Slow Train through Asturias

My personal highlight was the genuine friendliness of everyone at Casona de la Paca. The Inntravel suggestions on what to do or see in each place were excellent. The notes for the Town Trail in Oviedo were much better than anything the Tourist Office could come up with! The suggestions for places to eat were very welcome and always good. And here’s a recommendation for Arenas de Cabrales! Cafe El Raitan, Plaza del Castaneu. Small, friendly, tasty food and they know their wines!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our rail journey A Slow Train Through Asturias with our add-on short walking break in Picos de Europa at Arenas de Cabrales

Our highlight? The setting of Villa Rosario

The holiday guide was very detailed and informative and easy to follow. We were all pleased with the folio and additional items - map, train ticket, luggage labels.

The Casona de la Paca was outstanding in terms of friendliness, accommodation, service and the breakfasts were delicious. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff.

Villa Rosario is in a magnificent location and the breakfasts excellent. This hotel lacked some of the coziness of Casona de la Paca but was very smart and stylish.

Hotel Barcelo was ideally placed for visiting Oviedo and again the breakfast was very good.

A fascinating way to visit a lesser known area of Spain with beautiful countryside, coastline and towns. The proud Asturians demonstrated aspects of their culture for us to appreciate. The variety of fish to eat is excellent along with pork products, cheeses and cider. Not that good for the vegan or vegetarian. Accommodation in two Casa de Indianos [Casona de la Paca, Cudillero] was a particular highlight. However, the train is much more modern and speedier than we expected. Slow is a slightly misleading title perhaps, although the train makes many stops along its route to serve the passengers which makes it slower in this sense.

Selecting Asturias is brilliant! It is pure and authentic and beautiful in every way. In fact I want to return there with my husband and sons.

Too many highlights to include! Lovely Cudillero and the wonderful staff at Casona de la Paca, the coastal walk to San Esteban, lunch at Tierra Astur in Avilés, the walk to the Ermita in Ribadesella, the Tito Bustillo Caves, the Cares Gorge. Everything was green, peaceful and beautiful. We really experienced the beauty of this part of Spain and were not merely tourists getting a superficial view.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our self-guided walking holiday in the Picos de Europa following our Slow Train Through Asturias Journey by Rail.

The holiday was everything we had hoped for, relaxing, scenic, not full of other non-Spanish tourists, and we loved the little FEVE trains. One comment is that this holiday is certainly not just for energetic walkers - 3 of the four of us have arthritic knees and cannot walk too far, too fast or up and down too many steps! We walked around each town where we stayed and used the FEVE to visit other villages/towns and happily explored them, and we used taxis to and from the stations or back to the hotel in Cudillero (having managed to walk down to the port) and the taxis were prompt and inexpensive. We also found it perfectly possible to eat dinner at 8.00 or 8.30 and not have to wait anywhere until 9.00 (that was when it was busiest) and eat lunch at any time from 12.30 or 1.00.

In terms of "warnings" - it costs 6 or 7 euros (depending on age) to enter the Cathedral in Oviedo which we did not feel was worth it so didn't go in. We would also give a very poor review of the nearest restaurant in Cudillero (nearest to the hotel) - while service was good, the food was very poor - flabby calamares, patatas bravas which were chips with tomato sauce, and in general nothing seemed to have been freshly cooked or prepared (with the exception of the mixed salad!). We were awe-struck by the Tito Bustillo caves and by the Information Centre which is very modern and well curated. We booked (in April) for the Friday and then worked the holiday dates around that. It is dark and very uneven underfoot, so a head torch would be useful if you are a bit unsteady but would also detract somewhat from the atmosphere. We also found in Ribadesella that some restaurants only opened on Fridays/Saturdays and Sundays. Unfortunately we could not book for dinner at the hotel with its Michelin chef as both Friday and Saturday evenings were fully booked.

Positive tips are for the San Francisco park in Oviedo which is beautiful and so well planted, and for the Al Quera restaurant in Llanes - recommended by our taxi driver and we had a lovely set price "tasting menu" lunch there for 34.50 or 39.50 euros on their terrace with glorious views. We also loved the local white Albarina wine - dry and light and inexpensive - and will see if we can find it in London. 

We had not realised that Spain started in Asturias with the Moors reaching Oviedo. So much history happened here.

The Holy Chamber and its contents in Oviedo Cathedral are very special as are the prehistoric cave paintings at Ribadesella.

The Hotel Rosario restaurant looks directly out on the promenade of the beautiful surfing bay.

If you love seafood, Cudillero cannot be bettered.

We really enjoyed this holiday and taking the trains was a little bit different from driving everywhere.  We enjoy the self-guided aspect of the holiday as we are not ones for going on group holidays but like to fend for ourselves.  I particularly enjoyed Casona de la Paca and the train trips from Cudillero although my favourite trip was from Ribadesells to Llanes as the train journey was beautiful - I only wish it had been longer. The train journey from Cudillero to Oviedo was also delightful with great scenery. Another highlight was walking along the promenade at Ribadesells and walking over to the lighthouse and Teneres where we found a delightful restaurant for a well-needed drink and some interesting horreos in the village.

