Detour to Santa Maria de Villaverde de Sandoval?

[peregrina2000]

I wonder if there are any peregrinos who might have taken a detour off the camino on the stage from Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon. I have read about and seen pictures of Santa Maria de Villaverde de Sandoval, and I would like to visit it on my way into Leon. It looks easy to get there -- about a km or two out of Mansilla, turn off to the left, through Mansilla Mayor, arriving in Villaverde de Sandoval.

What I don't know, though, is whether I will have to return the way I came, that is back to the path along the N-601, or whether there is any path that goes directly north, through the town of Nogales, and alongside the river, joining the N-601 right before the bridge at Puente Villarente.

I don't think this is a very popular "detour," but I'm hoping someone out there will have done it.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Jeff Stys]

Laurie:

I had not heard of this detour....until now.

I may need to add it to my upcomming trip which is being shaped by your contributions to the Forum!

Jeff

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Jeff,

I will be coming onto the Camino Frances from the Vadiniense right around Mansilla de las Mulas, and the notes I have to the Vadiniense route suggest a visit to this church/monastery, which is abandoned. But I like romanesque churches from the outside too, whether they're abandoned or not, and this one has some pretty nice looking apses:

http://www.sandovaldelareina.com/castel ... sterio.htm

If you look at google maps, you can see the turn-off a few kms after Mansilla de las Mulas. I walked this way last year and remember seeing it -- it is well marked. Then you would go through Mansilla Mayor, then on to Villaverde de Sandoval. From there, turning north along the river will take you to Nogales. Google earth seems to show a road right alongside the river, which then joints up at the bridge into Puente Villarente or nearby (at Villamoros de Mansilla). If that's true, it would really only be a few kms out of the way, and Mansilla to Leon is not a very long day anyway.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[caminka]

I have not yet done it but it is on my plan when I hit camino frances next time. this is the description I made based on google maps:

From albergue in MANSILLA continue along Calle Puente, veer L across Plaza s Nicolás, pass the fine remains of the murallas, cross the 8-arch puente over río Esla, and follow senda parallel to the road. Pass one dirt road branching L and reach the 1.1km second just as N601 joins from the R.
To/via Villaverde de Sandoval: Turn L to this second straight dirt road, cross a dirt road, turn R in a T intersection then 20m later turn L to another dirt road. Turn L in a T intersection then 20m later turn R and this dirt road soon joins a tarmac road that in about 1.5km reaches the impressive ruins of 3.3km 12C monasterio de s María de Sandoval. The road continues to +0.6km VILLAVERDE DE SANDOVAL (F), but you can turn R off it immediately after the monastery, to a dirt road that in 500m reaches CV162-29. Turn R and follow it to the second intersection. Turn L here, to another dirt road, and follow it straight, passing +0.4km MANSILLA MAYOR (F; late-gothic s Miguel (magnificent mudejár ceiling)) to the R, straight in all intersection (it meanders a little), past +0.3km VILLAMOROS DE MANSILLA, to the end when it bends R to reach 5.5km N601 and the main route where it becomes senda again.

it can be a bit confusing with all the straight dirt roads/tracks but hopefully it's detailed enough so that you can't get lost.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, caminka,
Thanks for those notes. I will bring them along and try to make my way there in June. I don't see those tracks on google maps, but see lots of what look like farm roads on google earth. With the flat land and broad vistas, I'm sure it won't be hard to meander through the fields to wind up at Villamoros.

It looks like Santa Maria is east of Villaverde de Sandoval, so your suggestion to go through Mansilla Mayor may be shorter than going from Villaverde to Nogales along the river (if there is a track along the river, that is). But I'll report back, thanks a lot.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[caminka]

I'm surprised you don't see the roads/tracks on google maps, they seem pretty obvious. from the top of the picture, keep straight on this road.
I'll try to post an image.

 

[caminka]

okeey, why doesn't it show the whole image?

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks, caminka,
Yes, ok, I get it. Excuse my not-so-high-tech-knowledge. I can find the image you've posted on google earth, not on google maps. For me, google maps doesn't show anything but real roads, but it's possible I'm not finding the right version.

