Cami de Ronda Calella de Palafrugell

Calella de Palafrugell's Cami de Ronda on the Costa Brava is a short classic holidaymaker's walk with views over Mediterranean and hidden rocky coves, but enough interest to still be delightful as a regular walk for locals in and out of season.

The walk is part of one of the earlier walks we did starting at Mont-ras, but this time we want to include just the Cami de Ronda part. Our starting point is at the beach of Golfet, the fourth (or so) of Calella de Palafrugell's beaches and the one most distant from the centre. Access to the beach and path is down steps from the upper road towards Cap Roig botanical gardens and is clearly sign-posted.

The steps down actually get to the path about 100m along from Golfet, so to make a full route we first go to the beach of Golfet itself, empty now in October. The beach is grittier and pebblier than the other village beaches, but sits in a natural cove with cliffs behind. In summer it's the quiet beach to get away from the crowds. In October there are signs of work to stablise the cliffside as it's situation also means erosiion and natural forces at work.

From Golfet the path passes past two large imposing isolated rocks before running into the first of a number of tunnels. The path is extremely well maintained and not a wild walk by any means, but as the path runs along the coast it still feels like an unspoilt walk.

Each bend brings a new rocky bay, or you can take in the views of the red stone cliffs that give Cap Roig its name. The path is popular as a walk and even in October there are sunbathers and people who look as if they have just come out of the sea taking a stroll.

We pass a few more tunnels and out to see we get to see the small islands of Les Formigues (The Ants) marked by a low light house. The Formigues claim to fame was as the location of a naval battle between Catalans and the French in the 13th Century as part of the Aragonese Crusade when the King of Aragon was in dispute with the Pope. Now, in summer Calella de Palafrugell has a long distance swimming race to the Formigues and back - it's a long way 5-6km in total, so not to be tried without support and assistance.

From the last long tunnel we get our first real view of Calella de Palafrugell in the autumn sunshine. The town is much much quieter than in summer and some places do close up, but the main restaurants by Port Bo tend to stay open year round. In October the bay is empty of the boats that normally moor here in the summer and the fine light makes it easy to take picture postcard type photographs.

The path curves up briefly to the road at the top, before cutting down more stairs into and then up and out of a small bay. We've now reached Hotel Sant Roc and the terrace restaurant that looks over the town where dinners are just finishing lunch.

The path now turns into a promenade along the tops of the main beaches of Port Pelegri by Hotel Mediterrani. The warm day, even for October means there are still people on the beach even in the afternoon, though no-one actually swimming.

The promenade walk runs down to sea-level at the heart of the village by Port Bo and its beach. People are sitting on the boardwalk by the restaurants and enjoying the views out to sea and out across to the path we've just walked. We follow the boardwalk past the old fishing boats on the beach and the old mini-harbour in the rocks. The path then cuts through the houses and we emerge with a view of the beach of Canadell. with the modernista buildings above the beach and the views to the headland that connects to Llafranc.

For longer walk that includes this path see: Mont-ras to Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc

For neighbouring walks see: Calella de Palafrugell/Cap Roig to Castell - classic wild Costa Brava - Far de Sant Sebastia (Llafranc) to Tamariu - Eulogy to the Ruta del Tren Petit (Palafrugell, Palamos, Mont-ras and Vall-llobrega) - Gardens of Cap Roig - Palafrugell