In hindsight, I would have liked an extra day in Ribadesella to do the last journey to Arriondas and Cangas but we really wanted a quieter day by the end of the week and the journey and timetabling just seemed too much.  It also meant that we would not have had time to explore Ribadesells fully if we had done the journey.  

One advisory note is that travelling late in the season meant that some of the restaurants had closed for the season e.g. the nearest restaurant to Casona de la Paca so this is something of which travellers should be aware.  We did find food a bit of an issue as the portions are so big (we shared meals) and one of us does not eat shellfish and the other does not eat cheese.  We ate mainly tapas - croquettes and chorizo in cider - and did go to the Italian in Ribadesella to get some variety!

This Journey in Slow Motion was a departure from our usual walking holidays with Inntravel, either inn-to-inn or single-centred, and we rather liked doing something a bit different, both for the variety of activity and the chance to stay in several places but without having to move on/pack up every night. We enjoyed the contrast of coast, city and mountains ( with the Picos de Europa add-on) and  the peaceful slow train journeys gave us a chance to see some of the countryside.  More walks would have been welcome but it is possible to get recommendations from the tourist office ( as at Ribadesella) and we even took a couple of sets of directions for walks that we found online. Overall, it was a relaxing yet varied holiday.
The weather in “Green” Spain may be unpredictable but we were lucky to have only one rainy afternoon. Temperatures in October were a pleasant 18-20 with a few days of 26-28 degrees.
We came across virtually no non-Spanish visitors to the area, something which added to the discovery of an area new to us. As other reviewers have commented, very little English is spoken so our (extremely)  elementary Spanish had a sharp upward learning curve.
Food, as has also been remarked, comes in vast portions – unless you are a vegetarian, in which case you will struggle even more than is usual in Spain!  Worth noting that, out of season, many restaurants seemed to open only for lunch. Plenty of wine to sample – try the Verdejo from the Rueda area.
DETAILS
CUDILLERO – the Casona de la Paca is a lovely place to stay: an attractive and comfortable house with lovely hosts and excellent breakfasts. The downside is finding dinner in the evening. We walked down to the village one evening and got a taxi back up; we went to El Pescador, 10 minutes’ walk  on level pavement from the hotel and a good choice if you don’t want to haul yourself back up the hill ( especially on the Calle Tolombreo route in the dark); on the third day we had lunch out, bought a sandwich for the evening and had drinks from the hotel bar instead of going out.  The restaurant 100 metres from the Casona is only open for lunch, not dinner, at this time of year. If you do choose to go down to the village, there’s plenty of choice. The Pito Pinera station was a 20 minute walk from the hotel on a quiet road, not a chore, we thought. From Cudillero we travelled by the slow train to Aviles and enjoyed strolling round the town and indulging in lunch. We also did the coastal walk to San Estaban from Playa Aguilar – lovely views and an easy walk; we wouldn’t have minded if it had been a bit longer.  On that particular day, there seemed to be large numbers of people out and about and we eventually discovered it was a National holiday! This was only a problem in that the train schedule was different from the normal weekday schedule and we ended up with a long wait so it is worth checking when the holidays are. You can easily find out times on any given day by googling the FEVE website.  
N.B The tunnel from the port was closed when we were there and had been for a while.
OVIEDO – slightly marred by a wet day. Our advice from Inntravel was that we’d be quicker walking to the hotel that taking a taxi by a circuitous route. Given the unceasing rain, we decided on the taxi anyway and discovered that traffic restrictions must have changed – we drove straight as an arrow to the Hotel Fruela, it took about 2 minutes and would have been even quicker if we hadn’t had to wait for the lights! The hotel was fine if lacking individual character (hardly a problem for a one-night stay), clean and adequate with a good bathroom but the bed was very hard – firm should also mean well-sprung and this definitely was not. We slept so well everywhere else but very little here.
The city, once the sun came out, was an interesting and attractive place to walk round and investigate squares and churches. We thought the time in the schedule for visiting was plenty. If you fancy an aperitif and some Tapas before dinner, we’d recommend the very pleasant Casa Gonzales Suarez; just turn left at the junction of streets a few yards from the hotel and about a minute’s walk will take you there. If you arrive about 7, you’ll find it quiet but with trays of tapas starting to appear.
RIBADESELLA – we loved the Villa Rosario with its eccentric appearance, peace and quiet, comfortable bed, views over the ocean and the beach/promenade from our balcony as we sat and admired the vista in the setting sun  ( worth the upgrade to a seaview room), large bathroom with his and hers basins and very helpful staff. The breakfasts were very good too, taken in the restaurant – if you’re lucky, you’ll get a window table and watch the passers-by on the promenade. Again, out of season, everything was quiet and peaceful here.
A stroll round the town reveals plenty of places to eat but if you feel at the end of a day that you don’t want to go too far, then come out of the front entrance, turn left and then right. You’ll come to the Nerian café, followed by a  very small square on a corner, Plaza de Jovellanos, where there is a friendly pizzeria, Pepe Cavalle and another bar/café, Scala.
We spent one day walking up to the hermitage chapel on the headland to get excellent views over the bay, hotel  and mountains beyond, stopping in the town for lunch and then doing the Limekiln Walk ( leaflet available from the tourist information office although it has little detail so we used the google map on our mobiles to keep us on the right track). Another day took us to LLanes, another town with a pretty older quarter, eminently suitable for strolling round. We did go to the Rock Art exhibition at the Tito Bustillo caves, worth a visit, but did not have time/our dates did not co-ordinate for the cave visit itself, unfortunately.
The walk to Ribadesella station takes no more than 15-20 minutes through the town ( google will give you a good route ).
PICOS de EUROPA – our holiday included this 3 day add-on and it was certainly worth it. (N.B we asked the Villa Rosario to phone the taxi company for us and delay our pick-up by a couple of hours). The hotel usually used by Inntravel was shut so we booked our own and were very pleased with the Hotel Rural El Torrejon; individual country-style rooms, views of the mountains, lovely staff, spotlessly clean, pretty garden to sit in.
The mountains are stunning so even if you are terrified of heights and are not prepared to do the gorge walk ( we only did a bit), they’re so worth seeing. We did one walk in the Arenas de Cabrales area ( which we’d taken with us) ,  got a taxi up to Puente Poncebos for the funicular ride to Bulnes  – quiet and more stunning views, especially from El Pueblo, the upper half of Bulnes) – this is a pleasant thing to do even if you don’t fancy more strenuous walks, tried some of the gorge walk but the initial part of that end of the walk is uphill on a track narrower than the main gorge path, we understand, with quite a lot of loose stones, so we were dissuaded by our vertigo from carrying on very far  - plenty of people were happily trotting up and down the path. You just need to be aware of your limitations!
Arenas has plenty of places to eat but we chose to have all our meals at La Panera (up the steps at the side of the BBVA bank in the main street) as it had vegetarian options, (a real treat in Asturias! ) as well as being run by Matt and Julia, friendly and welcoming and purveyors of tasty dishes. If you want a large lunchtime toasted sandwich for very little money, try the Trasgu down near the bridge.

