Rio Arlanza & Sierra de la Demanda

This day took us over the flat plains below Burgos, long stretches of perfectly straight roads.  The area is intensely farmed and on the outskirts of the villages you can often see the distinctive mud built storage barns.  After Lerma the road follows the Rio Arlanza and we entered a magical gorge.  The 11^th century ruined monastery of San Pedro lies half way along the gorge and is well worth a visit, as are the pretty villages along the valley – we wished we could have stayed here longer.  

In the afternoon we were again surrounded by mountains in the Sierra de la Demanda and the Picos de Urbion.  Wonderfully snowcapped these 2000m+ mountains gave a fantastic backdrop to the reservoir at Villavelayo .

We stopped for the night at a campsite in  Bereceo.  The campsite was beautifully laid out with large grassed pitches with the mountains in the background.