WAS hoping for thighs so strong they could crack walnuts. I figured that a cycling holiday might be just the job to tone up after a few months of a more-off-than-on love affair with the gym. As it turned out, there was a lot more to enjoy than biking.

Making our way from Porto to Coimbra along the coast in western Portugal proved to be a delight, and vastly different to the holiday on the Algarve I had taken as a teenager.

Porto is the second largest city in the country and an established shipping destination, displaying a varied cultural heritage.

Getting a lift to our starting point on the quayside, our group passed bustling shopping streets and avenues of large granite buildings with wrought-iron balconies. Many are adorned with blue and white tiles – evidence of the Moors’ influence nearly 800 years after they were driven out.

Pedalling along the city’s Douro River showed a different side to the city. Cafes and restaurants are juxtaposed with higgledy-piggledy houses with terracotta roofs.

Tourist barges vie for space with boats carrying the region’s port, and as we got further out towards the estuary, old fishermen whiled away the hours on the riverbanks, and a public wash-house had clothes and rugs drying outside. The combined effect is of an antiquated village seeping into a modern city.

Cycling on to the coastal path, we were met by gleaming sandy beaches with rocky outcrops and dramatic waves. Strolling families, joggers and sunbathers were happily taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine and as the area is unspoiled by mass tourism, there is plenty of space for everyone.

After a stop for lunch, our afternoon jaunt led us beside a lagoon and fields of maize and bamboo. We arrived at the pretty town of Aveiro, known as the Venice of Portugal because of its network of canals. Pastel-coloured houses, restaurants and shops line the banks along with palms and other trees. We couldn’t resist a ride in one of the gondola-type boats and it was as if Disney had created a vision of cute quaintness to make us forget our weary legs. The following day we headed out of town past streets of colourful tile-covered houses and to another part of the lagoon where white flamingos and egrets stood.

We pedalled to the little town of Costa Nova and the adjacent Barra beach, an area filled with candy-stripe painted houses. Despite having a substantial lunch in a beach-side restaurant, we succumbed to temptation with some delicious ice cream from an Italian-style gelateria.

The final stop on our trip was the hilly city of Coimbra, the former capital of Portugal. There stood a magnificent limestone building – an ancient palace that became a university centuries ago. It is now a Unesco world heritage site.

Here, students are seen in long, black cloaks and, at one side of the courtyard, lies the old library. The baroque decor, along with books several hundred years old, give the library its historical splendour.

Bats are encouraged there to keep moths away, and in the basement there is an academic prison where students used to be locked up for missing lectures!

It’s all a bit Harry Potter-esque, and, as fans know, JK Rowling lived in this region when she taught English in the early nineties.

All this cycling builds up an appetite and thirst. Fish-lovers are spoiled for choice along the coast. My friends tucked into various dishes including salted cod, fish stew, grilled octopus and sardines, shrimp salad, monkfish, bream, sea bass and fish kebab.

As a veggie I’d been a little apprehensive about the options for me, but I was well catered for.

As for the old vino, we tried several varieties of red and white from around the country, with my favourite being vinho verde – a light, fresh, lower-alcohol white from the northern Minho province.

Being on the Atlantic, the region can be a little breezy at times but has plenty of sunshine and blue skies. The route is generally flat and suitable for cyclists of average ability. Distances are 18 miles-24 miles per day along cycle paths and quiet roads, taken at your own pace.

Although I didn’t quite achieve the super-toned thighs I had hoped for, I had a great time combining some gentle exercise on beautiful scenic routes with interesting sight-seeing stop-offs, and an enticing selection of food and wine.

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FACT FILE

  • Susannah travelled with Headwater (01606 828527, www.headwater.com), The self-guided, seven-night Porto to Coimbra cycling holiday costs from £1,248pp. It includes 4* accommodation with breakfast, four evening meals, bike hire, a GPS device between two people, notes and maps, luggage transfers, back-up services and flights with TAP Portugal (0845 601 0932, flytap.com), Gatwick-Porto. Departures April to October.
  •  See www.headwater.com/C07OP