Off The Beaten Track

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As the summer season is fully upon us I thought I would share a little secret with you. If you’re looking for wild, magnificent, mountainous landscapes in Asturias you don’t have to confine yourself to the Picos de Europa, where, in August, queues can form on the most popular routes for both car and hiker. Equally, while you may never tire of the endless beaches for family entertainment there are other fun family days out to be had.

Redes Natural Park is a protected area in the heart of Asturias. It’s big, it’s beautiful and it’s never very busy. A healthy population of brown bears live in the wild here – a good marker of how unspoilt this habitat is. The hiking and biking opportunities are immense and you can immerse yourself in natural beauty and not see another soul all day.  Even in peak holiday season.

Of course, if you happen to be travelling with kids serene tranquillity may be an ambition too far. Effective entertainment and controlled expenditure of energy is more like it. And this is where the Molino del Alba comes in.

This old watermill on the banks of the river Alba is located in Soto de Agues, at the start point of the Ruta del Alba. You can do this spectacular 14km round trip hike on an ancient miners’ trail, or as much of it as suits you and the ages of your party members, and then reward yourselves with a lunch of fresh trout on the shady, waterside terrace.

And the best part? You get to catch the trout yourselves. As well as a restaurant, the Molino del Alba operates a trout farm on the river and they will supply you with a rod and bait so that you can catch your own lunch, which they then prepare and cook for you. Kids love it and on any given day in holiday season there is usually an excitable gaggle of them leaping about as the trout jump out of the water and onto the fish hooks.

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For more great family days out check out the linky over at the inspirational mumsdotravel.com by clicking the badge below:

 

Mums Do Travel

Comments

  1. That’s what I like, making my own routes on holidays :) They help you feel more freedom as it’s impossible to rest in crowds of people.

  2. Looks wonderful, especially being able to catch your own trout and then eat it #CountryKids

    • Yeah, catching your own trout is a nice touch. Especially as it’s so easy – no frustration of waiting for hours for a bite, which wouldn’t go down too well with the little one!

  3. Oh wow it looks stunning, I love the idea of hiking the miners trail and then feasting on fresh trout at the end – with a glass or two of Sidra to wash it all down!

  4. helloitsgemma says:

    ahhh I miss Northern Spain!

  5. Eco-mummy says:

    It looks beautiful and great to get an ‘insider’s tip’!

  6. This sounds like a beautiful place to visit. Thanks for joining in with the Family Travel Linky on Mums do travel

  7. What magnificent scenery!

    And catching your own lunch, sounds so amazing (especially if someone else does the messy prep part for you)

  8. That looks and sounds absolutely wonderful! Love that you can catch your own trout…
    how lovely! XXX

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