Let’s go for a walk: Cerdanyola to Fòrum Barcelona

I’ve been trying to up my walking game recently. As a youth, I ‘did’ the 10 Tors on Dartmoor (45 mile route), and walked about 500 miles that winter and spring to train for it. I’ve always been keen on a good walk but laziness – both intrinsic and environmental – often gets the better of me.

The other day I finally did a walk I’d been talking about for ages: from Cerdanyola to the sea at Port Fòrum, by way of the river Besos. It’s a 21km route. So not too long, but not exactly a short stroll either. The walk leads you down the Riera de Sant Cugat to the river Besòs at Montcada, down through Santa Coloma (the Besòs has a great river bank path so much of this bit can be done walking on grass, if you prefer that sort of thing), and on to Sant Adrià de Besòs.

It’s a pleasant walk because it has a bit of everything. Annoying bike fascists, abandoned industrial colonies, and giant concrete white elephants. I also spotted a windmill under a bridge. If you’re willing to make a small diversion, you can witness the majesty of the Orange metro line, whose station at Can Peixauet is 40m deep – an unusual sight in Barcelona. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll see a yacht in Port Fòrum where a bikini photo-shoot is taking place. Or maybe they don’t do that every day.

At some point, probably more likely next year than this because of the dog, I plan to do the final section of GR10 from Canigou to Banyuls. More on that plan another day.

5 thoughts on “Let’s go for a walk: Cerdanyola to Fòrum Barcelona

  1. Nice one.
    I did the beach to Vallvidrera once, which is not quite as far and mostly through the city, but still nice to see the changes in barrios and finish in the nature with a view of Barcelona.

    Not sure what a bike fascist is, probably related to Catalan nationalism?

    1. I meant the old men in bright outfits who think the whole path is theirs. At one point the walking/cycling paths diverge and they’re less of a problem.

  2. Take me with you next time! Unless you’ve already been again since posting this last post. And you spotted a windmill under a bridge did you say…would make a Dutchie like me feel right at home. What made you take the jump to Spain (or should I just scroll back to your older posts?)

    1. Hi Suzanne, my apologies for not responding to you sooner. Your comment was caught in a spam trap.

      There is a windmill under a bridge, yes. I have a feeling it may never have been a functioning mill – why not build a water mill so close to the river? – but I haven’t checked.

      I moved here to be with my special lady friend, now my wife. I’ll let you know next time we do the walk. Sometime in October, probably.

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