Stunning Northern Spain

12th October 2014

We drove along the coast this morning and made a stop in Ribadesella. One of the things we love about travelling is that we are so often surprised by the beauty of a place when we arrive. We pick a place on the map not knowing whether we will love it or hate it and more often than not we find a real gem...today was a day full of treasures. We had an idea that the coast of Northern Spain would be gorgeous but no idea just how gorgeous. Both of us love the North Cornwall coast and this Spanish coastline is incredibly similar...long sandy beaches, rocky headlands and turquoise seas! Ribadesella was chosen as a spot on the map for our morning coffee stop for the day...what a good choice....

 

The waterfront at Ribadesella. This is the river mouth of the river Sella, which divides the town in two, leading out to sea....which is just tantalisingly out of sight!

 

Ribadesella is surrounded by the most amazing scenery, not only do the stunning Picos de Europa stand tall over the town, but there are also beautiful beaches, rocky headlands and stunning architecture

 

The story of the growth of Ribadesella is depicted alongside the kilometre river walk with these wonderful animations...every one of them made us smile and chuckle out loud!

 

The river Sella snaking it's way out into the sea and the stunning Picos reaching up into the clouds

 

Impressive nineteenth-century mansions built by returning emigrants who’d prospered in the Americas

 

Playa Santa Marina...Picos de Europa in the background

 

Happy!

 

Here you can clearly see the river and the bridge that joins the two halves of the town ...it really is a beautiful place!

 

Fishing boats snuggled up against the quay..

 

Such a colourful town...many medieval buildings hidden away too...

 

More wonderful terracotta tiles...

After a walk alongside the river and up onto the headland to look out across the sea, it was time to move on, bumble along the coast road until we stumbled across another jewel in the crown on the northern Spanish coast....San Vicente de la Barquera....where we hoped to find somewhere to eat and stay for the night.

 

An old fishermen's refuge, San Vicente de la Barquera offers one of the most picturesque sights on the Cantabrian coast, with its beaches, the old village and the exceptional backdrop of the snow-capped mountains of the Picos de Europa.San Vicente's old town was declared to be of Cultural Interest in 1987 because of its interesting collection of monuments, forming part of which are the church of Santa María de los Ángeles, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, the castle and the remains of a wall. The bridges are another sign of the town's identity, such as the Maza bridge, with its 28 arches, which was built on the orders of the Catholic Monarchs in the 16th century, or Parral, which dates from the 18th century. (information from the Spanish tourist board website)

 

The Maza bridge

 

Looking from the Maza bridge towards the town...

 

A view from the Parrel bridge...you can just make out the Picos in the far distance and up on top of the hill is the Castillo del Rey on the left and the Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Angeles on the right of the hill...both commanding a great view over the ria San Vicente

I know it's a similar view, but I just couldn't decide which photo was best as I love them all!!

 

A view of Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Angeles

 

Beautiful view across the river......

We took a walk up to the church along a cobbled narrow street....

 

Looking towards the mountains...

 

Lost in wonder....

 

Just a beautiful view looking over the river towards the Picos

 

Church tower...

San Vicente is such a beautiful town...we absolutely loved it and will definitely be returning again...

As we drove out of the town across the Maza river BT stopped Bluebelle...mid bridge...for me to be able to capture this view....

...unfortunately, we didn't find anywhere suitable for us to park up for the night so we made the decision to move across the river and try to find somewhere there.

This is just one of the stunning views of the northern spanish coast line that just blew us away...even though the weather was dull, grey and overcast...it was still spectacular!

Eventually, we did find a great beach side location to park up for the night...there was even a very cold beach shower, that was still working, for us to use...well...I didn't actually use it...it was dark, cold and raining...I can only be pushed so far you know!!!

Anyway, having located our nighttime rest place we decided to drive into the nearest town to find somewhere to eat...and we happened upon this...

 

..a local beer festival...

...where, as well as local beers for sale, there were many stalls selling the most delicious tapas....dinnertime!!!!

locals enjoying a live band, home brewed beer and tapas...

It was a brilliant end to the day...and our trip, as tomorrow we drive to Santander where we will catch a ferry back to Plymouth :((((. However, for now, it was a short drive back to the beach where we made up our snuggly bed for the last time this trip and settled in for a warm, cosy night.