El Castile Canal, is the best heritage of Illustrated Spain. The most relevant civil engineering project of the time. Almost 200 kilometers of canal that crosses Valladolid, Palencia and Burgos and that we can travel comfortably by bicycle.
The main objective of its construction was to serve as a waterway for communication and transportation to put an end to the problem of isolation to which the Castilian and Leonese plateau was subject, due to a complicated orography and a deficient and poorly maintained road network, which made it difficult and It is almost impossible to transport the region's agricultural surpluses, mostly cereals.

In the mid-18th century, Ferdinand VI and his most influential minister, the Marquis of Ensenada, began to think about an ambitious plan to develop Spain's economy, a plan in which public works related to communication would have enormous importance.

The Marquis of Ensenada proposed to Ferdinand VI the construction of a network of roads and navigation canals designed for Castile, which was, at that time, the main producer of cereals, inspired by the great canal projects of neighboring France.
It took two years for the engineer Antonio de Ulloa to prepare the “General Project of the Navigation and Irrigation Channels for the Kingdoms of Castilla y León” based on other previous works by the French engineer Carlos Lemaur.

In the initial project, 4 canals were contemplated, which would link Segovia with Reinosa, with the intention of, in the future, crossing the Cantabrian mountain range and being able to reach the sea through the port of Santander.
1. The Northern Canal intended to link Reinosa (Santander) with the site of Calahorra de Ribas (Palencia). This section is built from Alar del Rey to Calahorra de Ribas.
2. The Canal de Campos branch, which would continue from Calahorra de Ribas (Palencia) through the Tierra de Campos region to Medina de Rioseco (Valladolid), is being built in its entirety.
3. Canal Sur, which would take the waters of the Canal de Campos at the site known as Serrón (Grijota), to flow into the Pisuerga River in Valladolid, and which is also being built in its entirety.
4. And the Segovia Canal, which would link Segovia with Villanueva de Duero (Valladolid). A section that was never done...

The works of this gigantic project began on July 16, 1753 in Calahorra de Ribas, municipality of Ribas de Campos (Palencia), under the direction of Antonio de Ulloa and the chief engineer Carlos Lemaur, in the section known as Ramal de Fields. A year after they began, they were paralyzed, having until then been built 25 km downstream, from Calahorra de Ribas to Sahagún el Real (near Paredes de Nava).
Later, in 1759, the works resumed, but this time it was agreed to start them in the Strait of Nogales, near Alar del Rey, thus beginning the construction of the Northern Branch, with the works on this branch being completed in August 1791, when the waters of the North join those of the Campos Branch in the place of Calahorra de Ribas.

Wars, economic and social crises slow down the project, which suffers new stoppages and maintenance problems. At the beginning of the 19th century, the situation of the Canal was terrible.

Ferdinand VII determined that the Public Treasury could no longer cover the cost of the work, and issued, in September 1828, a Royal Order so that the project could be executed by a private company.

In this way, in 1831 the State granted the “Compañía del Canal de Castilla” the exploitation of the Canal for 80 years. Finally, the works were completed under the reign of Isabel II in 1849, with the configuration we know today.

Thus, on December 14, 1849, the exploitation of the Canal de Castilla began; navigation, hydraulic power, irrigation and fishing by the “Compañía del Canal de Castilla” and a period of 70 years, once these are concluded it will revert back to the State, which is the one that has administered it since then, currently depending on the management and exploitation to the Duero Hydrographic Confederation.

Although navigation began along the Campos-Norte branch at the end of the 1850th century, the period of greatest splendor took place once its entire current route was completed, between the years 1860-350, when the boats that crossed the Canal exceeded XNUMX, the most of them privately owned.

The opening of the Valladolid-Alar del Rey railway line, with a route almost parallel to that of the Canal de Castilla, means that the Canal de Castilla sees its use "as a means of transportation and communication" truncated. Even so, the Canal continues to provide other uses derived from the driving force of water, generating economic and industrial development in the towns through which it runs and promoting the birth of paper, flour, leather, mills, weapons and even shipyards factories. The Canal de Castilla was no longer only a communication route and an artery to irrigate the thirsty fields of Castilla, it was also responsible for the industrial awakening of the Region.

An open-air museum

This is how he defines it Raul Garrido, author of the wonderful book “Castilla en Canal”; which also reports that “the canal route is impressive to which unfortunately hardly any attention is paid”, maintains a secular pilgrimage character, in contrast to the religious one of the the Camino de Santiago.

Both paths intersect in the Palencia town of Frómista, giving shape to an enclave that Raúl Guerra Garrido described as “almost sacred.” “In Spain, faith and reason have always crossed paths in a bad way, and Frómista has an almost magical character due to the communion of both ideologies.

Just the view of the Canal's quadruple lock when you reach Fromista and the Romanesque Church of San Martin will have been worth the trip.

Building the Canal entailed the construction of locks to control the water level and allow barges to overcome the differences in level. Also, dams and weirs to control the flow of water throughout the work. The manufacturing of the first period is beautiful.

Docks, where barges loaded and unloaded their goods and which today remain as witnesses of a past full of history.

Blood traction.

The barges that traveled the Canal were moved by a combined system of trawling and sailing, but over time only trawling was maintained using horses as the driving force. Blood traction, to move barges that exceeded 20 meters in length and 4 meters in width. They could transport up to 50 tons. and they were dragged by 2 or 3 mules.

Those mules circulated through the Towpaths, always on the right side in the direction of travel.

Today those Towpaths are ideal for our bike routes, the Canal de Castilla is a very accessible route in many of its sections, due to its low slope. A route full of history, heritage, Medina de Rioseco, Dueñas, the aforementioned Fromista and of course Palencia, a not very well-known delight and Valladolid, a monumental city with an active cultural life.

The Canal takes us to all these towns and cities with a comfortable route accessible to all audiences.

The Canal stopped fulfilling its original function but today it continues to generate wealth for its riverside towns and invites us to explore it without haste, soaking up memories and experiences.

A route that we can enjoy in several stages and in which most of the sections are suitable for traveling with children.

A gateway to get to know Castilla.