Alternatura a la Escuela in Sagunto 2026: season opens with a bike ride around Grau Vell
All schools in Sagunto take part in Alternatura a la Escuela, which has opened its season with a bike ride around Grau Vell.
Pupils from every school in Sagunto, including special education centres, have a calendar of outdoor trips through Alternatura a la Escuela, the programme run by the council's Department of Physical Activity, Health and Sports. The season opened with a day on bicycles around Grau Vell, the former port area.
The novelty this school year is the route. After cycling through the area, the pupils went inside the 'Sagunt i la Mar' Interpretation Centre, the new museum space in the Grau Vell fort, on a guided visit. That stop has been added this year to the bike excursion through the marjal dels Moros (the wetlands).
The rest of the calendar heads to the hills. The programme organises hiking routes in the sierra de Espadán (a mountain range inland) to spots such as Almedíjar, Aín and Eslida. Between walks and bike rides, the offer mixes sport, nature and history, and the council presents it as an educational initiative built on inclusion.
The Department of Physical Activity does not work alone: the Environment and Tourism departments take part, along with the environmental educators of the Espadán interpretation centre. With this split of tasks, the council says pupils get active leisure that respects the environment, and a shared space that is equal and accessible.
The setting of the first outing has its own history. Grau Vell provided port services to the steelworks until 1907, when the new port was built about 3 km to the north. As for the interpretation centre, it is funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) under the Tourism Sustainability in Destinations Plan.
For context on the programme: according to elperiodic.com in October 2025, the start of the previous season brought together about fifty students from CEIP Ausiàs March, along with pupils from CEE Albanta and CO Sant Cristòfol. At that time the programme targeted the fifth and sixth years of primary school, and the route included a bike ride through the marjal dels Moros and bird watching with binoculars.
This year's council note does not say which schools took part in the opening day or how many pupils, and it does not publish the dates of the remaining outings of the school year.
According to Sagunto City Council, with data from Wikipedia on Grau Vell, from elperiodic.com on the previous season and from an earlier council note on the interpretation centre.