed circular trail around Covas. We walk under huge ancient oak trees, cork oak and Portuguese laurel. Willows and poplars line the Coura River. Eventually we cross the bridge and take the forestry track across the hillside to the old dam’s ruins. The sandstone track weaves through shrubs…