A well organised and pleasing holiday. Inntravel have been helpful and courteous. The locals were friendly and welcoming. We were, we think, fortunate with the weather, drizzle on part of just two days, warm sunshine for the rest of the holiday.

The hotels were comfortable and efficient and the breakfasts first class.

Travelling on the Feve is an experience:  sometimes they are 'Slow', sometimes they rattle along!  Watch out for:

• lack of indicator boards at some stations - you may need to 'ask and point'
• out of action 'next stop' indicator boards on the trains - also the names of some stations aren't always visible (if they exist at all) so you need to stay alert - the trains don't wait long at each station.
• conductors patrolling trains - not to inspect your ticket but to see where you want to get off. On our way back to Pito Pinera from Pravia we were asked to alight at Muros and catch another train 10 minutes later. It was a Sunday! Funnily enough, the same man was on our train to Oviedo the following day - all the passengers (about 10 of us) had to get in taxis at Pravia and continue the journey by road at their expense. It wasn't clear what the problem was.
• trains arriving from the opposite direction than that you might be expecting.
• Station Masters wearing special red hats when signalling/allowing the trains to depart.

The notes in the Itinerary were clear and concise.  We found them very useful and helpful.

Recommendations for places to eat and drink can be found elsewhere but 'La Corte de Pelayo' in Oviedo does take some beating - not necessarily for the quality of food and service but for an experience we will probably never forget.  We wanted a light lunch before travelling on to Ribadesella.  We ordered two tapas, one a salad and the other a fish.  Both sharing dishes, the fish depending upon 'what was available that day', but priced at 25euros on the menu.  The salad was great - the fish turned out to be the size of a minature basking shark.  It was, in our opinion, a meal for six rather than two people: when the bill arrived it (for the fish) was for 75euros..........  We suggest that you ask to see a fish before they cook it!  

We decided to fly to Asturias Airport from Stansted using Easyjet - whilst Stansted is over 3 hours from where we live in Somerset we found it worth the effort for the convenience in Spain.

Our personal highlights are

1 The quality of the Casona and Villa Rosario

2 The uncommercialised nature of Asturias

3 The welcoming nature of the locals

4 The quirkiness of the FEVE

5 Bulnes and the stunning Cares Gorge walk.

6 The unusual industrial feel of San Estaban

HOLIDAY NOTE: Mr Aked added a walking break at the Hotel Picos de Europa in Arenas de Cabrales onto our Slow Train through Asturias journey.