Cantabria and Asturias are the provinces of northern Spain bordered by the Atlantic to the north with the mountains of the Cordillera and the Picos de Europa to the south. The region will challenge all conventional ideas of those who already know southern Spain as a holiday destination.

The landscape can be characterised as having a rugged coastline interspersed with pretty fishing villages and sandy coves. In stunning contrast the interior has rolling pasture land rising to mountain peaks often less than ten miles from the coast. As all construction work on the coast has been strictly controlled and, as sleepy mountain hamlets do not change with the whim of fashion, we are privileged here with an unspoilt landscape and a rural culture little changed since medieval times. From the many examples of Neolithic cave paintings, like Altamira, Tito Bustillo and Candamo, to the profusion of pre-Romanesque chapels and 15th Century defensive towers, one is immersed in a world little interested in the hurly burly of the present century. In Cantabria the medieval towns of Santillana and Comillas with its cobbled streets and arcade mansions are of especial interest. In Asturias the central towns of Llanes and Villaviciosa beckon, as well as a visit to the mountain monastery of Covadonga – site of the reversal of Moorish fortunes in Spain in 722. Especially endearing are the stone farmhouses with clay tiled roofs, balconies and, usually, a grain store built on stone stilts.

Such diversity of terrain is reflected in the regional gastronomy. >From the sea come the splendid dishes based on hake (merluza), sea bream (besugo), octopus (pulpo) and the 'caviar of Asturias' – oricios. The sparkling rivers add their salmon and trout. The mountain zones are particularly adept with their cheeses – picón and cobreces in Cantabria, and the three stars of the Picos de Europa – Los Beyos, Gamanedo and Cabrales. When the locals want to lubricate a fiesta they unerringly turn to their cider and will proudly inform you of its diuretic and digestive quallties, its help to arthritis, cholesterol and...well it tastes jolly good too! There is no better way than a summer fiesta to observe these fine people. A reflection of the ever-changing sun and sparkling showers (a temperate climate particularly attractive in spring and autumn), they can be expansive yet reserved, sentimental and frank, but always welcoming and interested in visitors.

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