Tuesday, 12 May - Porto

As luck would have it, today is the 200th anniversary of Wellington's famous victory over Soult at Porto so an important day for us. We biked into the city and the Ponte de Luis then climbed to the dominant monastery from which W surveyed the scene and made his battle plan. We stood on the same spot at the same time on the same date to see the city, the river and the terrain as he would have seen it (give or take all the modern buildings). Seeing the river span, the steep stone tracks and the bends in the river which W was able to exploit was fascinating. To our left on the south bank some wine barges were moored. Just 4 of these were used to take 30 troops at a time across the Douro to create the bridgehead. We could almost hear the tramp of British boots and the hustle and bustle of the British army executing its formidable tasks - quite moving. It did seem, though, that Soult must have been negligent not to have kept a better eye on his enemy. As it was, he lost the city by mid afternoon along with 800 casualties, the loss of 70 guns, he had to retreat fast to the NE and Wellesley dined on the supper prepared for the French general! Marvellous. We then went to the Musea Militar and the seminary which became a British stronghold and which is still in use as a school. The trip met all our expectations.

Porto is also famous for its port wine houses so we could not waste the opportunity. To Taylor's then in shorts and with bikes for a sumptuous lunch, chilled white port as an aperitif, an excellent Vinho Velhas followed by tawny port with the coffee. M2 now a convert away from the whisky or brandy. A fascinating escorted trip round the cellars followed for an all round good experience. What a day!

Photo: Towards Porto