Marchena to Osuna by Bike – Day 2 of the Washington Irving Route

Leaving Marchena on the old railway line (km 0–7)

From Marchena the route follows the road towards Fuentes de Andalucía for a short distance before turning right past a large grain silo onto an earth track. This track follows the alignment of a dismantled railway line; some sleepers can still be seen in places. The path climbs steadily through Pago Haza de las Viñas among chickpeas, sunflowers and olive trees on the higher ground. From the top of the rise the silhouette of Fuentes de Andalucía appears on the horizon before the track descends into a wide plain of sunflowers, wheat and cotton.

Crossing the Corbones and climbing to Fuentes de Andalucía (km 7–19)

The Corbones river is crossed on an old railway bridge. Reed beds line the banks in places, and small cortijos such as Valjimero and Luna de Vargas can be seen in the distance, some of them marked by palm trees. After fording the Arroyo de la Raspa on another railway bridge the track begins a gentle climb between Loma de Mostazar and Cerro Picoso.

Near the ruins of a bridge over the Arroyo de la Fuente de la Reina the route continues on the old railway alignment through the area known as Los Cerillos. A pair of acacias beside the remains of a wayside station stand out against the open hills. The track reaches the cemetery of Fuentes de Andalucía and joins a tree-lined tarmac road that leads into the village.

Through Fuentes de Andalucía and across the Madre de Fuentes (km 19–29)

The route climbs Calle San Fernando and turns right up Calle la Lentejuela, passing the village drinking fountains before descending again. Electrical pylons run parallel to the road and remain a useful reference for several kilometres. At the Madre de Fuentes stream it is usually possible to cross the riverbed directly. When the water or mud makes this difficult, a short detour to the left leads to a small concrete bridge (adding roughly one kilometre).

Hillocks, cortijos and the approach to Écija (km 29–51)

The track rises over a series of smooth hillocks, passing Cortijo de Crespillo and later the large Cortijo Ventas del Palmar, which even has its own chapel. The path has a continuous gentle up-and-down character. After a stretch of irrigated land the route passes a succession of cortijos (Molino del Rejón del Cuervo, Cortijo de la Cueva, Cortijo de la Venta del Hierro and others) before leaving the pylons behind and turning towards the Finca-Lagar de San Pablo, home to a well-known Andalusian horse stud.

From the stud farm the route joins the service road of the motorway for a short distance, crosses the industrial estate and enters Écija along Calle Boabdil. The town is left on the A-338 towards Herrera. After about 3.3 km, beyond Cortijo Santo Tomás del Valle and the Arroyo de Benavides, the route turns right onto an earth lane.

Final kilometres to Osuna (km 51–86)

The lane crosses the La Lantejuela–El Rubio road and continues past Rancho de Las Rozas and the ruins of Cortijo de la Boticaria. A wide, pale track leads past Cortijo del Terrocillo into an area of chaparral near the tributaries of the Arroyo de las Mozas. After a left turn the path reaches the large Hacienda de Santa Cruz, marked by a wrought-iron cross on a stone pillar.

Passing Cortijo Romera and Cortijo de las Cabezuelas, the route climbs to a low ridge from which the outskirts of Osuna become visible at the foot of Loma de Las Canteras. On the edge of the town a limestone quarry with a fountain and livestock trough appears on the left. The final stretch joins the C-340 road and enters Osuna through the Arco de la Pastora.