"Peninsular War battlefields tour advice" Topic

Hey all,

Slightly off topic post, but I'm going to be in Spain for a couple of weeks in September/October, and am wondering what recommendations people have for battlefield tours or areas to visit. I'll be in Madrid half the time and Barcelona the rest, but am thinking of taking a day trip to see Talavera and doing one night in Salamanca as part of the Madrid leg.

Any recommendations for tours, sites, museums, or in general anything I should see.

Thanks!

I have been to quite a few battlefields of the Peninsular War and the best at conveying 'as it was on the day' are Vittoria and Salamanca.I say that because neither have been over encroached by the 21st Century and they are also open and sweeping in their potential viewing. Vittoria is probably too much out of your way but Salamanca is a gem.

The battlefield is pretty much as it was on the day in 1812. The villages are a bit bigger and there was a 19th Century railway line but they grubbed that up. So apart from that, it is alomost exactly the same. If you start at Ermita de Nuestra Seņora de la Peņa south of the city and off the CL 510 at Calvarrasa de Arriba you can follow the battle chronologically as you move around.

On top of that, the local tourist board has put up a series of viewing points from which you can observe the battlefield and which have information boards with maps and illustrations so that you know what you are looking at.

Most of the key locations are accessible by car, but the tracks can be rough and a 4x4 is recommended. On our visit (in 2019) we managed to get to all the 'flash points', except the Lesser Arapile which was fenced off. Climbing the Greater Arapile more than made up for it and made you appreciate the French gunners who managed to drag their pieces up there.

It was one of my best battlefield visits and even the weather was appropriate. My wife was very impressed by the whole thing and also enjoyed herself as everything seemed so clear. All in all, if you only get one battle in to your time in Spain, Salamanca is the one.

I'd agree about Salamanca. It is untouched and you get a good perspective of the overall battlefield. Got a taxi from the railway station and walked around the Arapiles and the village. Go on a Saturday if you can as there is a small but good museum which is open in the morning. Salamanca city is also worth visiting.

Also did Vitoria but it is more difficult as it is a larger area and you probably need a car.

I understand that there is a motorway through the middle of Talavera. Have a look at JJs website for his tour of Spain.

I should have added that if you have the time, you can head south a short distance and see the battlefield of Garcia Hernandez where the KGL famously broke those squares. It is also relatively untouched.

If you can possibly manage it, spend some more time in Salamanca – it has more enough to interest any non-historian travelling companions. Within 2 hours drive you have Ciudad Rodrigo, Fuentes D'Onoro,Almeida, the Coa and much more.

I wanted to find the direction of Pakenham's march at Salamanca and the place where the 3rd appeared. Took me a while as apart from the Arapiles, most of it is pretty flattish. If I went again I'd take a battle map where I'd marked the main modern features: mainly the direction of Salamanca and the road south; plus some of the distances in paces and a few compass directions so I could cut down the time it took to orientate myself. One of the nicer battlefields.

Another area really worth visiting is Fuentes de Onoro (again, it's better to go with a prepared map so you can pin down the edge of the town), Almeida (which is pretty intact) from where you can follow Black Bob's retreat south-west to the Coa gorge. Sabugal is nearby and at Ciudad Rodrigo you can see where the breach was and the subtle defences Wellington was up against. Inside Ciudad is also a beautiful place to stay.