Bateman
Registered user
I have just returned from a fantastic 5 day tour of the Picos in Northern Spain on my ’03 1150Gs together with two friends riding an’07 VStrom 1000 and an ’03 TTR 600. For those of you contemplating a trip to this area, I hope you find the following trip report useful. The Picos are a spectacular place – they occupy a relatively small area in comparison to the Alps and most places are easily accessible. They are not as dramatic as the Alps, which is to be expected as they are not so high, but the scenery and roads are still wonderful. I would imagine it could get very busy in the summer holidays as there are only a few key roads which everyone uses including delivery drivers in lorries, tour buses and the occasional local in his AMG…. However, it was very quiet when I was there in mid June. It is also very cheap – much cheaper than France or Switzerland. A 4 course meal in the Hotel was 15 euros, large white coffees less than 2 euros and petrol was just over a euro a litre.
I used Michelin Regional Map 572 which covers the whole area in very good detail. I booked the whole trip through Brittany holidays which worked out at £310 each for 3 motorcycles/riders, cabin each way on the Plymouth-Santander ferry and 4 nights B&B at the superb Hotel Del Oso.
Enjoy the photos and if anyone wants more information, please let me know.
Day 1
We left Bournemouth at 8.30am for the 11am check in at Plymouth which took quite a while as there were masses of Harleys heading to southern Spain for a big meet. The garage was pretty full – there had to be over 100 bikes – certainly the most I have seen on a ferry and the crew had to fetch quite a few extra brand new tie downs and cushions from storage.
Here is me on the right with TTR600 riding Andy to the left:
Once we checked into the cabin I headed up to deck 7 to book a table for the evening in the main restaurant. Highly recommended as for about £20 you get a great three course meal, waiter service and the chance to relax for a couple of hours.
Next stop was on the deck for a few hours sunbathing. We were joined by this fella who flew alongside us for quite a while.
There was some excitement about 7 hours into the trip when the boat slowed down and a helicopter landed on the helipad. Apparently a little lad had broken his shoulder and was whisked off in the direction of France.
Lots of food and drink followed and before long we were waking up in the early morning pulling into Santander. It’s a busy place so we headed straight down the motorway for around 10 miles before pulling off on the CA 131 through Santillana Del mar and onto the picturesque seaside town of Comillas where we stopped for coffee in a great spot overlooking the water.
From Comillas we headed through San Vicente de la Barquera and then south on the wonderful N621 through Panes and onto Potes. The ride through the Hermida gorge to Potes takes about 30 minutes and is spectacular – though narrow in places, especially when a tour bus is coming the other way. From Potes we turned towards Fuente De on the CA185 and rode for about 8 miles to the Hotel Del Oso in Cosgaya. This is a cracking 3 star hotel which is highly recommended. The restaurant is good, rooms are nice and it has an unheated swimming pool for the brave.
Once we had checked in and enjoyed some lunch, we rode a few miles down to Fuente De to take a trip on the cable car. It was very windy which was a little unsettling but the trip to the top was definitely worth the 12 euros. You can just make out the cable car station at the top of this picture, and in the second picture you get an idea of how high up it is.
From Fuente De we headed into Potes for a browse around the shops. It’s a nice lively town and also has a petrol station for those of you staying nearby. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, some generous measures of Jack Daniels and a few games of poker. The hotel has little bags of dried peas behind the bar that you can use as betting chips.
Day 2
Our first full day in the Picos was spent on a 200 mile tour right around the national park. From Potes we rode south on the N621 through some nice twisty roads and up to the Mirador de Llesbas at 1675m. Here is the road leading up to this spot:
A bit further on from this viewpoint is a little track that runs for 2km up to a great spot overlooking the valley to the north – there is a statue of a bear there and the view is great. Our hotel is down there somewhere:
We then carried on down the N621 through a little hamlet called Llanavos de la Reina, where there is a turn off onto a narrow road (LE243) that heads into the heart of the Picos and across a section of rough tarmac to a little town called Valdeon. There we stocked up with bread and ham and drinks and rode the largely unsurfaced track down to Cain. This is a great run amongst some stunning scenery, including the highest peaks in the Picos. Andy on his TTR600 was in his element and left Ian and myself behind once he hit the dirt and gravel.
