Walking on the Costa Blanca. Terry Fletcher

On the other side turn right into a paved recreation area and drop down to the riverbed and walk to the far end, following yellow and white paint flashes which soon lead upwards into a narrow residential street. Follow this to a T-junction with a wider road. Cross straight over and go down the Carrer Penon to drop down a flight of steps to re-enter the river gorge on a developed walkway following the PR-CV 412 to Font de la Mata and Cumbre de la Serrillas. Follow this paved ‘promenade’ to a flight of steps leading up to a parking area overlooking the gorge. Take the road running above crags and behind houses.

      The path now leaves the PR-CV and instead follows red and white flashes as it continues above the barranc. After a couple of minutes along the track, just after it has turned left downhill, look for a path cutting back on the right still marked with red and white paint heading downhill. Take this to cross the riverbed again and climb the opposite bank and at a crossroads of paths go straight ahead. After another 15mins the path reaches a fork. Carry on up the right hand branch marked by a symbol which looks like two letter ‘C’s back to back in red paint.

      The path comes to a crossroads by a tumbledown casita. Turn right, following the red and white marks, along the broad stone-surfaced track. It passes between houses to reach a tarmac road. Turn right down this and follow it as the surface deteriorates to reach a PR-CV signpost on a junction. It is worth making the short signed detour to Font de la Mata. The font sits on a shelf below a small crag. It has a deep well and a small array of heavy carved stone drinking bowls once used for watering pack animals.

      At the junction turn left (or right if you visited Font de la Mata) to the Cim Serrillas and after about 5mins up the track there is a right hand bend where a path breaks off to the right marked with a pair of painted crosses. Ignore this and go round the bend to where a broad track climbs away to the right. Go up this. It weaves through terraces and passes a renovated casita, beyond which it becomes a narrow path climbing the slope to the ridge. The path then climbs leftwards up the ridge to the sharply conical summit of the Tossal del Moro.

      Towards the summit of the Tossal del Moro

      On the top are the remains of a watchtower and a large cairn. The view takes in the Penyo Roig, Cavall Verd, Carrascal de Parcent, the Bernia, Olta and the great isolated tooth of the Penon de Ifach above Calp. Below is the rather less welcome intrusion of the Alicante–Valencia motorway. Turning your back on the road it is easy to pick out the next objective, the Serrillas, with a clear path leading down to a col and up the opposite slope.

      The path drops down through pine trees to reach a ruined casita in the col before reaching a signpost to the Cim dels Serrellars. If time is pressing it is possible to make a direct return to Gata, 4km away, by carrying on down the valley following the signs.

      The path climbs over a subsidiary summit to the main top, which is crowned by a trig column mounted on a large plinth with extensive views. From the column do not continue along the ridge but instead head off downhill on the clear path with yellow and white markings. The path curls down and then back to rejoin the descending ridge. Then, guided by a line of substantial cairns and passing a ruined casita, after a kilometre it comes to a three way junction, here turn left signed to Gata. From here the way is clear, following paint flashes and eventually the buildings of Gata de Gorgos below. On the way it passes a suspiciously large cairn, which on further investigation turns out to be the housing of a well.

      As the path reaches a patch of tarmac at a three-way junction carry on straight ahead, still following the yellow and white marks. When, at the bottom of the hill, it reaches a railway line turn left and then pass under a railway bridge to the N332. Go left to the car.

WALK 7

      Castell de Granadella

Start/finish	Cumbre del Sol, near Benitatxell
Distance	8km
Grade	Easy/Moderate
Time	3 to 4hrs
Terrain	Broad tracks for the most part but a rough section along the clifftops plus a narrow coastal path protected by chains
Height gain	350m
Access	Leave the N332 on the CV 740 for Teulada and follow signs for Benitatxell. Go through the town and at a set of traffic lights on its northern edge take the right hand fork signed to Cumbre del Sol. Go up the hill, past a mirador and into the complex, following signs for Hipica.
Parking	Roadside by the Hipica stables.

      First time visitors to the Costa Blanca can be surprised, even appalled, by the scale of development along the coast and even, more recently, by the way that builders have pushed inland so that it is not unusual to find large estates of villas and apartments almost dwarfing their host villages or even sitting on sites separate from other communities. The flip side of this apparently random development is that you can sometimes use the roads of these urbanizations to access interesting walking and within a few minutes be in open country. One such is Cumbre del Sol, the starting point for this walk to 200m-high cliffs, an old fort and a beautiful small cove. The development borders an area set aside by the authorities in Xabia as a reserve. It is the lowest walk in the book and makes a useful option to rescue a day when the inland hills are shrouded in cloud.

      Walk into the entrance of the Parc Forestal de Granadella along a broad track. Even though a backward glance shows villas climbing the hillside, the view ahead of woods and a deep barranc is entirely natural. Stay on the broad track as it clings to the rim of the barranc, following yellow and white markers and ignoring all tracks to the right. After the track swings rightwards pass through a chained entrance. At the next junction is a three way sign; take the right hand option marked PR-CV 354 Cala Granadella por Castell.

      When the road briefly becomes concreted carry on, passing a large water cistern, and on along the now unmade track to a signpost. Go right still signed to Cala Granadella and Castell on the PR-CV 354. Tall cliffs now stretch away rightwards and the path arrives at the Mirador de Llevant. It is a bit early for a prolonged stop but this viewpoint deserves a few minutes to admire the rock architecture.

      After the mirador the wide track becomes a narrow path heading downhill making for a rocky promontory just ahead. The path, still liberally marked with yellow and white flashes, clambers over miniature rock steps and squirms between sea holly and dwarf palms to the headland. From there it is possible to see down into the bay as the path drops towards sea level. Go down following marker posts until at the bottom of the slope the path reaches the ruins of Castell de Granadella.

      Castell ruins and cove

      This horseshoe-shaped redoubt was part of a chain of defences built in the 18th century to protect the area against North African pirates and was intended to deny them a safe landing spot in the cove. It had a cannon and small garrison but they certainly meant business with walls 3 metres thick. It was, however, destroyed in an attack by the British during the Napoleonic Wars.