Dehesa Mayor: Culture, Lagoons and Pine Forest

Dehesa Mayor lies near the Arroyo Cerquilla, at the natural boundary between the Páramo and the pine forest. On the other side of the road near Dehesa Mayor, a siliceous landscape with pine forest begins. Even within a small area, different landscape forms, historical traces and paths through the surrounding area converge here. The character of the settlement is shaped by the immediate juxtaposition of open plains, wooded areas and bodies of water.

Culture

The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista has integral protection under Cuéllar’s municipal architectural heritage register. The 17th-century church preserves a Baroque high altarpiece created in 1701. The church was built of masonry using whitish limestone from the surrounding area. Its architecture therefore links the protected building with a regionally identified building material; at the same time, architectural history and the traditional history of the settlement meet at this site.

The place names also date back to different historical periods: Dehesa Mayor was called Sant Mayor in 1290; the name Dehesa Mayor is mentioned from 1591 onward. The most important local festival is San Juan Bautista, celebrated on the weekend closest to 24 June. San Isidro Labrador is celebrated on 15 May. A procession is planned for the San Isidro celebration in Dehesa Mayor, accompanied by the dulzaina group “A por Ellos”. The festival calendar therefore brings together both the local patronal feast and a separate spring date.

Nature

The plains around Dehesa Mayor are used mainly to grow cereals, potatoes and sugar beet. In the nearby area, small lagoons provide important refuges for birds; these include the nearby El Espadañal Lagoon. El Espadañal is a large body of water with migratory birds, amphibians, crayfish and small fish. Thus, the landscape comprises not only the agriculturally shaped plains and pine forest, but also wet habitats with different groups of animals.

The geographical transitions are particularly clear in two places: at the Arroyo Cerquilla, between the Páramo and the pine forest, and at the road beyond which the siliceous landscape begins. Together with the lagoons and cultivated plains, they create a mosaic of water, woodland and open agricultural areas.

Getting around

The Páramo motorway reaches Dehesa Mayor via the C-112 road towards Riaza. A cycling route published by the Segovia Provincial Tourism Association runs from Cuéllar along broad, straight roads through the Tierra de Pinares to Dehesa Mayor. Dehesa Mayor’s transport connections include the Cantalejo–Cuellar bus route.

The cycling route connects the starting point in Cuéllar with the Tierra de Pinares and Dehesa Mayor, while the motorway runs towards Riaza. The two details describe different landscape connections: in one case, the straight roads through the pine-forest area; in the other, the connection via the C-112.

Other places: Navas De Oro, Cabanillas, San Rafael, Pelayos del Arroyo, Valdesimonte, Bernuy De Coca, Pedraza, Tolocirio

For the main travel overview: Segovia.