Do not hesitate to contact us. We are an expert team and we are always happy to talk to you.
01694 723600
You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
The walking in Costa Blanca is simply stunning with a great variation of amazing scenery in all directions. Our solos guided walking holiday will introduce you to the very best walking in this beautiful landscape.
We specialise in offering guided walking holidays for solos and singles in beautiful locations in both the UK and Europe. Solos and Singles Guided Walking is our unique speciality – unlike other walking holiday companies. We also design bespoke holidays for special groups.
If you decide to book this holiday, please complete the Quotation Request Form in full – this is the first part of the booking process… (as per ATOL requirements).
Initial Quotation based upon flights information
What’s not included
Additional days
We can arrange extra days at the end of your holiday/ coming out earlier.
The area of Castell de Castells is truly beautiful- an old Moorish village surrounded by four mountain ranges, rolling hillsides, dramatic gorges and amazing rock formations. It is also home to a World Heritage Site containing cave paintings over 5,000 years old. There are so many fabulous walks to choose from in this area and importantly straight from our hotel door.
Yes- the Costa Blanca has mountains and yes, the Costa Blanca offers the most incredible, unspoilt paths and trails. They offer you a vast array of good hiking – the best part is that this area is a hidden gem. That’s why we are excited to add it to our Secret Hills portfolio- and to offer you the opportunity to see and taste the real authentic Spain.
Since the 1960’s, the Costa Blanca area has always been a favourite destination to many -known for its beautiful turquoise coastline and busy holiday resorts. The advantage is that it is the just two and a half hours flying from numerous UK local airports. Add that to the fabulous climate with 300 days of blue skies and glorious sunshine.
Within thirty minutes inland from the beaches and packed coastal resorts, a completely different world opens. There are many mountains higher than Ben Nevis -rocky beautiful limestone mountains that stretch away in a mainly east-westerly direction featuring long chains of limestone ridges (Sierras) divided by deep canyons (Barrancas). These are the Marina Alta mountains with their slopes clothed in pine scented forests or olive and orange groves. The valleys are dusted with the delicate pink and white blossoms of almond trees in the spring, with beautiful scents each day as we walk. These will stay with you long after you return home.
Hidden amongst these hills are gently rolling valleys and typical traditional white stone Spanish villages and farmsteads. Our hotel is situated in one of these traditional villages far away from the hustle and bustle of the Coast. The story of the Costa Blanca is etched into its landscape, the names of its villages and the faces of its inhabitants. The earliest evidence of man is to be found in the cave paintings dating back more than 5000 years close by to our hotel.
The embryonic footpath network is often based on centuries old trading routes dating back to the long occupation of Spain by the North African Moors with their old cobbles and steps. The area has many ruins of castles and watchtowers perched on rocky towers. The Costa Blanca is steeped in history, diversity, and richness.
In this ancient land, we base our holidays – a walker’s paradise – allowing you to SEE and TASTE the REAL Spain.
Our traditional Spanish family run two star hotel – the Hotel Rural Serella – is based in the quaint rural mountainous village of Castell de Castells at an altitude of 550 metres above sea level and 40 minutes drive inland from the Coast. The hotel is small and authentically Spanish and gives a warm welcome to walkers.
The rooms
All rooms have a balcony overlooking the garden or mountains and are equipped with air-conditioning and an en-suite bathroom. The Standard Rooms offer everything you need to enjoy a pleasant rest during your stay in rural Spain. If you enjoy a morning cuppa then please bring your own travel kettle. The hotel has nice communal outside sitting areas and a fabulous Spa
Facilities:
Meals
All meals are included in the price of this holiday. Breakfast is a vast continental offering with freshly squeezed orange juice and tea and coffee. Packed Lunches will consist of a freshly made picadillo ( baguette) , fruit, cake and a drink. Dinner will consist of three courses followed by coffee and will be home cooked traditional Valenciana mountain dishes such as paella, arroz de Horne, tapas.
It will definitely not be English food – so please see that as part of the holiday, sampling the real Spain.
Any special dietary needs can be catered for but must be advised on booking.
Sole occupancy of a twin room is £22 per night.
Once you have arrived at the hotel after transfer from Alicante airport we will organise five full day walks and one free day.
Walks will be directly from the hotel as well as taking transport to walks start.
Flights are from most UK regional airports to Alicante.
We transfer you from the airport – about an hour- into the mountains above the coast to our hotel.
THE WALKING
Given our location, we will undertake a mixture of walking inland and on the Mediterranean coastal cliffs which are situated within an hour’s drive from our rural hotel. The driving to walk starts, and from walks finishing points should be seen as part of the walking programme. We take in the sights of this beautiful area.
Holiday Highlights
Grade of walking
This holiday walking programme is designed for good competent walkers on a mixture of terrains. We walk between 6 to 12 miles a day and potentially average around 700 metres ascent/ descent. Ascents are taken slowly to allow plenty time to absorb the magnificent environment around you.
The walks on this trip vary between moderate and challenging and each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descents. The holiday requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with some previous walking experience in similar conditions.
Underfoot conditions are generally good and we walk on mature paths and tracks.
It’s all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress-free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secret Hills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekend’s activities – but it’s good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.
“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.
You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for travelling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.
Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.
Oh – by the way – it’s not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like-minded friends – just relax and enjoy.
Just arrive and enjoy.
There are other walking holiday companies that cover Europe but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….
How to book a UK guided walking holiday AND holidays in France, Algarve, Douro Valley and Ireland
To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.
Reserve online – once you have chosen your holiday, click on the booking button and complete the online form OR contact us by phone or email, and we will send by post or email, a booking form to you
OR you can call us direct on 01694 723600, and we will take your reservation over the phone. Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone; you can, however, post us a cheque. Alternatively, you can pay via the Pay Pal system attached to our website, which allows you to pay either by debit/credit card, or by using your Paypal account if you have one.
We will also accept a Bank Transfer and on request we will supply our bank details to you.
It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.
Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
Address:
Secret Hills Walking, 35, Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BH
Our Partners in Europe Walking
Secret Hills Walking are pleased to be associated with New Experience Holidays, who organise flights, accommodation and transfers for these holidays and provide you with ATOL security.
All your joining instructions and individual flight arrangements will be made by them. Once you have committed to a holiday, and have accepted the individual quote we send, New Experience will send you a reservation form and all deposits / final payments will be made to them. Secret Hills Walking is responsible for marketing and selling the holidays and for arranging your itinerary when you arrive at the airport in the country you are visiting. You will receive individual attention throughout your holiday from us.
ATOL Bonding – New Experience Holidays REGISTRATION
Insurance – you need to be fully covered
It is a condition of joining any of our holidays that you must be fully insured against travel, medical and personal accident risks (to include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services where appropriate). Our partners New Experience holidays will ask for this information as a condition of reserving a place. If you are a UK citizen and travelling in Europe you should obtain the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is available only online from the UK Government website. This gives you medical care at a reduced cost, and some cases for free, in many European countries, but should not be considered a substitute for adequate travel insurance.