But, since you've got that picture posted, doesn't it look to you like there's a road/track/path that goes right along the river, meandering in and out of tree cover? It looks to me like if I walked to Nogales, I could then swing over and be along the river the whole way to the bridge at Puente Villarente (and would not have to go through Villamoros de Mansilla). Either way, it looks like I'll be able to do it without getting lost too badly. Thanks again, Laurie

 

[caminka]

hey, no need to get offended. maybe the difference is purely techical. I use google maps satellite images because google earth takes too much time to load and often overloads my connection (and shuts down my pc so I took it off). so when I refer to google maps I mean sattelite images (it's also what it loads first when I open the link but that may be because I set it to when I started using it ... ago) - and it's also what it's called in search engine. I think you are refering to to the white map with roads on - these really don't show much more then asphalt roads.

there indeed looks like there is a track right along the edge of the river forest. you may even be able to pick it up right across the bridge from mansilla and then deviate off when the monastery comes in sight. and why not continue through villaverde and nogales? all along the river it would make an 11km alternative from albergue in mansilla to the restaurant before puente villarente.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, caminka,
I must not have expressed my reaction correctly, because it takes a LOT more than that for me to be offended. I was not offended at all, I was merely trying to explain that when it comes to technology, I am pretty close to useless.

That's a brilliant suggestion to try to take the river path all the way from Mansilla. So, we would cross the big river as we're leaving Mansilla, turn left, continue along the river till we hit the little stream, turn right, and go into Villaverde de Sandoval. Then continue alongside that stream all the way to the bridge at Puente Villarente. Perfect! I'm going to give it a try, but not for a few months. It seems like it would be something for the camino authorities to consider, re-routing the path off the national highway, especially since it would take us close to another beautiful romanesque church! (And I do remember reading somewhere that the original camino actually passed by that monastery, which makes sense, too).

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[caminka]

I would suggest you turn off before nearing the little stream (which is river Porma), say in the first intersection when the track along river Esla becomes straight, to see the monastery. it would indeed be a very pleasant alternative to the busy main road. like the one we had to take from alto del portillo when the long blue bridge over N601 was being built and we dropped directly into puente castro, only crossing above the motorway.

for google satellite images, put your mouse over the little square in the top R corner of the map window and more little squares will pop up, satellite one of them (as well as earth).

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Laurie, et al:
The Way to Villaverde de Sandoval is clearly marked, and the monastery church is still intact -- the doorway is spectacular, and the retablo is one you can walk all the way around, to see how it is put together. It is spooky and wonderful, but usually locked up. Ask the lady at the building around back to let you in. She will go with you (if she´s in the mood) and charge you some nominal fee. The cloister was pretty well fallen down when I was there a couple of years ago, parts of the place are unsafe and/or used as goat pens, but the church itself is used once or twice a year for concerts, etc. because the acoustics are fine. It´s standing out there moldering, and God knows when anyone will bother with restoring or preserving it.

I am intrigued, too, by the way pilgrims go afterward. Gitlitz and Davidson´s classic Complete Cultural Handbook describes a route:

"One kilometer upstream from the monastery you can cross the icy Porma River via a shallow ford. The inconvenience of the crossing may give you a new appreciation for why medieval good samaritans like Juean de Ortega and Domingo de la Calzada got to be saints for building bridges. Once through the marshes and stands of poplar on the west bank you will come out onto a farm road that leads through a string of small agricultural villages: Villa Turiel, Valdesogo de Abajo, and Valdesogo de Arriba. In the center of this town you leave the paved road and take the dirt road west up a steep hill. At the top of the ridge is a breathtaking view of the distant city of Leon. This is the only perspective we know about that gives the sense of how the twin spires of the cathedral soar above the rest of the city. The pass was the site of a small Roman outpost, judging from the remnants of ceramics and roof tiles scattered among the thistles and lavender along the Road here. From the pass a dirt road eventually leads you down to join Route 1 before the Puente Castro bridge."

Their account is at least 15 years old.
Yet another bit of pilgrim Way arcana for one of us to go and explore!

 

[peregrina2000]

Reb, I don't know why I just don't PM you with all my questions and cut out the middleman. Thank you so much for this.

I'm definitely up for giving it a try. If I can't cross the river and follow the Gitlitz instructions, I'll go through Nogales and hug the river and stick with Plan B into Puente Villarente. If that fails, go to Plan C and head back to the N-601. But the thought of seeing the spires of the Leon cathedral "soaring above" the city really appeals to me, it's a vantage point we never see. Fording a river sounds kind of like a major undertaking for my uncoordinated body, however.

I'll PM you about how my Liebana/Vadiniense plans are shaping up.

Buen Camino, L