Asturias trip report - Part 1

The Cordillera Cantábrica had been on my 'to visit' list for a while, it is an area that has cropped up in a varied range of reading and research literature from the Variscan Orogeny, Lusitanian flora, Atlantic woodlands, karst geomorphology, Ice age refugia, montane environments ... The European Environment Agency website illustrates perfectly the conservation value of the Cordillera Cantábrica.

http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/#

At the start of 2017 Nic had a weeks holiday to use up by mid April, could speak some Spanish and found the prospect of visiting Spain far more appealing than Scotland in the first week of April, so flights to Bilbao and a rental car were booked, accommodation would be sorted out closer to the date. During the meanwhile I would cobble together an itinerary, which was easier said than done given the vagaries of spring and the size of the area.



The European Environment Agency website and Google identified a few areas within Asturias that provided a range of potentially weather proof itineraries and based on a long range weather forecast a week before flying, some accommodation was booked for the first 4 nights.

Dog's tooth violet (Erythronium dens-canis)

Hotel Posada del Valle was the first destination and very pleasant too. Arriving in the evening provided the opportunity to clarify the local rules and regulations on access etc. Given a weather forecast of clear blue skies, the proprietors recommended the walk to Picu Pienzu on the Sierra del Sueve for its views and the opportunity to explore a Yew wood on the distal slope. I'll be honest and state that 'fine walking weather' doesn't score highly on photographic inspiration for landscapes. Nonetheless Picu Pienzu offered the prospect of surveying this area of Asturias. The following day saw the ascent start from the Mirador del Fito car park.

Pine trees and the main ridge of the Sierra del Sueve massif

Lichen community on a montane Ash tree ~ 900m ASL

There was a surprising amount of gorse cover even over limestone.

A isolated veteran Holly tree ~ 1,000 m ASL

The slog/walk up had been virtually windless, until nearing the summit when a cooling wind put in a welcome appearance. The views from the summit were very good and on the lee side of the summit some time was taken for an extended viewing of the vista. The strengthening wind negated any ambition to visit the Yew wood, although it did appear to be clearing away the haze, sadly cloud blanketing the western horizon would negate any sunset light.

Geology and topography of the Cordillera Cantábrica

View of the unvisited Yew wood

Heavily grazed summit area 

There are some outcrops at lower elevations of a more competent rock possibly a quartz rich turbidite or volcanic tuff origin, that had out weathered from the surrounding bedrock and hinted at a long exposure time.

Whilst the Sierra del Sueve massif is impressive the distant Picos de Europa range dominate the views to the East and South East.

View to the Picos de Europa

The excursion highlighted the potential of the Sierra del Sueve for landscape photography in better light and weather conditions. The Picu Pienzu summit provided a fine viewpoint and highlighted some other hills that would also be worth exploring for their landscape photography potential. However the next day we were headed south to the Redes Natural Park for the next stage of the trip.