The part of this route that passes through the province of Cordoba, the 26 km long section between Valchillón and La Carlota, was developed as a Greenway in 2005 by the Ministry of the Environment. Meanwhile a 32 km section of Greenway is already being developed within the municipality of Écija in the province of Seville.

The Greenway sets off at Valchillón station, just a few kilometres away from the city of Cordoba. To get there we can take a little road that runs alongside the river Guadalquivir which we can pick up at the Amargacena industrial estate. Today no trains between Cordoba and the Mediterranean coast stop at Valchillón, but the station provides a tranquil place from which to view the distant woody banks of the Guadalquivir and Guadajoz rivers.

From Valchillón station the Greenway heads southwards. The route starts at the foot of a tall grain silo, where there are some buffers which used to mark the end of the railway track. Two kilometres further on our trail crosses over the normally placid waters of the Guadajoz river. The bridge is made of concrete and brickwork like all the bridges on this route, which are all of very simple design but nonetheless have a certain elegance. The current bridges date from the post civil war period, when they replaced the original metal structures. After this first bridge, the route enters Finca La Reina (2.5 km from Valchillón) where the Greenway winds its way around the first of the many long curves that used to take the railway up the hills flanking the Guadalquivir valley. A series of embankments and cuttings make the climb as gentle as possible. 

During this climb we encounter the one and only tunnel on our route, the Las Tablas tunnel (Km 6), which used to be used for growing mushrooms. Once through the tunnel we arrive at the Apeadero* de Las Tablas de Cordoba (Km 7). An old railway building marks where the station used to be, apparently in the middle of nowhere, adrift in a sea of cereal crop fields which year after year are put under the plough.

The trail continues its winding climb between hills and over watercourses through a countryside dominated by fields of cereal crops which become especially attractive in the spring. The more pronounced watercourses are spanned by bold, slender bridges. The first of these crosses the Temple stream and it is unusual in that there is a peculiar well abutting against its pillars. Once over the bridge, to our right, we are rewarded with a distant view of the unmistakable silhouette of what remains of Almodóvar del Campo Castle, whose ancient stones are witness to dozens of AVE high speed trains passing by every day between Madrid and Seville.

Km 16

After we skirt around the Cerro de La Cabaña hill, another bridge takes us over the La Torvisca stream. Shortly after this bridge we arrive at the site of the station which used to serve the village of Guadalcázar (Km 16). However, if we wish to visit the actual village, it is quicker to go via a country lane that passes under the bridge. Of the original station, which now serves as a rest area for our Greenway, only a solitary well remains.

The trail continues westwards and we begin to lose height before arriving at the Arroyo de La Marota stream which we cross using an unassuming bridge that takes us over the reed beds lining the stream. From here the route skirts around a wooded area known as the Parque de El Hecho (Km 18). This park boasts a picnic and barbecue area and plenty of shade, which is more than welcome in the summer months when the Andalusian sun blazes down with a vengeance.

After the park, the Greenway passes close by a reservoir which is fed by water from the Arroyo Escorial stream (when there is any). The strange thing about this reservoir is that it makes use of a railway embankment as a dam. Some 300 m from the reservoir some rustic stone benches are all that remains of the Apeadero de Las Pinedas. The village it used to serve (at Km 20 of the Greenway) is just a few metres away from the railway line but for some mysterious reason the station was built nearly a kilometre away. Now the site of the station serves as another rest area.

Km 26

In the village of Las Pinedas, close to the Greenway, there is a source of drinking water, a good place to quench our thirst before embarking on the long straight sections that, once we cross the Arroyo de Guadalmazán stream, will take us to La Carlota station (Km 26). In fact La Carlota is 6 km from its station, whereas the village of La Fuencubierta is right next to the former railway line. However, so little remains of the station that to identify it would almost require the work of industrial archaeologists; the only buildings left standing are the foreman’s hut and a small adjacent storeroom.

The Seville province part of the railway has been developed as well a Greenway in the municipality of Écija for 30 km to ride..

*Note: The term ‘Apeadero’ is used to refer to a small station, typically with few facilities and often unstaffed. In Britain such a station used to be known as a ‘Halt’ although the term (but not the concept) has fallen into disuse, for reasons of image.