“Here were churches, castles, and medieval walls standing sharp in the evening light, but all dwarfed by that extraordinary phenomenon of masonry, the Roman aqueduct, which overshadowed the whole…’The Aqueduct’, said the farmer, pointing with his whip, in case by chance I had failed to notice it.” Laurie Lee
If the Alcázar isn’t enough for one city the Aqueduct is the most recognised and famous historical symbol of Segovia. It was built at the end of first to early second century AD by the Romans during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula to bring water from the Río Frío about eighteen kilometres away and requiring an elevated section in its final kilometre from the Sierra de Guadarrama to the walls of the old town.
This is supported by an engineering achievement of one hundred and sixty-six arches and one hundred and twenty pillars constructed on two levels. It is twenty eight metres high and constructed with over twenty thousand large, rough-hewn granite blocks, which are joined without mortar or clamps and have remained in place for two thousand years.
We liked the Aqueduct and looked all round it from every possible angle, it is one of those structures that make you appreciate just how brilliant the Romans were. I never tire of visiting these ancient structures, I feel privileged to able to enjoy them and the sense of wonderment is never reduced no matter how many I see.
Underneath the Aqueduct in the Plaza of Azoguejo at the tourist information office we checked timetables and made plans for our railway journey to Madrid in the morning and then retraced our steps back to the Plaza Mayor where in the mid to late afternoon sunshine we sat and had another beer and another plate of tapas at a third different bar.
There was only one more thing to do in Segovia so after the refreshment break we went to the Cathedral to finish off the day. The building was completed in 1577 and is regarded as the World’s last great Gothic Cathedral. There was an admission charge again, which seems to becoming quite normal, so we paid the €3 and then entered what I suggest is quite possibly the coldest cathedral in Spain and probably all of Europe. We were inappropriately dressed for sub-zero temperatures and although the cathedral was well worth the admission charge and the visit it was too cold to enjoy it so we sprinted around the naves and the chapels with rather indecent haste and were glad to come about again into the sunshine with only seconds to go before hypothermia set in.
Later in the agreeable afternoon sunshine we needed to warm up so we ambled around the pretty little streets, bought some wine from a little shop near to the hotel and then went back to the room to drink it and look out from our balcony over the square at the late afternoon activity. The Sercotel Infanta Isabel was a good hotel in an excellent location and we enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere as we drank our bottle of local Spanish wine and thoughts turned to dining arrangements for the evening.
By the time we had finished the wine and showered and changed it had become cloudy for the first time since we arrived in Spain but it was still very warm as we joined the Segovians in their evening promenading and we did some souvenir and gift shopping and then went again to the Aqueduct to take pictures in the fading light of dusk. Later we ate at the restaurant that Kim had shown a preference for the previous evening but I had overruled and it turned out to be an excellent choice with a very tasty selection of food.
It had been a long day and we had done a lot of walking so as we were planning to go to Madrid in the morning we finished early and went back to the hotel for an early night and to consult the guide books to make last minute plans for tomorrow.
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Another Bag, More Travel 
Good memories. Was there with my family only last week.
On hearing that there was nothing but the pressure holding the structure together, my 7 year old instantly ran over to one column to try and push it over, much to the annoyance of a grumpy local policeman! We have a great photo of his effort.
I wouldn’t have backed him to push it over!
Haha, me neither.
Did you manage to see the wonderful views from the top of the aqueduct to the “dead woman” mountains? Spectacular, and you can really see why it has that name.
We had a lovely few days in Avila, Toledo and Segovia and then stumbled across your blog on our return.
We liked Segovia and Avila so much that we went back the next year. A year later we went to Extremadura, to Merida, Caceres and Trujillo and those cities are equally worth visiting!
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Totally agree with your thoughts on visiting and studying ancient sites, I don’t think we will ever tire of doing it either. Just being there and looking at the construction methods and the monumental feats of engineering fills us with awe. Those sites prove over and over again that “necessity is the mother of invention”.
Last weekend I was at Hadrian’s Wall.
Planning the rebuild for after Sturgeon’s next referendum?
I don’t understand English hypocrisy. We wanted out of Europe and crow about it but don’t think Scots have the right to be out of the Union. Right wing press don’t make sense to me.
But isn’t that the antithesis of Sturgeon’s stance, not willing to be run by London but content to be run by Brussels?
It is their choice surely. I am yet to see one single positive from leaving Europe, maybe the majority of Scots think the same. Would you deny them the opportunity that we tossed away?
This is just wonderful and I absolutely agree with you: “I never tire of visiting these ancient structures, I feel privileged to able to enjoy them and the sense of wonderment is never reduced no matter how many I see.”
Those that came before did good work for sure!