A circular evening walk – 2 hours

Take the road out of França across the Sabor River towards Portelo and turn first right at the Casa de Povo. Continue along the road with the Rio Sabor on your right.

This is a lovely section of the walk. The Rio Sabor is beautiful at all times of the year – in full spate or just the gentle flow of summer. You may see Grey Wagtails (Alvéola-cinzenta) on the banks. There’s also a Dipper (Melro-d’-agua) that we see occasionally, not easy to see, but its territory includes this stretch. You will pass a small disused water mill, and beyond that, in early summer the yellow flag iris will be in flower.

The hípico’s six or seven horses graze in the paddocks until evening, when they are stabled up.

There’s a turning on the left opposite the hípico, this is the return point of the circular walk. For now, keep to the tarmac road and head up the hill for about half a kilometre and take the first gravel track to the left.

This track winds through lovely holm oak, with abandoned fields to the left and the hillside climbing away to the right. Another half kilometre further on there is a turn to the left. As you follow along this track you will get a sight of Bragança way off to the left, across some wonderfully wooded valleys. Behind you the hills rise up to the ridge.

It is worth watching the ridge for raptors – you will possibly see Common Buzzard (Águia-d’asa-redonda) Booted Eagle (Águia-calçada) , or the occasional Griffon Vulture (Grifo-comum). In the autumn of 2019 we used to regularly see a gathering of 10 to 20 Ravens (Corvo) playing along the ridge in the evening. With their superb mastery of the air, pairs would tumble and lift. It was shear joy for them and us – beautiful to watch.

The path is now winding gently downwards, and this is a good spot to hear Nightingale (Rouxinol-comun), and with any luck you may eventually spot one. There are usually several calling males along here in the heather, lavender, cistus, and broom that lines this open section of the walk.

You will now see the village of França tucked into the folds of the valley, and ahead of you and to the right the hills rise steeply. The village of Montesinho is out of sight behind the hills, with the wind turbines marking the position of the Spanish border.

At the junction turn left and down towards the hípico. If you want to extend the walk a little, turn right and walk up for about a kilometre. The track eventually peters out in a chestnut plantation, but it is a lovely walk there and back.

From that junction continue back down to the hípico. The water meadows to the right are a good place for fungi in the autumn. You will almost certainly hear or catch sight of the small flock of sheep that are housed at night nearby.