Part of the road into Cain is newly surfaced and quite nice to ride:
After a picnic by the river in Cain, we headed back to Valdeon and then west on the LE244 to meet the N625, which runs North – South between riano and Cangas de Onis. This was another super road, with a worthy stop in cangas in the late afternoon for coffee in the square and a peek at the roman bridge. The final stretch of the day was along the AS114 from Cangas to Panes and then South to potes and onto the hotel – probably around 75 miles or so. Once more, another great road though we didn’t stop for photos until I arrived back at the hotel in the evening:
Day 3
Day 3 proved to be another spectacular day of riding although the traffic was a little busier given that it was a Saturday. The early morning view out of the hotel was a good start:
We headed out on the same route as yesterday, south from Potes on the N621. Andy struggled to stay with us for most of the trip on his little TTR600 with knobbly tyres but it did mean we had opportunities to take pictures of him from higher up the mountain….
The view from Llesbas was great.
We carried on down the N621 towards Riano, riding some great little twisty roads through the gorges:
Riano itself is set amongst a very big reservoir. From Riano we headed on the N625, pausing to take this picture:
We then rode up the scenic CL635 to the Puerto de Tarna, turned off west onto the smaller LE333, pictured here:
and then finally north on the LE331 to the ski resort of Puerto de San Isidro. Again, the roads were superb and all labelled as scenic routes on the Michelin maps. I carried on for a couple of miles on from San isidro to find this nice little road:
At this point we had our first rain of the trip so we donned waterproofs for the rest of the ride which took us south on the LE331 from Isidro to Bonar, then east on the cl626 and then north on the n621 back to Riano, passing by the large dam and more lakes:
This was again another 200 mile plus ride with nearly every section designated a scenic route on the Michelin map, and deservedly so.
Day 4
Andy on the TTR600 had decided to give the riding a miss today as he was aching from the 200 mile a day rides from the previous two days so he chose to stay and relax back at the hotel. That left me and Ian on the Vstrom to head north out of Potes through the Hermida gorge, stopping briefly to view the 10th century church at lebena:
We then carried on north to Panes and west on the AS114 to Las Arenas. From here we took the small and twisty AS264 through the gorge to the little village of Sotres where there are a couple of very tight and narrow hairpins on the hill leading up to the main square. This is the view down to Sotres:
We then carried on the more desolate road to Tresviso, which is an old village right at the end of the road, with a spectacular footpath leading down to the valley below. Here is the road to Tresviso which cuts across the mountain. It is tarmac though a little broken and rough in places though I don’t know why it isn’t shown as a scenic route on the Michelin map as it clearly should be.. I have no idea why Tresviso originated but it is a wonderful place.
After a coffee in the local bar, we headed all the way back the way we came to Las Arenas:
From Las Arenas, we rode on to Cangas for a late afternoon lunch of chorizo cooked in local cider, and then took a superb couple of roads North – the N625 and then AS260 - through Arriondas and then up to the Mirador del Fito which had great views south over the whole of the Picos and north towards the sea and the town of Lastres:
From Fito we rode down to a little town on the coast called Cocena to see Ian’s three Spanish Aunties who forced us to sample some of their home made cider, and then we headed out to La Isla for another drink by the sea in a great little café that happened to be showing the Indianapolis F1 with local boy Alonso getting whipped by our man Hamilton.
With another 80 or so miles to go to the Hotel we then took the coastal road via Ribadesella and on towards Llanes, turning south on the AS115 towards Cabrales again:
On the way back to the hotel I had to take one final photo of a little town we passed through:
Day 5
Our last day in the Picos! Andy had thoughts of burning his TTR600 and flying back to the UK but we agreed to slow the pace a little so he could relax and enjoy the ride a bit more. After another huge breakfast at the hotel, we headed north out of Potes and turned off at La hermida onto a narrow CA282 which headed up and over the mountains east to Puentenansa. There are some great views and great hairpins on this route.
At Puentenansa we continued east on the CA182, down into Cabuerniga. This was another twisty descent which saw Ian scraping the footpegs on his new VStrom for the first time.
Throughout the whole of the trip there were eagles/vultures of some kind soaring high in the sky. This was the closest I managed to get – not sure what it is but they looked impressive. Didn’t see any bears or wolves though!
From Cabuerniga we headed north on the CA180 to Cabezon de la Sal then picked up the motorway back to Santander to catch the 4pm Pont Aven back to England.
