From Carrión de los Condes to Terradillo de los Templarios.

Information

Once again the endless straights through cereal fields will be the protagonists of the stage between Carrión de los Condes and Terradillo of the Templars. With the difference of a new challenge, the stretch from Carrión to Calzadilla de la Cueza is the longest without intermediate villages of all the French Way. Seventeen eternal kilometers walking through nothingness, no trees, no villages, no fountains, no shade, just a long and tireless straight line.

We leave Carrión de los Condes behind, heading towards Terradillo de los Templarios, and we head towards the monastery of San Zoilo, through which we will rejoin the route. We cross the N-120 and join the PR-2411, where we will reach the Via Aquitania. Here we find the remains of the Benevívere Abbey, a 12th century monastery destroyed by the disentailment.

We now face ten kilometres of endless flat where we will test our patience and our thoughts.

We will pass near a picnic area without a fountain, and we will continue straight on. In high season here you will find a mobile bar, which is almost like an oasis. If we continue further we will see a signpost that reminds us that we are in the Cañada Real Leonesa, and we will advance until we reach the end of this infinite lane in Calzadilla de la Cueza, which welcomes us with a bar at the entrance of the village.

We continue to the N-120, which we take on the right until we reach the ruins of Santa María de las Tiendas, the hospice of the Gran Caballero. This pilgrims’ hospital was active until the 19th century and is said to have been founded by order of Santiago in the 12th century.

A little further on there is a crossroads that will take us either to Ledigos or to a parish church. Both routes are very similar, so we do not recommend either one in particular. At the exit of Ledigos, we cross the road and shortly after the river Cueza. We enter Terradillo de los Templarios, where it is said that the goose that laid the golden eggs was buried.

To be taken into account:

The stretch from Carrión to Calzadilla does not have any services, so it is advisable to be foresighted and leave well equipped with enough water and food. From Easter to October a couple of mobile bars are installed.