An enchanting walk through history and nature in Malaga province's Serranía

El Águila castle in Gaucín, where legend claims Guzmán El Bueno met his death, is steeped in tales of bandits who roamed the rugged mountains - stories that define this part of southern Spain. This legacy seems certain to be enhanced by the recovery of a walking route in the Serranía de Ronda so loved by the Romantics and artists of the 19th century.

The route is based on the so-called Camino Inglés (English Way) that starts in Gibraltar, the place where many travellers (including writers and artists) disembarked to make a foray into Andalucía, passing through the mountain town of Ronda.

Soon to be fully signposted as a GR long-distance trail for hiking and cycling, the route will start from Casares's El Secadero district and pass through Gaucín, Benarrabá, Algatocín, Benadalid, Benalauría, Atajate and Alpandeire.

From this last village, the weary hiker faces the very last leg of the journey to Ronda. Back in the times of the Romantics, from the first half of the 19th century, Ronda was the place that captivated such illustrious travellers as Washington Irving, Antoine de Latour, Anatole Demidoff and Edmond Boissier.

The trail, which starts from many already approved hiking trails, will cover 58 kilometres in the province of Malaga, the distance between El Secadero, on the border with Cadiz and Ronda.

The first section of the Camino Inglés runs for several kilometres alongside the Guadiaro river. From El Secadero, you'll head towards Gaucín along this riverbank as far as Los Nogales, where a legendary inn once stood - at the confluence with the Genal river. Before reaching Gaucín, where the aforementioned El Águila castle stands, you will pass the Almedinilla fountain, where has it that the infant Jesus appeared to San Juan de Dios in the 16th century.

From Gaucín the route, which partially coincides with the route of the Almoravids and Almohads, follows a path that never loses sight of the Rock of Gibraltar, but heads through the Genal Valley towards the monuments of Ronda.

First stop is Benarrabá, with its labyrinth of narrow streets and views of the valley, including Algatocín, the next stop. This is where the Calvario shrine awaits visitors, one of the places where you can usually see the Rock clearly and where, according to the undocumented history of local tales, some sailors were saved from shipwreck.

Benalauría and Benadalid are the next stops along the route. As with the other stop-offs, there are paths that serve to bypass walking or cycling on the main Ronda-Algeciras road. In the first of these villages, the town hall, which dates back to the 18th century, is still in use as a municipal building. Benadalid is particularly proud of its castle, which is of Arab origin but was rebuilt just over three centuries ago.

The next stop will be Atajate, where there are barely any traces of its ancient castle, but there is an important intangible legacy around 'mosto', the most traditional wine of the area for centuries made from grape must. This village, the least populated in Malaga province, has a unique tradition where every house displays the name or nickname of its owners.

From Atajate you can reach Alpandeire via the last section of the hiking trail named after Fray Leopoldo, a friar who was born in Alpandeire in 1864, died in Granada in 1956 and was beatified by the Catholic Church in September 2010.

From Alpandeire, the only thing left to do is to head towards Ronda along an existing track that is thrilling in terms of both history and scenery, as it passes right by the dolmen of Encinas Borrachas and brings you to the foot of the Tajo del Abanico path. A great prelude before climbing up this path that leads into the old part of Ronda town where it crosses the famous gorge, a 'city of dreams' that so many romantic travellers fell in love with some two centuries ago.