2025 September: Refugio el Pajar to Loarre Castle

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At Refugio el Pajar, another hot day, we shower, breakfast and service Hymer. We say Goodbye to Frank (our German neighbour) and his two dogs… his wife inside, and Vanessa comes out to say goodbye. We tell her how much we have enjoyed our stay and she seems genuinely pleased. As we leave a French car pulling a caravan comes in through the gates, we say our goodbyes taking HU-330 from Castilsabás to Embalse de Vadiello. We park under the trees, the temperature already 30°C and walk to the Vadiello hydro-dam built across the mighty Ebro River.

Passing the towering Mallos de Lazas we use our binoculars to watch the Griffin vultures perched high on the rock pillars rising 100 feet or more above the Embalse. Effortlessly they seem to step off the vertical edge into nothingness, immediately their body-weight is lifted, huge wings outspread (span of up to 2.8m) they starts to spiral upwards catching a thermal and circling up and upwards, sometimes 20 or 30 of them drifting in lazy circles. Then, equally effortlessly they glide down stepping back onto those high rocky eyries.

Back at Hymer we have lunch, then continue on HU-330 to Lopozano. From here N-240 to Qincena and through Huesca, a large town with considerable building since we were last here with evidence of new walk-up apartment blocks and many immigrants. From Huesca HU-3141 to Bolea, then A-1206 to Loarre where the landscape is dry, yellow dirt suggesting there has been no rain for many weeks. The landscape alternates between areas of dry yellow scrub and fields of carefully cultivated rows of rich green vines. Here we turn uphill before Loarre village onto a very steep road with hair-pin bend switchbacks, back and forth we weave our way uphill for about 5km to a stunning castle perched (literally) on the edge of a rocky premonitory. We turn onto the carpark and find a place under the trees, it is now 3.30pm. Walking down to Reception we buy tickets for Castillo Loarre (€3.50 each/concession) — we are always surprised by the low prices to visit Spanish antiquities; in the UK you would pay more to park your car. Another steep climb takes us to the outer curtain wall of the Castillo with many look-out towers and some remaining battlements that join them.

We enter the castle through an insignificant arched gate in the outer curtain wall, another steep climb to the entrance proper, a Romanesque arch typical of the period late 10th to 12th century, with chequer-board stonework borders. The access to the castle is between tall plain columns with ornate carved capitals depicting biblical scenes from both old and new testaments: Abraham with knife raised to sacrifice his son Isaac (before God intervenes Gen 22:9-12). Then a walk up a steep stone stairway that gives access to the two levels of the castle itself. On the first level the guard room and crypt, from here into the church (of St Peter), notable again is the chequer-board stonework and columns with richly carved stone capitals. We note also the windows: not stained glass but black and white onyx giving a wonderful diffused opalescent light. The second level gives access to the castle itself with courtyard, residences and tower with dungeons. The tower gives a magnificent view from the roof over the plain around Loarre also (surprisingly) the Romanesque architecture of the church.

There is no plan of the castle, so we wander from room to room and area to area using our exiting knowledge of castle architecture and purposes.

Back at the carpark it is 6.00pm and decide not to stay here for the night as surface is built on a significant slope and we can’t find a place that is level enough. We drive the 3km down the hill to Loarre Castle Camping, it is a bit of a dump (seen better days), is €18/night, mostly level with large grass pitches so we find a pitch and stay. Reception staff not very welcoming, it’s coming to the end of the season so if we are being kind we might say that Mr Medallion Man is worn out by visitors. Some of the pitches here at Loarre Castle Camping are level, but most, like the one we are on have a significant slope. In fact my phone tells me the pitch has a slope of 7°, that’s more than can be corrected by levelling wedges, so even after putting the wedges in place we are careful while walking about in the Hymer. The toilets and showers at Loarre Castle Camping are ‘well used’ and in need of refurbishment.

We open a bottle of Fidencio red wine from the La mancha region that we purchased at Mercadona, and drink it with hummus and crusty bread. Later we cook beefburgers and tomato, eating it inside as the evening darkens to night.