Full article about Summer Beach, Winter Boulders: Cumeada & Marmeleiro
Seasonal river lido, ridge-top loop and Knights Templar tithe paths in Sertã’s quiet parish
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River beach that vanishes in winter
The Marmeleiro weir is barely three metres deep, yet in July it becomes a natural lido. A 70-metre ribbon of shingle is roped off, water is tested weekly and a pop-up bar serves icy beers. Come September the dam gates stay open, the beach disappears and the stream reverts to granite boulders and a 20 °C trickle.
Cumeada sits at 450 m, ring-fenced by four low ridges—São Brás, Santo António, Cume Grosso and Cume Pequeno—none topping 500 m. Walkers can link them in a half-day loop that finishes at the village fonte, still the social noticeboard.
Land once tithed to the Knights
In 1232 the Order of Malta was granted these hills; until 1860 every household surrendered a fifth of its rye and olive crop. The parchment deed—book 45, folios 123-125—survives in Castelo Branco’s district archive. The 2013 merger of Cumeada (pop. 420) and Marmeleiro (238) into a single parish saved on administration, yet the two hamlets retain separate postcodes: 6100-501 and 6100-502.
Bridges, mills and private water
The so-called Roman bridge at Cova do Moinho is actually 18th-century, 32 m of single-arch schist dated 1793. Downstream, the 18 m Várzea Carreira bridge was rebuilt in 1954 after a winter flood tore away its predecessor. Of fourteen water-mills mapped in 1940 only four stand: Malhão’s still clasps a 2.5 m wooden wheel; Cova do Moinho’s is now a hay barn. All are on private land—knock before you photograph.
Oil, kid and the Sertã sausage
Beira Interior olive oil has held DOP status since 1996; the Galega olives give a peppery finish. Buy at the Cernache do Bonjardim co-op or at Quinta da Marmeleira, open Friday 2-6 pm. The region’s IGP-protected kid goat fetches €14 a kilo at the butcher, while a 400 g maranho—local blood-sausage stuffed with rice and mint—costs €18 at Mercearia Central and feeds three.
Interior Way, quiet pilgrims
The Caminho Interior de Santiago cuts 13 km across the parish, way-marked by yellow arrows and knee-high granite posts. There are no hostels; the only beds are in four licensed rooms—collect the list from Sertã’s tourist office beside the river.