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Ruta Bancos Gigantes or Huge Bench Route in Andalucia

A new rage is slowly spreading across Andalucia with its beginnings in the province of Malaga and that is huge benches are being installed in beauty spots across the region. The Huge Bench Route or  Ruta Bancos Gigantes #rutabancosgigantes can be found on Instagram  where they are more active with updates on the new installations of these enormous benches and they have a   Facebook  page too. Map of the Ruta Bancos Gigantes The initiative started by Forest Green an agrobroker company that supplies and works with treated wood to large construction and environmental companies in Spain. The huge bench route is steadily growing, with constant new installations spreading across Andalucia. The enormous handmade wooden benches are 4 metre long and 2.3 metre high, with the seat being 1.3 metres above ground and needing steps to get onto them, appearing in natural beauty spots hopes to encourage people out into and  enjoy the views and of course take photos to be ...
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The Next Big Thing


The Next Big Thing is a huge round-robin iniciative of writers, bloggers, authors and journalists who share what they are embarking on next.

Molly Sears-Piccavey, who lives, works and writes about my neighbouring province of Granada at Piccavey.com, passed the baton on to me. Pop over to learn more about Granada, Spain, Molly and other baton runners.

What is the working title of your project?

My current pet writing project is this blog on Andalucia – Andalucia Explorer although it does alter between my Camping in Spain blog which is rather seasonal (I´m only a warm weather camper and camp site inspector) and my Andalucia for Holidays website.

Where did the idea for the blog com from?

I´ve been building up my Andalucia for Holidays website for several years and still am, but I also wanted something a bit more personal.

Actually it began as a New Year´s Resolution - I´m big on starting things and not so good at following them through. I´m into year two now and quite proud of my staying power but more amazed at how much I enjoy it.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your blog?

Sharing life, thoughts and jaunts in Andalucia and beyond.

How long do you spend writing posts for your blog?

That completely depends. I teach English for four hours every school day, have 3 sons, a holiday home and I´m a really inefficient secretary for hubby - any other time I try to work on my blog but often waste time surfing, social media-ing etc.

I find I need to write, edit and publish a blog post in one session or days and days can go past before I get back to it.

What book would you compare to your blog?

A diary. A mess of thoughts and facts, memories and reminders.




Who or What inspires you to write?

Exploring new (to me) places whether in Spain, abroad or going to visit family in the UK - it´s a big big world and I want to see it all. Or at least as much as I can.

What is an your agenda in the next month or two?

I´m really excited to have won a trip to Oslo, Norway. I go on Saturday 17th November, just for two nights and on my own. I must admit Oslo wasn´t the top of my ´want-to-visit´ list, but now I´m so looking forward to it and have done loads of research on what to do and see. I then have to write a blog post for the great Solo Traveler Blog the promoter of the competition, along with Skyscanner, as well as share my trip here - watch this space!

What is your dream of a next big thing?

I dream about writing a guide book on Jaen City and Province, there is such a huge lack of information about Jaen and it´s a vast area with an incredible history and array of monuments.

BUT, I´m better to suited to short projects that my time and attention span can cope with! I´d need a publisher/editor/deadline to spur me on and have to break it down into bite size, un-overwhelming chunks.

I´m also a prevaricator and excellent starter of projects - not an ideal combination to see projects through alone.

Monasterio de la Concepción Franciscana, Jaen
Concepcion Franciscana Monastery, Jaen



Well, that’s me done, Tamara Essex is my nomination to pass on The Next Big Thing baton!!!

I discovered Tamara´s Spanish blog A Foot in Two Camps a while ago and am following her Spanish experiences. Her other foot is in the UK where she´s a freelance management consultant working for charities, voluntary and community organisations.



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