The world in a PENINSULA

Cycling a former railway line through the rural valleys, coastal towns and hilltop villages of Croatian Istria reveals an ancient land shaped by empires and cultures far beyond its borders

- Martin Symington

"Here in Istria there is no way to escape our geography," said Peter Valenta, my guide to cycling the Parenzana Trail, who was busy waving his arms towards the compass points to illustrate his theory. "The Latin world begins over in the west, the Slavs are to the east and the Central Europeans to the north." He made it sound like we were at the crossroads of Europe rather than pedalling the border between Slovenia and Croatia, out on its Adriatic fringes. But in many ways he was right.

As we climbed onto our mountain bikes, Peter continued to put me in the picture: "The Parenzana railway, which runs from Trieste (Italy) to Poreč (Croatia), was completed in 1902, back when all of the Istrian peninsula belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire. When that was dissolved, following the First World War, the region became part of Italy, but Mussolini tore up the tracks in 1935. That was a crime in my opinion, but hey, now it is my favourite cycle route in the world."

After a glance back towards Trieste, across the waterlogged Sečovlje salt pans, a sliver of Istria that now lies in Slovenia, we turned off the road and onto a gravel track that plunged into rich forest. Ahead lay two-thirds of the 123km cycle path that spans the westernmost point of Croatia, where the bulk of the peninsula sprawls. This was the route the steam train used to ply, pulling passengers and freight along a narrow-gauge line that snaked hills and forests, vineyards and olive groves. It was once a lifeline to the farms and villages of inland Istria.