SERRA DE MONTSENY

The Montseny mountain range is an attractive region of cork, pine and beech forests, villages and mountain streams, straddling the border between Girona and Barcelona provinces, just inland from the southern Costa Brava. It's known throughout Spain for its springs: much of the country's mineral water is bottled here, especially in the spa town of Sant Hilari Sacalm.

There are two routes into the Serra de Montseny from the coast. Both involve heading for the A7 motorway, which you can leave at the junctions for either Hostalric or Sant Celoni. A circuit of the region, beginning at Hostalric and returning via Sant Celoni, would make a good full-day excursion from one of the south coast resorts. Hostalric is a medieval walled village, perched on a basalt rock and surrounded by cork forests; a short drive west leads to Breda, known for its pottery shops. The road continues north to Arbucies, where there is a museum of local crafts in the porticoed town square, before snaking through the mountains to the charming village of Viladrau. From here there is a choice of routes south to Sant Celoni one via Seva, through the village of Montseny itself, the other passing the region's highest peak, Turo de I'Home (1,712m). At the hermitage of Santa Fe, beneath Turo de I'Home, there is an information centre and a choice of several way marked walks. Here you are at the heart of the Serra de Montseny nature reserve, and you may see peregrines, eagle owls and red squirrels.