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São Pedro da Cadeira skatepark tour

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Our mission to skate every skatepark continues. This time we went to São Pedro da Cadeira in Portugal, a parish in the municipality of Torres Vedras, about 55 km from Lisbon. This bowl with pool coping stands out because it's also one of the cleanest parks in Portugal. All that thanks to the local community. Find out why.

Skating with the Atlantic wind behind you. The West Portugal coast has something mystique and spreads it out all over its territory. Going to São Pedro da Cadeira skatepark is all about breathing pure air whilst flowing on some super mellow concrete.

Built in 2020 by Wasteland Skateparks during the pandemic, this concrete park features a quarterpipe, a ledge, a delta, and a bowl with pool coping and tiles (assuring the unique crack sound. Grrrrrrr!). It is probably one of the cleanest parks in Portugal too thanks to the local community who nurtures and fosters the spot with love, like polishing the stone coping before our arrival!

“It’s really a clean place because the park where the skatepark is located is very well cared for”, says João Sales, from Wasteland Skateparks, praising the local parish council members: “One of them is a skater and he is constantly taking care of the joints and putting the varnish on the coping.” The local love for skateboarding has another chapter that must be told: “This is a small skatepark, for the local neighbourhood, but it was even smaller in the initial design. The chairman of the parish council asked us to enlarge it, we said it was impossible for the available budget, but he helped out by paying the concrete. Thanks to this we were able to extend the skatepark, by building more obstacles with no extra costs.”

São Pedro da Cadeira is a parish with a population of 5217 inhabitants belonging to the municipality of Torres Vedras, about 55 km from Lisbon. To respond to the skate fever the city council has invested in this facility inside of the Parque Verde Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, witch contrasts with the agriculture field and vineyards in the region.

The bowl is definitely worth a visit, João Sales says why: “It’s not too deep because the skate scene in Portugal in 2020 was like 95 per cent street and 5 per cent transition. In this bowl the beginners lose their fear and have this pool coping with tiles that looks like we are dropping in on an empty backyard pool in someone’s house.”

Extra tip: when you leave the park take a few minutes to enjoy the view from the Assenta Beach cliffs while eating the regional cake with a shape of a horseshoe. It will lift your spirit for riding the next day.

Visit São Pedro da Cadeira skatepark Find out more about Wasteland skateparks

By Manu Silva

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