Castelo Melhor

We headed off after breakfast for the Portuguese village of Pocinho, about a two hour drive. Pocinho is a village in Northern Portugal, located in the Vila Nova de Fox Côa Municipality and is the terminus of the Linda do Douro train route through Northern Portugal. We boarded a local train for the journey along the Douro Valley to the town of Peso da Regua and travelled through what is regarded to be the most beautiful section of the line, between Pocinho and Pinhão. The terraced Douro Valley vineyards are extensive, stretching right up the steep sides of the valley, and are studded with impressive Quinta (wineries). This train ride has become very popular in recent years after appearing on the show “The most beautiful train rides in the world”.

Outside of Pinhão, the Douro narrows and the scenery becomes more rocky, rugged and wild. At Ferradosa, the train crosses a bridge to the south bank of the river. We passed through broad valleys studded with olive trees and vineyards and we could see a power plant in the distance. The journey took approximately 90 minutes and covered 56 kilometres.

There is talk of reopening the 28 kilometres from Pocinho to Barca de Alva on the border with Spain.

The train trip was wonderful and although it was somewhat cloudy and misty and at times raining, this adds to the atmosphere and fun of the journey. We went through numerous tunnels and I spent most of the trip with the window down and my head out. I have included a couple of short videos to give you a bit more of a feel for the train trip. The rain started to pick up and was raining heavily by the time we arrive at Peso da Regua. Here we waited for a taxi transfer to the town of Lamego.Read more