River Oja Greenway Nature Trail

The route starts at a rest area near the old Ezcaray station, now restored as a restaurant. The town centre can be easily reached from the station by crossing the bridge over the River Oja. The first section runs through the northernmost foothills of the Sierra de la Demanda, between the so-called Suso Mountains to the west and the Yuso Mountains to the east, a landscape that combines forests, meadows and the gentle outlines typical of the mountains of La Rioja.

The beginning of the route runs under a canopy of London plane trees (Platanus x hispanica), along an asphalted section that's shared with vehicle traffic, so caution is advised. We soon encounter a short detour to the Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Allende, patron of Ezcaray, an 18th century Baroque style building overlooking the Oja valley from its privileged location. The interior contains altarpieces, votive offerings and Baroque period images.

Returning to the trail, we pass a motorhome area with an adjacent picnic area, next to which we can see the remains of some old lime kilns. Past this recreational area, the asphalt gives way to compacted gravel and motor traffic disappears, except for authorised vehicles. This calm and safe environment is maintained throughout most of the route, except for the crossings with roads or service roads and the accesses to farms.

The route follows a wide curve around the Peña de San Torcuato, a limestone outcrop that stands out for its vertical walls uncovered by vegetation, highlighting light colour of the limestone. The accompanying flora is a mixed hardwood forest of beech (Fagus sylvativa) and gall oak (Quercus faginea), accompanied by maple (Acer sp.), cherry (Prunus avium), walnut (Juglans regia), hazel (Corylus avellana) and ash trees (Fraxinus sp.). In more humid spots, some holly trees (Ilex aquifolium) also appears. When the woodland opens up, the view to the west extends towards the flood plain of the River Oja, covered with grassland, poplar trees (Populus sp.) and some crops, with the Suso mountains in the background.

Soon the first houses of Ojacastro can be seen on the left. After crossing a stone bridge over the San Pelayo or Malarriña stream, we reach a group of buildings where the old station that served the town was located. An information panel tells us more about the landscape to the south of the route. From here you can reach Ojacastro crossing the river over a bridge and walking a little over a kilometre - partly by road, so caution is advised - or catch your breath at the rest area by the bridge.

For a few hundred metres, the trail proceeds between trenches excavated into the mountain, a reminder of the old railway infrastructure. After a few metres, the vegetation encloses the path again as we advance again under the cover of the hardwood forest. Approaching some livestock sheds, a short detour of barely a hundred metres to the left leads to a curious oval stone construction; an old shepherds' shelter. Further on the views open up as we reach a valley, crossing a stream on a metal bridge. Shortly afterwards, we reach a crossroads with the road to the right leading to San Asensio de los Cantos or Santasensio, a small hamlet in the municipality of Ojacastro. Following this road, after passing the cluster of houses, there is a turn-off that leads to the Shrine of La Ascensión, a simple Romanesque temple built between the 12th and 13th centuries.

Once again between the forests, the route remains shady for a little over a kilometre, before finally leaving the slopes of the Sierra de la Demanda and opening out onto a wide agricultural plain. We reach a crossroads surrounded by buildings, some of them former railway buildings that have now been converted, where the old Santurde/Santurdejo station once stood. From this point, we can access these two villages, Santurde, 800 m to the left, or Santurdejo, 1.8 km to the right. The path continues straight on, crossing the river Santurdejo over a metal bridge, and further on another road leads to this village.

For the next 4.5 km the landscape maintains a similar appearance, with the route passing through cereal fields - wheat, barley, triticale and oats - alongside plots of rapeseed, sunflower, leguminous plants and fruit trees. Although traffic is restricted, attention should be paid to the junction with rural farm access roads.

The route then approaches Santo Domingo de la Calzada. This town can be reached from the southeast, after crossing the LR-325 road - where caution is advised - and crossing the industrial estate along the Calle de la Estación del Ferrocarril. The street name is the only remaining vestige of the train passing through this town. This road leads to the road to Logroño, a connection point with the French Camino of the Santiago between Nájera and Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Although our Nature Trail only skirts the town centre, this historic 11th century town is well worth a visit. The walled centre, its squares, small palaces and religious sites retain their medieval splendour that made it famous among pilgrims. The Cistercian abbey, the Convent of San Francisco and, above all, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo with its free-standing tower, whose construction began in 1158, stand out. Inside lie the remains of the saint, the protagonist of numerous miracles, including the miracle of the cockerel and the hen who, so the legend goes, crowed after being roasted. Today, a henhouse with both animals alive keeps the tradition alive.

The route continues northwards, leaving Santo Domingo de la Calzada between orchards and crops. It passes under the A-12 motorway, where there is a rest area, and shortly after crosses the road that leads to Bañares. From here on, a couple of new elements are incorporated into the landscape: the vineyards, which begin to appear next to the road, and some solar orchards.

After almost 4km we reach another large rest area at the site of the old Bañares station. The only visible railway heritage is a section of the kerb of the old platform. Crossing the LR-309, which leads to Bañares (3km away) about a kilometre later, we reach another rest area next to an irrigation canal.

The Nature Trail meets the LR-111 and diverts from the old railway line. While the railway continued on the other side of the road in a straight line towards Castañares, the cycle route runs parallel to the left of the road, between an embankment and a rural track on the right. In 1.26 km we reach a roundabout with a turn-off to Castañares de Rioja, 1.2 km away. Another 1.25 km section returns us to the old railway line. Past cereal crops, increasingly frequent vineyards and a poplar plantation, we reach the point where the old railway line and the Nature Trail definitively part ways. While the railway continues straight on in a north-easterly direction, our trail turns left towards the LR-111 road.

As we approach this road, on the other side, we see the Shrine of San Román de Ajuarte, the only vestige of the disappeared village of Ajuarte. The route follows the road as far as a roundabout. We then pass under the LR-111 and, after another roundabout, before crossing the road from Castañares to Casalarreina, and continuing parallel to it. Although the crossings are correctly signposted and the lane along which the path runs is separated from the road, caution is advised. Before reaching the first houses of Casalarreina, the path turns off the road and approaches the river between poplar plantations and riverside vegetation, alongside a sports facility. We reach the end of the route at a metal bridge, a few metres from the monumental bridge of Casalarreina, a 19th century masonry construction. Opposite stands the Monastery of Santa María de la Piedad, a 16th century gem that remains in excellent condition and hosts the Classica Early Music Festival every summer.