Das Vinhas ao Mar

The route starts beside the old Bom Jesus primary school and a 19th-century fountain, following the Caminho do Barroso past traditional rural houses before turning onto dirt tracks that cross the wine-growing landscape of Bom Jesus and Achada. Here, countless basalt stone corrals shelter individual vines from the wind, and the ruins of old wineries and the Achada windmill recall how important this patchwork once was to the island.

Back on tarmac, signs lead to Baía do Forno and on to the Ponta da Barca lighthouse, whose 23 m tower is the tallest in the Azores, close to the Ilhéu da Baleia, a geosite formed by the eroded chimney of an old volcanic cone. The coastal stretch that follows passes several bays and coves used by seabirds, including Monteiro's storm petrel, Cory's shearwater, Audubon's shearwater and the common tern, with a viewpoint over the striking grid of square vineyard corrals that rings the airport runway.

At 6.6 km over a mix of vineyard tracks and basaltic coastal terrain, this is a moderate walk of varied scenery, ending at the Barro Vermelho bathing area.