The rain arrived here yesterday. Torrential too – we went out cycling on Saturday afternoon and came back with the bikes coated with dust. Today we had to avoid a tractor scraping six inches of mud off the road!

Still, the rain is probably a good thing. It’s the first here for months and the local firefighters have been having one of their busiest years ever – every weekend we go out we seem to spot new burn scars on the hillsides so a good soaking was well due.

New rides on the blog this week includes a couple of routes in the Beiras – details of a fairly tough day’s circuit around the Viseu area and information on the Ecopista do Dao, a 5okm cycle trail along an old railway line linking Viseu and Santa Comba Dao.

Under the general information, I’ve added my own highlights for anyone unsure where to visit in Portugal. I’m continuing to expand the campsite listings in the Accommodation section.

A few highlights of Portugal - Chaves, Evora & Tomar

And finally… still working on the transport listings. I’ve included some information on airlines flying to Portugal from the UK and started the section on the rules each airline has on flying with bicycles.

As usual, it’s all a work in progress but hopefully useful!