(EN) Guillena - Castilblanco de los Arroyos Ruta via de la Plata Camino de Santiago (English)

Camino de Santiago Ruta Via de la Plata.

This route is part the southern leg of Camino de Santiago Etape 3 Guillena Castilblanco de los Arroyos.
It is an ideal day excursion for residents, newcomers or visitors of Seville since both towns are accessible by regional public buses that leave from Plaza de Armas bus station at a very low cost. Seville - Guillena 30mins under 2euros and Castilblanco de los Arroyos-Seville 1hr 3euros (as of June 2021).

The trail can be divided into 5 parts. First fifth is leaving Guillena centre to find the start of the trail which about 3kms and requires a walk on the shoulder of a regional highway. A reflective west is recommended.
2nd fifth is serene farmland for citrus, olives, sunflowers etc.
3rd part is a natural area reserved for grazing of animals which also has numerous paths leading to artifical dam (Embalse de Gergal) on the west side of the trail.
4th part of the trail is surrounded by farmland for animal grazing. During this part hikers can observe bulls, horses, donkeys.
Finally, the last fifth (about 3km) requires walking on the shoulder of a regional highway until Castilblanco. Unlike the first fifth, this path is clearly marked and away from the cars with several rest areas scattered on the shade. In this part if you don't want to walk all the way to Castilblanco or are late for the bus you can take the return bus near Colinas (a suburb of Castilblanco) see pictures for the bus stop.
In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts you can observe many rabbits, birds, and bees when in season. For rabbits obviously you need to walk in silence (I spotted a couple dozen during my walk).
Due to heat and lack of shade in some areas, I would recommend walking this trail during early morning hours (the bus leaves Seville at 7am) and at an average pace of 4kms per hour hikers should be able to make to Castilblanco well before noon when it is still cool to enjoy the historic town which is famous for its bread and has a museum. Also, remember to check out the storks by the municipality building/ church which are next to main bus stop to Seville.
There is a water source along the trail and in Castilblanco several fountains are also present.

I will be exploring other trails near Guillena and Castilblanco in the near future so if you're interested please either follow my profile here or on my non-profit blog https://sevillewalkers.blogspot.com/ in which I share many day hiking paths that are accessible by public transportation.
Thank you for reading thus far and
happy hiking!