Subbetica
Olive Oil Greenway
The Olive Oil Greenway in the Subbética region stretches for 58 kilometres through the south of Córdoba, following the route of the old “Olive Oil Train”. Today, this route allows cyclists and walkers to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park and the rich birdlife of the Laguna del Salobral Nature Reserve, taking us past villages such as Luque, Zuheros, Doña Mencia, Cabra and Lucena, dotted with castles and mysterious caves. As it passes through our city, the route runs past the former Renfe stations in Lucena and the Lucena neighbourhood of Las Navas del Selpillar, both of which have been restored.
In the area of the former Lucena Station, we find various spaces offering visitors a wide range of facilities, including landscaped areas, bicycle parking, a children’s play area, a skateboard park and a large car park.
The large hangar houses a tavern-restaurant, offering visitors the best of the rich local and regional cuisine. The building allows us to appreciate this type of industrial architecture, as its original interior and exterior structure has been preserved.
In the Lucena section, there is also an interesting bridge, popularly known as the ‘Iron Bridge’. This railway bridge between Puente Genil and Espeluy once spanned the deep gorge of the El Alamedal stream.
The first trains began running in 1891 and the railway line was finally closed to traffic in 1984.
It was manufactured in the workshops of Messieurs Daydée et Pillet, in the French town of Creil, north of Paris; it is 70 metres long and some 30 metres high. It is also worth noting that the overall design and construction were the work of engineers Delaperriére and Alesandri; and the work was carried out under the supervision of Monsieur Lantier, section head, and Monsieur Vigier, foreman. It is interesting to note that this bridge was the first to be built of steel in the whole of Spain.
Cyclists, hikers and sports enthusiasts can now enjoy sections of it that have been repurposed as the ‘Greenway of the Oil’.