Full article about Penalva’s Goat-Scented Bridge & Velvet-Rind Cheese
Penalva de Alva & São Sebastião da Feira: 14C bridge, thistle-rennet cheese, chanfana stew and €0.65 espresso in a two-parish square.
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Five granite arches, no parapet, one lane: the 14th-century Ponte de Penalva still ferries the Alva River’s daily traffic—farmers on foot, Massey Fergusons and, every so often, a slow-moving herd of brown Arouquesa cattle. No ticket booth, no interpretation board; just the echo of your boots on the slabbed deck as you cross from Penalva de Alva into São Sebastião da Feira.
On the far bank a dirt lane climbs past stone-walled terraces to smallholdings where Serra da Estrela DOP cheese is born. Knock first; if the shepherd is in he’ll ladle out raw ewe’s milk curds, still warm, before wrapping a full moon of velvet rind in waxed paper. The recipe is medieval: thistle rennet, hand-ladled curd, cool slate shelves and three weeks of turning.
Two parishes, one square
The 2013 merger yoked 928 inhabitants across 14.5 km² of schist and olive grove. Each side kept its church: São Pedro in Penalva, with its Manueline doorway; São Sebastião, whose gilded baroque altarpiece once cost more than the annual copper shipment from distant Lisbon. Sunday mass is still at eleven, bells competing with the river’s rush below.
Trade concentrates on the first Sunday of every month. Stalls go up at dawn, come down before lunch. Black-pork chouriços swing beside carbide lamps and second-hand Dewalt drills; a rail of anoraks is €5 each. The café on the square charges 65 cêntimos for an espresso—price frozen since the year France won the World Cup.
What to eat
Chanfana – Kid or billy-goat braised overnight in clay with half a bottle of tinta. Reserve at Restaurante O Cardoso (235 430 123); €18 for two.
Wood-oven lamb – Crisp skin, potatoes roasted in the dripping. Quinta do Barroco needs 24 h notice (965 432 876); €25 pp with house red.
Cheese – Sra. Emília, Largo da Feira 14, sells only what her 40 sheep give. Monday closed; €14/kg. Bring a cool bag.
Trails & how to arrive
The PR4 “Alva & Schist” loop starts by the bridge: 8 km, 2 h 30, way-marked blue-and-white. No cafés en route; pack water. GPS start: 40.3442, -7.8667.
By car: A25 exit 28, then N17-1 for 12 km; park just before the bridge. Rede Expresso coaches serve Oliveira do Hospital; onward taxi ± €15.
Sleep:
- Casa do Brigadeiro – whole house, 4 beds, €90
- Quinta do Barroco room – €40 with breakfast
Book via the town-hall website or phone the owners; outside August you can usually wing it.