First left after the waterfall

You can choose to drive via a road so narrow that both wing mirrors scrape the stone walls on each side, even if you breathe in as deeply as you can. Or you can choose to walk a few kilometres from the barragem de Queimadela, following the edge of the lake and then scrambling up the vertiginous path next to the waterfall. We've tried both ways a number of times and the walk wins every time, especially since they built the passadiço which goes round half the lake and avoids the mad hike up through an old farm which used to be the only route available.

If you go on the circular walk from the barragem in a clockwise direction, then the sandy path leads you first through some very pleasant oak forest, and it is always only a few metres from the water's edge. Occasionally there is a wooden table and some benches denoting a picnic spot, and unless you are there before breakfast on a warm weekend, it will already be filled with an extended family, guarded by the pet dog. Perhaps even breakfast time is too late, as I suspect that some families leave granny guarding the table overnight; you know how tough some of these Portuguese grannies can be.

Charming area

The lake isn't very big and is used for recreational purposes, which means that the water birds you might expect to see around it are in short supply, though if you are lucky and it is quiet you might spot a kingfisher flitting past or a dipper near the waterfall. The woods themselves, though, are filled with the sound of jays, woodpeckers and short-toed treecreepers, as well as Portuguese grannies securing a defensive position. All very charming.

The waterfall can be quite a sight if you catch it after the rain. It's where the Rio Vizela tips down the side of the hill, and it was this falling water that powered the mills that cluster at the place known as Aldeia do Pontido. The mills and associated buildings have been restored and are now offered as tourist accommodation, like a kind of al fresco hotel. In fact, Pontido only consists of these half a dozen holiday cottages plus the restaurant, which is also the hotel reception. We fetched up there recently on a Sunday because that is the only day of the week that they offer one of the local delicacies, Vitela Assada à Moda de Fafe. We don't usually eat beef these days, but we make an exception for this. It's slow-cooked in a wood-fired oven with herbs and garlic and, perhaps surprisingly, white wine - vinho verde, of course, as we're bang in the middle of vinho verde country. If it's done properly, it is the most tender meat that ever melted in your mouth.

Astonishing food

To be sure of getting our fair share, we booked our meal ahead by phone, but we needn't have bothered for the place wasn't full, and there was plenty to go around. In fact, I would argue that there was too much of it (assuming that there can be such a thing as too much of a good thing) and I am always offended if plates, including serving platters, are not scraped clean by the time we have finished. There were three of us, but there was enough food for six, so we might have had a Sisyphean task ahead of us if it wasn't for our sheer grit and determination. Not to mention the astoundingly good food. Finally, after much heroic effort, the last sliver of beef, the last roast spud and the last thread of grelos had disappeared from sight and at that moment the chef just happened to appear from the kitchen. We broke into spontaneous applause, and she bobbed her head and looked embarrassed.

Foolishly I decided to have a heroic sobremesa as well. While my more sensible companions settled for slices of pineapple covered in melted honey and cinnamon (the waiter described these as 'summer rabanadas'), I went for some grand concoction called Pudim de TV (yes, really) which consisted of pudim plus ice cream and 'crumble' (which was really a kind of granola) served with a glass of Medronho liqueur to pour over the top. It was called this daft name because apparently the inspiration came from some TV cookery programme, though this was their own iteration. It was surprisingly good, with wonderfully contrasted flavours and textures all blending together. Just how I like it.

And this, my friends, is why I advise you to walk to the restaurant to get your meal because in this way you will work up a suitable appetite. Mind you, you will now need to walk back to the car just as you start to enter that post-prandial dip. Ah well, you can't win them all.