Río Oja Greenway A modest narrow gauge railway used to run in a straight line southwards from the banks of the Ebro river through the northern part of the province of La Rioja. Now, in its place, a Greenway runs from Casalarreina to Ezcaray. At Santo Domingo de La Calzada the railway is intercepted by another, similarly straight route, this time from east to west: the Camino de Santiago. Both routes cross the plains of La Rioja at the foot of the Sierra de la Demanda mountain range. WARNING! Canalization of water pipes throughout the Greenway. More information: Tel 941 29 11 00 ext. 4701 TECHNICAL DATA CONDITIONED GREENWAY On the banks of Oja River, a route from the Ebro to the Demanda ountains with Jacobean echoes. LOCATION Between Casalarreina and Ezcaray LA RIOJA Length: 28 km Users: Type of surface: Greenway with mixed surface: asphalt and compacted soil Natural landscape: Forest riverbank in the margins of Oja. Stains of deciduous forest from Ojacastro until Ezcaray. Sierra de la Demanda. Peña San Torcuato Cultural Heritage: Monumental sets of Casalarreina and Santo Domingo. Church of Bañares. Old city of Ezcaray and its parish church Infrastructure: Greenway. 3 bridges How to get there: Haro: medium and long distance RENFE services (*) Please ask the conditions of bike admittance in Renfe trains Ezcaray: Buses Connections: Logroño: 46 Kms. to Haro. Vitoria: 46 Kms. to Haro. Maps: Military map of Spain. 1:50.000 scale 169, 170, 202 and 240sheets Official road map of the Ministry of Public Works Ministerio de Fomento More information on the Greenways guide Volume 1 Attention! There is a section under construction between Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Casalareina. for more information Tel.941 29 11 00 ext. 4701 DESCRIPTION Km. 0 / Km. 4,5 / Km. 11 / Km. 19 / Km. 24 / Km. 28 Informative signposting, some new purpose-built bridges, and a good quality surface will help everyone enjoy this journey along Oja Valley to the Sierra de la Demanda. Km 0 The route begins at the railway station at Casalarreina, Km 0 of our Greenway. To find the station we need to go to the crossroads formed by the N232 (as it passes through the town) and the Zarrat ón road (the LR-311). The Greenway uses this latter road for some 300 metres until rejoining the railway line outside the town at a level crossing. Here we turn right onto a seemingly endless straight. Km 4,5 After a section where poplar trees line the route on either side, at Km 4.5 we reach Castañares station. From here we continue in a dead straight line between crop fields but without the benefit of any trees to give us a little shade. Half way along this straight section, at Km 6, the route crosses the Najerilla canal before approaching the outskirts of Bañares, at Km 6.5. Some 300 metres previously we will have encountered two intersections, one with the Bañares road and another, of greater historical importance, with an old Roman road that used to be part of the original Camino de Santiago before it was diverted southwards in the 12th century to pass through Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Km 11 Soon after passing a level crossing with the Bañares to Santo Domingo road, at Km 13 we reach the main Santo Domingo de la Calzada bypass (the N 120) which we cross by means of an underpass. If we wish to pay a visit to the splendid historical city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada we can take a right turn (next to the old La Feculera potato starch factory) down a tree lined rural track which will eventually take us to the Plaza Mayor de Santo Domingo. Returning to our Greenway, next to the bullring the old railway line has been absorbed by the road network of a new industrial estate. Our route, however, is well signposted and will take us to another intersection with the Zarratón road. Km 19 At Km 18.5 we cross the Arroyo de Santurdejo by a bridge rebuilt specifically for the Rio Oja Greenway after the original railway bridge was swept away one historic day when the normally dry watercourse turned into a torrent. Just the other side of the bridge is what remains of the Santurde-Santurdejo station, which is halfway between the two villages that give it its name (Km 19). Up to now the route has been mainly dead straight, but after Santurdejo we begin a twisting climb up to Monte Bellifera. Deciduous woods carpet the neighbouring hillsides as we rise above the course of the River Oja. At Km 21 we pass through the village of San Asensio de los Cantos where a new bridge has been built over the Arroyo de