Exploring Asturias

Northern Spain, past Bilbao, was an area we hadn’t visited in Bettine, so we were looking forward to heading to Asturias to meet up with Ian’s parents for a couple of days.

We stayed in a municipal site in Nava and our first excursion was to Tazones, a beautiful little fishing village on the coast.

We drove to Gijon the next day and hiked up Santa Catalina hill, to the sculpture, Elogio del horizonte, which had great panoramic views of the city.

Just off the Plaza Mayor, we stopped for lunch and a glass of wine.

Gijon sits on the Bay of Biscay and is famous for its beautiful beaches, cider bars and Roman baths. Guide books describe it as ‘a ridiculously handsome oceanfront city’,

The sun was shining so we walked along the promenade of San Lorenzo beach to check out its claims.

There were a few, what looked like regulars, swimming and sunbathing on a fairy empty beach. Unlike the height of summer here when 60,000 people descend!

Back to Nava for the night and making the most of the local knowledge we had with us, ate out at La Roca in Sevares. The fish stew was amazing!

Nava itself is a small Asturias town, home to a cider museum. Cider is a trade mark of Asturias.

‘Asturias produces more than 55 million litres of cider every year, which equates to 80% of all the cider produced in Spain. But not much makes it out of Asturias! Around 90% of the drink made in Asturias is consumed there.’

We had a fun few days in this beautiful area. It’s authentic, unspoilt and has amazing mountainous, lush green scenery. Definitely worth a visit!