Castell de Castells was the last on my list to visit - if only because it is the furthest away and the highest at 551m. I had read much about the nearby 8000 year old cave paintings which were only discovered in 1980.  When travelling from Benigembla to Castell de Castells, I turned off the main road to see how far away the caves were. Within less than 10 minutes I came upon a tourist coach void of passengers and looked up to the water-worn mountain side to see a snake of walkers returning from cave-viewings. I returned to the main road, vowing to visit the caves on another less busy day and continued my journey to Castell de Castells.  But nothing had prepared me for the drive to the village.

When you leave the previous town of Benigembla, you follow a road which is currently undergoing a facelift; it's approximately 10kms from Benigembla to Castell de Castells, with Pla Petraca (where the cave paintings can be found), some 4 kms prior to arriving in Castell de Castells. Between Benigembla and Pla Petraca, there are signs warning of road under renewal and it's a very bumpy and single lane road either way with no overtaking. But the scenery is worth the unhurried ride - remember to keep looking at where you are going too! When you reach the turn off to Pla Petraca, the quality of the main road continuing to Castells improves to German autobahn standards and the ride is virtually traffic free! The scenery is of a fabulous river valley - dry when I was visiting but must be spectacular in the rainy season from around the end of October. There were numerous undulating and green-cloaked mountains surrounding me. I found myself relaxing into a wonderful journey and not knowing what was round the next slow, wide bend.

When Castell de Castells finally appeared it looked very pretty but a little lonely; the only other inhabitants of the valley were brave souls living in individual fincas dotted all over the mountains and into the valleys - but none of them really close to each other. Castells itself has a myriad of tiny winding streets chockfull of townhouses - a few brand new - but the majority much older. Lots of window boxes and potted plants were in view as well as signs stating that it was a much-photographed hamlet. I followed signs to take me to the original Castell (castle) but found that you could only go so far by car and the rest was on foot.

The road I followed to the Castell park was single track and up to nearly 1000m quite quickly. The park covers an area of some 20000m2. At the top of the road was a stone-built camp for ecologists and there were lots of maps detailing the many walks, including to the castle, which could be enjoyed from there. Absolutely ideal for nature lovers, walkers or even mountain-bikers but not on a hot day in mid-July when I was there. I made a mental note to return booted and suitably suited in winter, together with picnic, a human companion and my dog. Driving back down to the town, I had a lovely view across the valley and the municipal outdoor swimming pool (1 euro entrance!).

The Mayoress here will have been in power for 16 years when her 4th term ends in 2011. But like Senija , the town has no shield, emblem or flag. In 1900 the population was nearly 1500 but now it's down to a third of that size - no doubt to do with being so far from any where, people have to travel to go to work so probably have left the town. There are still traditional forms of work such as making baskets. Local fiestas centre on Santa Ana in the third week of July and also for The Virgin Mary from mid August. I think that Castell de Castells would be an ideal area to live if you love walking and nature.