Hard to say which road was the best as all were impressive, though the run out to Tresviso was fun. There are miles and miles of scenic routes and mountain ranges to explore further west so I am sure I will return at some point. Let me know if you want any more detail on anything I have covered – it was only my first trip to the Picos so I don’t know too much about the area but will be happy to help if I can.
Hasta Luego!
I used Michelin Regional Map 572 which covers the whole area in very good detail. I booked the whole trip through Brittany holidays which worked out at £310 each for 3 motorcycles/riders, cabin each way on the Plymouth-Santander ferry and 4 nights B&B at the superb Hotel Del Oso.
Enjoy the photos and if anyone wants more information, please let me know.
Day 1
We left Bournemouth at 8.30am for the 11am check in at Plymouth which took quite a while as there were masses of Harleys heading to southern Spain for a big meet. The garage was pretty full – there had to be over 100 bikes – certainly the most I have seen on a ferry and the crew had to fetch quite a few extra brand new tie downs and cushions from storage.
Here is me on the right with TTR600 riding Andy to the left:
Once we checked into the cabin I headed up to deck 7 to book a table for the evening in the main restaurant. Highly recommended as for about £20 you get a great three course meal, waiter service and the chance to relax for a couple of hours.
Next stop was on the deck for a few hours sunbathing. We were joined by this fella who flew alongside us for quite a while.
There was some excitement about 7 hours into the trip when the boat slowed down and a helicopter landed on the helipad. Apparently a little lad had broken his shoulder and was whisked off in the direction of France.
Lots of food and drink followed and before long we were waking up in the early morning pulling into Santander. It’s a busy place so we headed straight down the motorway for around 10 miles before pulling off on the CA 131 through Santillana Del mar and onto the picturesque seaside town of Comillas where we stopped for coffee in a great spot overlooking the water.
From Comillas we headed through San Vicente de la Barquera and then south on the wonderful N621 through Panes and onto Potes. The ride through the Hermida gorge to Potes takes about 30 minutes and is spectacular – though narrow in places, especially when a tour bus is coming the other way. From Potes we turned towards Fuente De on the CA185 and rode for about 8 miles to the Hotel Del Oso in Cosgaya. This is a cracking 3 star hotel which is highly recommended. The restaurant is good, rooms are nice and it has an unheated swimming pool for the brave.
Once we had checked in and enjoyed some lunch, we rode a few miles down to Fuente De to take a trip on the cable car. It was very windy which was a little unsettling but the trip to the top was definitely worth the 12 euros. You can just make out the cable car station at the top of this picture, and in the second picture you get an idea of how high up it is.
From Fuente De we headed into Potes for a browse around the shops. It’s a nice lively town and also has a petrol station for those of you staying nearby. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, some generous measures of Jack Daniels and a few games of poker. The hotel has little bags of dried peas behind the bar that you can use as betting chips.
Day 2
Our first full day in the Picos was spent on a 200 mile tour right around the national park. From Potes we rode south on the N621 through some nice twisty roads and up to the Mirador de Llesbas at 1675m. Here is the road leading up to this spot:
A bit further on from this viewpoint is a little track that runs for 2km up to a great spot overlooking the valley to the north – there is a statue of a bear there and the view is great. Our hotel is down there somewhere:
We then carried on down the N621 through a little hamlet called Llanavos de la Reina, where there is a turn off onto a narrow road (LE243) that heads into the heart of the Picos and across a section of rough tarmac to a little town called Valdeon. There we stocked up with bread and ham and drinks and rode the largely unsurfaced track down to Cain. This is a great run amongst some stunning scenery, including the highest peaks in the Picos. Andy on his TTR600 was in his element and left Ian and myself behind once he hit the dirt and gravel.
Part of the road into Cain is newly surfaced and quite nice to ride:
After a picnic by the river in Cain, we headed back to Valdeon and then west on the LE244 to meet the N625, which runs North – South between riano and Cangas de Onis. This was another super road, with a worthy stop in cangas in the late afternoon for coffee in the square and a peek at the roman bridge. The final stretch of the day was along the AS114 from Cangas to Panes and then South to potes and onto the hotel – probably around 75 miles or so. Once more, another great road though we didn’t stop for photos until I arrived back at the hotel in the evening:
Day 3
Day 3 proved to be another spectacular day of riding although the traffic was a little busier given that it was a Saturday. The early morning view out of the hotel was a good start:
We headed out on the same route as yesterday, south from Potes on the N621. Andy struggled to stay with us for most of the trip on his little TTR600 with knobbly tyres but it did mean we had opportunities to take pictures of him from higher up the mountain….
