The Greenway Vegas del Guadiana starts at the railway station of Villanueva de la Serena. From this station, paired with the train tracks, the continuous stretch formed by José Gallardo street and Pas... (plus +)

The Greenway Vegas del Guadiana starts at the railway station of Villanueva de la Serena. From this station, paired with the train tracks, the continuous stretch formed by José Gallardo street and Paseo Castelar extends towards the water tanks that supply the town with drinking water and the Ronda de la Hispanidad. Next to the overpass of the road to Don Benito (Ronda de la Hispanidad), the Madrid-Badajoz railway and the Villanueva de la Serena-Talavera railway, whose construction was never completed, diverge. Marked by the milestone of km 1, this point, which has a rest area, is the beginning of the greenway and here it takes on its physiognomy. Km. 2.3 Leaving Villanueva de la Serena behind, the greenway makes a right turn and plunges into a deep, humid, and red railway trench, at the exit of which it takes on the appearance of a very long straight line drawn between agricultural fields, orchards, scattered farmhouses, and gleaming chalets. In this section, the Zújar canal and its parallel path are crossed (km 2.3). However, the linearity of the railway layout is interrupted by a wide and compact transversal dirt track (km 5). With the impassable overgrown railway platform ahead, the route leaves the original railway track, turns right, and continues along this dirt track, sharing an unchanging landscape with other vehicles. Without deviating at any time, the dirt track leads to a second transversal path: the left branch leads to the level crossing with the busy BA-060 road (km 6.3). There are signposts at the junctions to avoid any confusion. On the other side of the road, the dirt track turns into the asphalted road that climbs to the Ventorrillo hill. Here, an impressive panorama unfolds: the wide course of the Guadiana River divided into two water channels framed by tall eucalyptus trees. Thus, the greenway descends rapidly in search of the Guadiana, already sighting the imposing viaducts that, on aesthetic concrete arches attached to robust pillars, cross the great river. The descent and the asphalt end upon reaching the first railway viaduct (km 7), thus reconnecting with the original railway layout. This is also where the shared section with other vehicles ends and a walkway supported by three high viaducts begins, extending through a high embankment. The almost aerial walk over the Guadiana plain ends at the underpass under the N 430 road (km 8.2) and gives way to a wide panorama formed only by farmland. The greenway will soon cross the homogeneous landscape of the flooded rice fields of Palazuelo and Guadalperales, a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) that exhibits, depending on the season, green tides swayed by the wind or lands plowed by tractors followed by a flock of storks and herons; an unchanging landscape of flat horizons that the route cuts through like an endless straight line. That's why every event is celebrated by the senses. At km 9.6, the ruined Renay station appears, and beyond it, its cargo warehouse topped by stork nests, the first of the long list that punctuate this route. After passing the station, the greenway gains height next to the aligned fruit trees that extend on both sides and gradually becomes the embankment that approaches the bridge over the Gargáligas River (km 10.4), a setting shared by fishermen and birds and where a scientific ringing station is located. At km 13, the overpass of the road leading to the hamlet of El Torviscal, located about 300 m from the greenway, rises; and at km 17, another overpass of roads appears, after which the vegetal curtain of poplars and eucalyptus trees that populate the Ruecas River filters the silhouette of the town of Palazuelo.
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