We had around half a dozen neighbours last night at the Park4night (Daimiel) in the Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel. It was very large grassed parking, but solid, with the grass interspersed with bare firm sections.

After a quiet morning we continued South, continuing to be guided by Dorling Kindersley’s Back Roads Spain. We visited the small town of Almagro, where there was good van parking, thanks to Park4Night. The town is described as having “the largest and finest Plaza Major in La Mancha”.

Almagro is worth a visit, but we didn’t venture further than the main square, where we enjoyed an impromtu lunch. No menu del dia in the Bar El Gordo, where we sat in their small restaurant section, so that was more of a challenge for us with our less than basic knowledge of the language. The waiter kindly found an English menu for us, which was a help to us beginners.

We had a selection of dishes, including roast peppers with cod, deep fried calamares, rabbit, and even venison. To be honest we had no idea what to expect, but it was impressive, and tasted excellent. I had the traditional dessert of custard with a soggy biscuit on top – that may not sound great, but is definitely my favourite. With wine and coffee priced at €1.50, we were impressed.

After Almagro, I thought we’d swing by Castillo Calatrava La Nueva, a “brooding castle-monastery perched on a craggy summit”, but visibility was poor, so we gave it a miss.

Final stop was the aire at Viso del Marques. Maybe half a dozen neighbours in this large, utilitarian carpark. It had the usual facilities, and was very quiet as mentioned in the Park4Night reviews.

*** Just to mention that our blogs tend to be a couple of weeks behind reality, as we’re always in catch-up mode ***