The view from Llesbas was great.
We carried on down the N621 towards Riano, riding some great little twisty roads through the gorges:
Riano itself is set amongst a very big reservoir. From Riano we headed on the N625, pausing to take this picture:
We then rode up the scenic CL635 to the Puerto de Tarna, turned off west onto the smaller LE333, pictured here:
and then finally north on the LE331 to the ski resort of Puerto de San Isidro. Again, the roads were superb and all labelled as scenic routes on the Michelin maps. I carried on for a couple of miles on from San isidro to find this nice little road:
At this point we had our first rain of the trip so we donned waterproofs for the rest of the ride which took us south on the LE331 from Isidro to Bonar, then east on the cl626 and then north on the n621 back to Riano, passing by the large dam and more lakes:
This was again another 200 mile plus ride with nearly every section designated a scenic route on the Michelin map, and deservedly so.
Day 4
Andy on the TTR600 had decided to give the riding a miss today as he was aching from the 200 mile a day rides from the previous two days so he chose to stay and relax back at the hotel. That left me and Ian on the Vstrom to head north out of Potes through the Hermida gorge, stopping briefly to view the 10th century church at lebena:
We then carried on north to Panes and west on the AS114 to Las Arenas. From here we took the small and twisty AS264 through the gorge to the little village of Sotres where there are a couple of very tight and narrow hairpins on the hill leading up to the main square. This is the view down to Sotres:
We then carried on the more desolate road to Tresviso, which is an old village right at the end of the road, with a spectacular footpath leading down to the valley below. Here is the road to Tresviso which cuts across the mountain. It is tarmac though a little broken and rough in places though I don’t know why it isn’t shown as a scenic route on the Michelin map as it clearly should be.. I have no idea why Tresviso originated but it is a wonderful place.
After a coffee in the local bar, we headed all the way back the way we came to Las Arenas:
From Las Arenas, we rode on to Cangas for a late afternoon lunch of chorizo cooked in local cider, and then took a superb couple of roads North – the N625 and then AS260 - through Arriondas and then up to the Mirador del Fito which had great views south over the whole of the Picos and north towards the sea and the town of Lastres:
From Fito we rode down to a little town on the coast called Cocena to see Ian’s three Spanish Aunties who forced us to sample some of their home made cider, and then we headed out to La Isla for another drink by the sea in a great little café that happened to be showing the Indianapolis F1 with local boy Alonso getting whipped by our man Hamilton.
With another 80 or so miles to go to the Hotel we then took the coastal road via Ribadesella and on towards Llanes, turning south on the AS115 towards Cabrales again:
On the way back to the hotel I had to take one final photo of a little town we passed through:
Day 5
Our last day in the Picos! Andy had thoughts of burning his TTR600 and flying back to the UK but we agreed to slow the pace a little so he could relax and enjoy the ride a bit more. After another huge breakfast at the hotel, we headed north out of Potes and turned off at La hermida onto a narrow CA282 which headed up and over the mountains east to Puentenansa. There are some great views and great hairpins on this route.
At Puentenansa we continued east on the CA182, down into Cabuerniga. This was another twisty descent which saw Ian scraping the footpegs on his new VStrom for the first time.
Throughout the whole of the trip there were eagles/vultures of some kind soaring high in the sky. This was the closest I managed to get – not sure what it is but they looked impressive. Didn’t see any bears or wolves though!
From Cabuerniga we headed north on the CA180 to Cabezon de la Sal then picked up the motorway back to Santander to catch the 4pm Pont Aven back to England.
Hard to say which road was the best as all were impressive, though the run out to Tresviso was fun. There are miles and miles of scenic routes and mountain ranges to explore further west so I am sure I will return at some point. Let me know if you want any more detail on anything I have covered – it was only my first trip to the Picos so I don’t know too much about the area but will be happy to help if I can.
Hasta Luego!
. The first thing he did when we got back was trade it in for a GS!
d'oh! no more holidays left
