Paseo Itsaslur Greenway The Itsaslur Greenway, which clings to the cliffs of the westernmost coast of Bizkaia, is a spectacular trail. The old route of the Kobaron to Campomar mining railway has become an elevated seafront promenade and an educational, open air itinerary. The Greenway offers sweeping views of the Cantabrian shoreline and passes sites of industrial archaeological remains which hark back to the mining activity of bygone centuries. A number of information panels tell us about the fauna and the flora, the ancestral tradition of seaweed gathering and, of course, the old iron ore workings. TECHNICAL DATA CONDITIONED GREENWAY On the trail of a mining train clinging to the cliffs LOCATION Between the car park of the village of Pobeña (Muskiz) and the car park of La Juncosa, in the vicinity of the village of Kobaron (Muskiz) BIZKAIA Length: 2,2 Km. The route can be prolonged another 1 km along the route of the old railway to the village of Kobaron and a further 3 km along the Piquillo Greenway to the old Piquillo loading facility at the village of Ontón (Castro Urdiales. Cantabria) Users: * * for cyclists, skaters, people with push chairs or in wheel chairs, and persons of limited mobility, access is from the village of Kobaron only, since access from Pobeña is via a steep flight of steps. Type of surface: Concrete Natural settings: Marismas de Areño and Pobeña, Barbadún estuary, dunes and sandbanks of La Arena beach, pasturelands and hedges of Campomar, cliffs and marine and coastal ecosystems Cultural heritage: Mining archaeology (Punta del Castillo Viejo loading facility, La Orconera washing plants at Campomar and Mac Lennan washing plants at La Juncosa, calcining kilns, inclined planes, mining districts…). Seaweed gathering and La Socorro chapel. Coastal Way of St James Infraestructure: Greenway. Car parks at Pobeña and Juncosa, recreational areas at Pobeña and La Juncosa, rest area, benches, picnic tables, water fountains, signposts and information panels. The entire trail is fenced for safety How to get there: Railway. San Juan (Muskiz). Renfe. Suburban line. Line C-2. A cycle lane runs alongside the river Barbadún, from the village of San Juan to La Arena beach Coach. Pobeña (Muskiz). Bizkaibus. Line A3321 (Portugalete-Playa de La Arena-Muskiz) Connections: Bilbao: 23 km from Pobeña. 25 km from Kobaron Maps to use: National Geographic Institute Map: scale 1:25.000. Sheet 37-III Ministry of Development Official Road Map Further information in the Greenways Guide, volume III DESCRIPTION Km. 0 / Km. 1 / Km. 2,2 Km 0 The blue sea stretching to a broad horizon, the green pastures that carpet the mountainous landscape, and the ochres of the rocky cliffs make this route – despite its shortness – one of the most recommendable in all Vizcaya. A fascinating blend of nature and a mining past, iron and saltpetre. The Itsaslur Greenway (which if we use the Spanish name of the area rather than the Basque one would be the Campomar Greenway), developed by Muskiz town council runs tight against the western coastline of the town of Muskiz in Vizcaya, between the villages of Pobeña and Kobaron. As the railway was built right on the edge of the cliffs, the normal place to access this Greenway is at either end of it. There are therefore two starting points: the one we consider in this guide, is at the Pobeña car park. This option is not recommended for persons of limited mobility, people with push chairs, skaters or even cyclists: the level of the railway is some 40 m higher than the car park and the only access is via a steep flight of steps. Also Pobeña has another drawback for people who do not use the efficient bus service. Whenever it’s sunny the car park becomes jam packed with the cars of bathers heading for the beach at La Arena. The advantage of starting at Pobeña is that users can prolong their journey along the Piquillo Greenway to the old Piquillo loading facility in the Cantabrian village of Ontón (Castro Urdiales). The two Greenways and the path joining them combine to make 5.2 km of an easy and spectacular cliff-top walk. The other place to start out on the Itsaslur Greenway is in the vicinity of Kobaron. At the opposite or western end of the route there is the La Juncosa car park, which can be reached by a track which sets off from the village of Kobaron. The main street of this village becomes a broad track which, after leaving the last houses behind, splits into two. The right hand fork goes to the La Juncosa car park and the Itsaslur Greenway (signposted) while the left fork goes to the Piquillo Greenway. Pobeña