Cabo da Roca/Palácio Nacional da Pena/Castelo dos Mouros

Less than ½ an hour by car to the north west of Estoril is the most westerly point on mainland Portugal and continental Europe, Cabo da Roca, Rock Cape.

In this part of Portugal, even on the coast, it is frequently overcast and is windswept and desolate.

This point was the end of the world - as far west as it was possible to go.

The lighthouse was the first purpose built lighthouse in Portugal completed in 1772... 

...although the present version dates from 1842.

From there it was a short drive inland through the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais with incredibly tall trees...

...to the entrance of the Parque e Palácio Nacional da Pena.

From the entrance it was quite a climb to the Palace with some photo opportunities along the way.

At this point I've got to direct you to the website of Sintra Parks and Monuments, CLICK HERE. They have some wonderful photos, better than ours, as well as a great description, part of which I have copied below their photo.

"Located in the Sintra hills, the Park and Palace of Pena are the fruit of King Ferdinand II’s creative genius and the greatest expression of 19th-century romanticism in Portugal, denoting clear influences from the Manueline and Moorish styles of architecture. The palace was built in such a way as to be visible from any point in the park, which consists of a forest and luxuriant gardens with over five hundred different species of trees originating from the four corners of the earth."

Back to our photos, including the one above. As I said at the beginning, it is often overcast in this part of Portugal - the forest and the plants like the humidity but it isn't so good for photos.

The castle is literally fantastic... 

 ...incorporating so many different styles of architecture and it was built before Disney was born! Just a pity it had to be built in such a cold and damp region of the country - maybe they liked it here.

Our tour included the inside rooms, a link here to the video I made where these can be seen in addition to more photos and video taken during the day is HERE.

From the true Romanticist styles of the Palace to the nearby Castelo dos Mouros, the Castle of the Moors, built in the 8th and 9th centuries,...

...which has a 450 metre perimeter across the top of the mountainous cliff.

We were quite lucky with the weather - others have described it as the "misty castle" and "into the clouds".

However, the plants love it there and the hydrangeas were in bloom...

...in a full range of different colours. Another great day out.