The Region of Murcia is land of contrasts. There are the beautiful beaches, mountainous pine forests and in between those are areas that resemble deserts from another planet. This week we went exploring in our motorhome for ten days around our own backyard in parts of Murcia away from the normal tourist traps. Read to the end for a surprising place we stayed on the last night!
We set off along the main A30 motorway headed towards Albacete. The plan was to use free motorhome park-ups wherever we could. To find these we used the Park4Night app, which I cannot recommend enough! As we did not even have any fresh water, our first park-up needed to be somewhere we could fill up the water tank.
Molina de Segura
We decided on staying at Molina de Segura. This is big town of 60000 people just to the north of Murcia city. There is a definite industrial heritage here, evidenced by the old factory chimneys that are still standing long after the factories have gone.
The park-up is here in a new car park built about five minutes walk from the main road through the town. Despite this it was quiet and felt safe. Fresh water and waste emptying were provided, as well as some picnic tables. Everything was clean, and the many attractions of the town were just a few minutes walk away.
- There is an old railway track which has been turned into a nice walk which goes all to Caravaca del la Cruz (about 60km away!) Too energetic for us, we did about 3 kilometres and turned back!
- If you need any supplies, there is a big shopping centre with supermarket close by.
- There is a big park here called Parque de La Compañía with has a really nice dog walk area.
- On Saturdays there is a huge market held at the park until about mid-afternoon.
Mula
Next up was the beautiful town of Mula which is about 40 minutes drive from Molina de Segura. The most striking thing about this medieval town is the stunning castle perched on the top of a steep hill overlooking the whole town. There are also churches and plenty of old and some new attractions. There are some steep bits, especially leading up to the castle, so take care!
The park-up was here at the back of the towns sports centre. There was a place to get fresh water and dump all waste. The park-up was quiet and safe, but at night time there were floodlights that illuminated the whole area in bright orange light! Apart from this, the park-up was the perfect location for exploring this amazing town.
- Plenty of walks straight from the park-up
- There is a Mercadona supermarket about five minutes walk
- Lots and lots of history to see.
Casas Nuevas
After two urban park-ups we fancied getting back to nature for a bit. Casas Nuevas is a tiny village just next to the mountains of the Sierra Espuña regional park. It was about thirty minutes drive from Mula. It is surrounded by orchards as far as the eye can see, and obviously the stunning mountains of the park. We were about 600m above sea level, and that coupled with being in the shadow of the mountains made night time temperatures noticeably colder than Mula. One night dropped as low as 2C. For comparison, the same night at home was 14C. We are not used to these sorts of temperatures and did not have enough warm clothes for an extended stay.
This park-up was here just outside the village. The access through the village can be a bit tight for larger motorhomes, but it is possible to get to the park-up from several routes which avoid the village centre. The location is one of the nicest park-ups I have seen, massive spaces, excellent facilities and stunning views. There are plenty of walks from here into the fields and pine forests, and not a lot else so make sure you have provisions for your stay!
Archena
On our way back home we headed to Archena, which is just north of Molina de Segura and Murcia city. It is a historic spa town, dating back to Roman times. The town is amazing, full of history with lots to see and do. We just stayed one night and checked out the promenade along the Rio Segura. We will definitely be coming back here.
The park-up in Archena is here at the back of the car park for the municipal sports centre. Fresh water and waste dumping is provided. The area is very picturesque, quiet and felt safe. There are some floodlights, but nowhere near as bright as the ones at Mula.
Archena is a place we had never heard of before, but it is definitely worth checking out if you are in this part of the world!
Murcia City
Our last park-up was a bit of a funny one. This place is probably the biggest and most popular park-up in the entire Region of Murcia. It is sited on the car park of the Thader shopping centre on the north side of the city. It is straight off the motorway where the A30 meets the A7.
There is space for about 100 motorhomes, and if it gets full, people just use the regular parking spaces of the shopping centre. I can see why it would be popular, as you are surrounded by shops, supermarkets, open spaces, a cinema, the tram into the city and even Ikea. Which was why we were here, we needed some bits from Ikea, and thought why not try the most popular park-up in Murcia?
It was nearly full when we got here, and by evening there were still motorhomes arriving. It felt like a small town, with people setting up tables and chairs, solar panels even plant pots! I know a lot of these people are winter “snowbirds” from northern Europe who will probably be camped here for months!
After doing our shopping at Ikea, which I always find exhausting, we settled down and spent the night in the park-up. It was surprisingly quiet all night even with the motorways not far away. Once morning started though we were woken by the sound of diesel engines starting up as some motorhomes took off, and other quickly moved to get better spots. I definitely would not stay here for more than a night, but as a stopover from a long drive south or north it is ok.
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