Spain Network Country Camp code Type Date start Date finish Age limit

PURPOSE OF THE WORK:

The objective is to restore the area’s heritage, in this case the

defensive elements in the “P Line”, with a view to offering them

to pilgrims and hikers in general as a mountain refuge. The

buildings to be restored are adjacent to one of the Camino de

Santiago’s variants (known as the Paseo de los Melancуlicos)

which recently received legal recognition from the Aragonese

Regional Government as forming part of the Camino de Santiago.

The goal is for the work camp to restore features which are

worthy of much greater recognition but which currently languish

abandoned and hidden from passers-by. In time, the buildings

could be used as temporary refuges by pilgrims who are caught in

the heavy downpours the area frequently experiences.

The project also has the symbolic value of converting buildings

to peaceful uses after they had initially been erected for

military purposes during a period when the two neighbouring

countries were in a state of confrontation.

A great many military positions were erected in the Canfranc

valley in the middle of the 20th C., but we have chosen one

particular post which is especially interesting and was included

in J. M. Clъa’s study of the “P Line” in the Canfranc valley

(Josй Manuel Clъa Mйndez, Cuando Franco fortificу los Pirineos.

La Lнnea P en Aragуn, Editorial Katia, Zaragoza, 2004, pp.

106-109). It consists of a bunker for various machine guns and a

Bren gun, making up the “Resistance Centre 111” and its “Support

Post No. 1”.

SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES.:

1. Familiarisation with the surroundings: walks, nature study,

landscape interpretation, study of fauna, flora, geomorphology,

anthropological features.

2. Hiking activities: two treks in the Collarada-Ip area and the

Canal Roya - Anayet area.

3. Afternoon excursions: trips to Gabardito and Coll de Ladrones.

4. Trips to nearby towns: Villanъa, Castiello, Urdos and Jaca.

5. Mountaineering activities: Orienteering, map reading, walking,

etc.

6. Leisure activities: festivals, games, parties.

discussion groups.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA WHERE THE WORKCAMP WILL TAKE

PLACE:

the highest municipalities and most typically Pyrenean areas in

the whole province of Huesca.

The village is only a few kilometres away from the French border

and lies on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. As a result,

Canfranc has historically been the recipient of huge investments

in public works as part of the defence of the realm, the creation

of transport links and infrastructure and the production of

electricity at hydroelectric stations.

With a view to protecting these structures and the population

that built and maintains them, the Government undertook some

striking work on the mountain sides, which tower up to 1,000

metres over Canfranc.

Two huge projects at the beginning of the 20th C. were intended

to ensure that avalanches of snow or rock would not destroy life

in the valley. The government built hundreds of ditches to

prevent hold back avalanches and it replanted millions of trees.

It was decided to defend the land to the south of Los Araсones by

putting up the so-called P LINE of Pyrenean bunkers, of which

there are several in the area.

The aim of the work camp is to repair, improve, clean these

bunkers and put them to some use, as they form part of the minor

heritage linked to the Camino de Santiago.