"The Crossing of the Douro, Porto, Portugal 2025" Topic

Following a recent trip to Portugal this year, I finally got to visit Porto, a city long on the 'bucket list' of places I wanted to visit and somewhere I had spent a great deal of time studying back in 2018 whilst working on a game to recreate one of Sir Arthur Wellesley's most accomplished victories in May 1809.

In this first post looking at out time spent in Porto, I have put together pictures of the key sights associated with the crossing by Wellesley's troops together with the earlier infamous massacre of civilians in the previous March 1809 and the disaster of the 'bridge of boats'.

If you would like to know more then just follow the link to JJ's.

link

JJ

I remember a few years back going to Porto and visiting the battlefield. I wandered around taking photos and explaining what had happened to a long-suffering wife. However, I had totally misidentified the ground and was on the wrong side of the bridge. It was a classic case of situating the ground to suit a preconception. It took another visit to correctly identify the actual landing points and the seminary etc. All the other side of the bridge. How my wife laughed but was quite sympathetic in the end.

Great Looking table.

Hi,
Thank you, and modern day battlefield tourists are spoilt with all the tools available on a mobile phone to navigate ones way around practically any foreign city in the world let alone an early 19th century battlefield, and I too remember the days of having to orientate maps, comparing contemporary with modern to work out which way I was looking and if it bore any resemblance to the account I was reading, usually with my wife holding one of the required documents and adding her opinion, which I have to admit was often invaluable.

The table you see in the pictures was prepared seven years ago and so finally getting to walk around the actual place felt somewhat familiar.

Cheers
JJ

JJ has created an excellent reference library for anyone wishing to visit the Peninsular battlefields, but not sure how to go about it.

My wife and I walked the same battlefields some 40 odd years ago. Just booking accommodation in Portugal and Spain which was not on the coast or in a city was almost impossible.

Without Googlemaps and modern online aids research consisted of borrowing books from the local library and photocoping the relevant pages and maps. Then trying to buy suitable local maps, which were far from suitable. The photocopy map always seemed to bear little, or no, resemblence to the modern day map of the same area. Many hours were spent looking for tracks which no longer seemed to exist. It was usually possible to find a bridge, hill or abandoned village which at least provided a start point. But the reward of finding the actual spot described in Oman or Napier made it all the more rewarding. Though I am sure I may well have "found" the wrong spot more than once!

JJ has created a fantastic battlefield companion reference. With its excellent photos, current and historical maps, descriptions of actions and battles and (equally important) his personal comments on each visit.

My days of walking Peninsular battlefields are over, but I can still relieve them in great details thanks to his excellent reports

Well done

Hi Paul,
Thank you for your very kind comment, and I have left you a more comprehensive response on the blog, but would add here that your efforts in this regard with your own blog has been a key contribution to any efforts on my part.

All the best
JJ