how long do they think the Square is out of bounds? Have there been any indications?

I am due to fly out on April 25 with my 2 7 month old boys and, having spent my formative years running around the Square, I was really looking forward to seeing them in the Square. Will be hugely dissappointed if that cant happen. Not to mention missing the 2 hour long sits at O Barco

JUNE 2009

well into the summer season.......i do hope this is not right

looking at the state of it today I can't imagine it being ready before then, there is a lot of work going on there.

They were very late starting & then all that rain. We were in Columbo's the other day & they said at this rate June was being a bit optimistic. I do hope they're wrong.

Why all this concern about the SQUARE? They are trying to improve the area for everyone's benefit. If you don't like it , then don't visit.
I hear that the are trying to pedestrianise Oxford Street, London. Will you make such a fuss? The Bars will still be there, you will still be able to visit the little beach and the basics will not change. So get a life and enjoy

Trying being the operative word, let's just hope they succeed.

DVBRO I think that was a tad unfair, as the square is such a focal point to the 'village' it is going to cause some concerns if children and others can't walk to the beach this summer, from the look of it at the moment the only way to the beach is down the steps on either side, difficult with a pushchair or for the disabled.
I am sure we all will be very glad when it is finished as I agree that the improvements will do nothing but enhance the area. It is difficult when you only have the chance of one holiday to find the center is a building site.
I am sure everyone will be patient, Fatscholes was only asking... chill

Members of this forum know all about the work and accept it, but, even though there are a lot of members (2740 at the moment) they are just a fraction of the visitors to the village. It is very likely that many non-members, upon finding the beach so disrupted, will be upset and possibly put off returning.

I hope for their sakes the work is completed as soon as possible and that the square and its beach access is restored and improved.

Didn't know they had a little beach in Oxford Street. I'll be putting some video of the work in progress at the Square on youtube shortly.

Whilst we were there, they were working from dawn to dusk and barring problems, I think they'll get it finished in good time.

quality post DVBRO. interested how many years you have spent lazying round the square, popping in & out of O Barco & Piu's. How many hours have you relaxed in the evening, watching local festas & other village events in the musky light of the square or watching the rough sea in bad weather in late November?

I was, as LJ was saying, asking after the date because I am looking forward to seeing my 2 little chaps in the same place & enjoying the same experiences as I did when I was their age 33 years ago.....

Michael Crane wrote:..many non-members, upon finding the beach so disrupted, will be upset and possibly put off returning.

Upset a bit, yes, but surely any sane person will see that they are improving the surroundings, that building work does not last forever and that's no reason to never return.

(apologies for the double negative, but I think it makes sense)

totally agree Richard, it will be a big improvement we all hope when this is finished and it will make the area very much nicer to sit and watch the world go by. We do all have to be patient and wait for the work to finish.

They do seem to be working very hard on it if you watch the webcam.

Why is it taking so long?mother is most disappointed as it's spoiling her web-cam viewing.

She's even thinking about giving Carvo a miss this year and spending more time at her villa on the french riviera with her new beau Simeone.

Do you think it takes the portuguese workmen a long time due to those little cobble stones that are everywhere on the pavements,must be torture for them,Tarmacadem would be much easier and quicker surely.

Cheapskate