San Asensio. Km 24 We continue to climb easily towards Ojacastro and its railway station, now used as retreat by a community of nuns. From here there is a magnificent view of the River Oja, the woods along its banks, the Sierra de la Demanda mountains and, most especially, the Peña de San Torcuato, a rocky spur which dominates the final stage of the old Ezcaray railway. Km 28 The railway leaves the station over a bridge and sets off towards the Peña de San Torcuato. The trail twists and turns as it climbs up the mountainside, sometimes plunging into cuttings and other times rising up on embankments. It is without question the most scenic part of the entire Greenway. At Km 28 we arrive at Ezcaray station, now restored as a restaurant with a terrace which the weary traveller can enter from the same street that leads to the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Allende, patron saint of the town. Ezcaray is a major tourist centre, very close to the Sierra de la Demanda, featuring impeccable casas blasonadas (houses with stone heraldic devices on their facades) and a spectacular Gothic-style church. If this 28 km route has left you wanting more, you can extend it a little by adding on the GR 93 hiking trail which goes from Ezcaray to the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. MAPS PROFILE RAILWAY HISTORY Not very much is really known about this line since, as it always belonged to a private company, practically all records of its operations disappeared along with the railway itself. The earliest projects involving the area date back to 1890 and talk about a railway between Haro and Pradoluengo. Later plans considered possible branch lines to Burgos from Belorado and in 1891 there were plans to build a branch line from Casalarreina to Ezcaray. Finally, after a great deal of talk but not much action, the only railway eventually built in La Rioja Alta (apart from the Ebro Valley broad gauge railway) was the one that concerns us here, the Haro-Ezcaray line. The first train ran on the line on July 9, 1916. But like so many rural narrow gauge railways it was destined to be a very modest enterprise and it never employed more than 85 people. In 1956, at one of the high spots of the railway’s short life, the line carried 34,000 tons of goods and 210,000 passengers. Soon those figures were to fall dramatically as more and more people left the countryside and the private car increasingly made its presence felt. Gradually the railway began to lose more and more money until it was finally closed one cold winter’s morning on January 15, 1964. INTERESTING DATA 1. Festivals and holidays 2. Accommodation 3. Eco-tourism 4. Managing Authority 5. Town Councils 6. Emergencies 7. Coaches & buses 8. Railway Festivals and holidays Casalarreina June 24 Romería de San Juan August 26 San Vitores Castañares de Rioja 1st Sunday in May Fiestas Locales September 8 Virgen de la Natividad September 14 Fiestas de Acción de Gracias Bañares 3rd Saturday in August San Formerio Mártir September 25 Fiesta de Las Gracias Santo Domingo de la Calzada May 10 to 15 Fiestas Patronales de Santo Domingo de la Calzada September 18 and 19 Fiestas de Gracia y Hermosilla December 6 to 8 Medieval Market of the Camino de Santiago Santurdejo April 23 Fiestas de abril Last Saturday in August Fiestas de la Acción de Gracias Santurde 1st weekend in September Fiestas de Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Cuesta 2nd weekend in September Fiestas de la Hermandad November 30 Fiestas de San Andrés Ojacastro January 17 Fiestas de San Antón July 8 Fiestas de Las Reliquias September 7 and 8 Fiestas de Gracias Ezcaray August 10 Fiestas Patronales de San Lorenzo September 24 Fiestas de la Virgen de Allende Whit Monday Fiestas de Santa Bárbara Accommodation Castañares de Rioja Pensión Martínez Telf. 941 3002 36 Pensión Palomo Telf. 941 30 02 11 Camping La Rioja Telf. 941 30 01 74 Bañares Camping de Bañares Telf. 941 34 28 04 Santo Domingo Parador**** Telf. 941 34 03 00 Hotel El Corregidor*** Telf. 941 34 21 28 Hospedería Cisterciense Telf. 941 34 07 00 Hostal El Río* Telf. 941 34 00 85 Pensión Albert Telf. 941 34 08 27 Pensión Miguel Telf. 941 34 00 05 Pensión El Peregrino Telf. 941 34 21 28 Ezcaray Hotel - Apartamentos Echaurren*** Telf. 941 35 40 47 Hotel Montes Blancos** Telf. 941 35 40 00 Hotel Iguareña** Telf. 941 35 41 44 Pensión-Albergue La Real Fábrica** Telf. 941 35 44 74 Camping Ezcaray Telf. 941 42 71 76 Restaurante La Estación Telf. 615 385 167 Ojacastro Hostal El Pago Telf. 941 42 75 26 Casa Rural Casa Ugarte Telf.