is a small coastal village forming part of the town of Muskiz, located on the banks of the mouth of the river Barbadún, at the westernmost end of the broad beach of La Arena. A number of bars and restaurants add their charm to this secluded little village, and you can do very much worse than to sample the delights of Basque gastronomy at their tables. But also, whenever there is the slightest hint of sun, the streets and village square are carpeted with a multitude of terraces where you can raise your spirits and feast your palate. Opposite Pobeña there is a car park and a large green recreational area with a kiddies’ playground. The ample tarmacked car park serves users of the beach at La Arena. The green area of salt marshes and grassy countryside is bordered by a circular promenade running alongside the Harana tributary and skirting the river Barbadún and the Areño and Pobeña salt marshes which boast a great variety of plant life and where it is possible to see egrets, herons and cormorants. From this promenade you can see, stretching across the Barbadún estuary, some large lumps of rock and cement which are the remains of the supporting pillars of the aerial tramway which used to run from La Orconera (La Arboleda) to the slagheap which used to exist near the mouth of the river. On the far side of the water there is now a large open space which until recently had been home to a number of large fuel tanks. Further up the valley the horizon is dominated by Petronor or Petroleos del Norte, the largest refinery in Spain. The huge storage tanks, the miles upon miles of pipes which snake like arteries, and the smokestacks illuminating the night sky with their flares are an eerie, impressive sight. Modernity comes with a price. The pretty salt marshes of the Barbadún river have suffered a major industrial impact, but in recent years there has been a firm commitment to recovering them. And not for nothing: on the cliff lined Basque coast, the mouth of the Barbadún river is of singular importance and of great ecological value, so important that it is included in the Catalogue of Spaces and Enclaves of Natural Interest within the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. The Pobeña car park is also the starting point of the Itsaslur Greenway, which is well signposted by a tiled panel bearing the words “Paseo Itsaslur” and yellow arrows pointing to the Coastal Way of St James. The narrow concreted trail sets out between buildings on the left hand side and takes us to the foot of a flight of 120 steps built on the remains of a former inclined plane. The steps climb the slope until they surmount the cliffs that delimit the western end of La Arena beach. We make the climb beneath a leafy canopy, a cool and damp tunnel of vegetation, which provides a beautiful contrast to the open countryside of the rest of the journey. However, the long and steep steps are an obstacle for persons of reduced mobility and cyclists not strong enough to carry their cycles. The only help is the existence of a sort of gully at the side to make pushing your bike easier. Once this slope has been overcome, we reach the flat Greenway proper, where a few steps long its route reward us for our previous effort. After passing through a shady, curved cutting, the Itsaslur Greenway embarks on a section which is sculpted into the cliff wall of El Bordal, from where there is a vertical drop to the sea. This privileged viewing balcony affords us magnificent aerial views over the La Arena beach. The cove of Muskiz appears to be enclosed between two magnificent rocky margins upon which the sea unleashes all its virulence. At the one end is the cliff upon which our Greenway clings; at the other is the Punta Lucero, a massive outcrop of bare rock which rises sharply to a height of 300 metres above the sea. From where we are we can see its best preserved side. Behind it has suffered from the ravages of modernity. The breakwater of the port of Bilbao projects into the sea from its northern end. Brimming with sea views and breezes, we reach a fork in the trail (km 0.8). At this point we can either go round the mineral ore loading facility of the former mining company Mac Lennan to the right, or follow the main route to the left. Km 1 The concreted path goes round the rusty complex of disused bunkers and canals built into the Campomar hillside which leads to the loading facility sited at the Punta del Castillo. The old Campomar loading facility used to boast a fabulous cantilevered metal arm which extended over the sea so as to tip the ore directly into the ships’ holds.