Lately, I’ve been feeling burned out on the metropolis’ din and have spent most of the summer’s weekends hiking. Many hiking trails in Catalonia require a car but not all. A few, like the Vall de Nuria and Montserrat, are easily reached by train.

The Montserrat Abbey is a big tourist destination outside of Barcelona. Around Plaça Catalunya you’ll see numerous signs offering bus tours to the spiritual site, set about an hour from the city. Going on a bus with a package tour is one way to see the museum, basilica, and monastery, but may not allow time for a hike into the mountains behind the abbey.

Montserrat landscape

You’ll need about five hours to do the Sant Jeroni hike, which leaves from behind the monastery and will take you deep into the Dr. Seuss-like peaks that make Montserrat so unique. The landscape is that of a cartoon, with rounded, bulging rocks around every bend. Sant Jeroni sits at 1,236 meters, which means fabulous, 360° views stretching all the way to Barcelona and Penedès.

Montserrat view

Preparing for the hike

When I did the hike I saw quite a few people marching up the mountainside in flip-flops. I don’t know how they did it. The hike is not easy, and requires a lot of up, up, up during the first 2 kms. Wear hiking boots or at least sneakers. Depending on the time of year, you should also have a jacket as the weather can quite cool at 1,200 meters. There is no water on the trail, so bring a couple water bottles and lunch.

Up on top at Sant Jeroni

If you come to Montserrat Abbey unprepared and want to do the trail, you can buy almost everything you’ll need for the hike at their supermarket. A sort of “religious Disneyland,” Montserrat has two ATM machines, a cafe, two restaurants, several gift shops, a hotel, and a small market on site. It’s a bit touristy, but worth it.

Most visitors do not make it up to Sant Jeroni because it takes time, gear, and physical ability. However, I saw a few families with kids (no younger than seven or eight) doing the trek, so it’s not that hard.

If you plan to see the religious buildings at Montserrat and then hike Sant Jeroni, you’ll need to leave Barcelona early in the morning.

Check out this website for more information about trains from Plaça Espana to Montserrat and its funicular.

Happy Trails!

The post Montserrat: A hike from Barcelona that’s accessible by train appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here are some suggestions for day trips into the Scottish hills.

Heading for the Spey Valley

The Highlands are a vast area of rugged terrain, much of it very remote from Scotland’s two principal cities. A decent tour of the Highlands demands at least a fortnight. But it is possible to get a feel for the mountains in easy day trips from Edinburgh or Glasgow.

From either city, it is just two and half hours by regular fast train to Kingussie. It is a pretty enough Highland township in the Spey Valley, but the real reason for making the journey is just to gaze through the window at the passing scenery. North of Perth, the hillsides tilt ever sharper as the train follows the Tay Valley north, before climbing over wild Drumochter Pass and dropping down into the headwaters of the Spey.

Into the Trossachs

If you are really pushed for time, and just want to catch the spirit of the Highlands, then head for the Trossachs (little more than an hour’s drive from either Glasgow or Edinburgh). Sir Walter Scott popularised this gorgeous sweep of mountains, forests and lakes in his narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. This one poem, first published in 1810, did more to promote the Trossachs than all the tourist brochures ever published since.

Take a boat trip on Loch Katrine where the steamship SS Sir Walter Scott runs regular tours from April till October.

The bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Even closer to Glasgow is famous Loch Lomond, its waters lapping onto the edgelands of Scotland’s largest city. Just 47 minutes on the twice-hourly local train from Glasgow Queen Street to Balloch and you’ll be able to see the loch and its surrounding mountains. It’s the traditional excursion for urbanites who just want a peek of the Highlands without getting tousled hair and muddy shoes.

To the west coast

If you’re the type who needs a bit of sea along with your mountains, then Oban is the obvious choice. Scotrail runs regular trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban. It is a three-hour journey that takes in Loch Lomond, Loch Awe and grand views of many a Munro. (If you are a Scotland novice, you’ll need to check out what a Munro is.) Trains run three or four times daily on the route from Glasgow to Oban.

From June 23rd to August 25th, Scotrail also runs a direct Sunday excursion train from Edinburgh to Oban. It departs Edinburgh Waverly at 8:10 am, and the schedule allows five hours in Oban before the journey back to the Scottish capital. That’s just enough time to catch the ferry from Oban to Mull and back—proof indeed that one can see something of the Scottish Highlands and Islands in a day!

Anything to add?

If you consider yourself a Highlands expert, or you just have a couple tips to share, head down to the comments section below and let us know!

The post Heading for the Hills: Escapes from Scottish Cities appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.