10| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukAWESOME ASTURIAS f, in the strict sense, paradise cannot exist on earth, then I can only say that it was a near-paradise experience I had in the Asturian countryside. I arrived at Arredondo, a beautifully restored, stone and timber 18th-century farmhouse deep in oak, birch and hazel woods, as the day started to die. After a moody late-winter walk around Arredondo’s pretty estate — to examine the brown Asturian cows in the pastures, to look at the hórreo (more of which later), the lemon trees in the gardens and the dusk-black mountains to the south — I curled up in a chair with a book in front of the stone fireplace in my bedroom, happy to be the only guest that February night. Drowsy from the smell of woodsmoke, music even started to play in my head. Or at least I thought so. Intermittently dozing and waking, it took 20 minutes to realise that I hadn’t in fact gone to heaven but that the music was a soft, faraway sound muffled by the farmhouse’s thick walls. But why would a charming little hotel in the countryside be so thoughtless as to play piped muzak? Roaming the empty farmhouse to get to the bottom of this mystery, I eventually stumbled into the sitting room with its log fire and the feel of a library. And in an alcove was the very picture of perfection — 10-year-old Jimena, the beautiful, darkhaired daughter of the house, assiduously going over and over again on a piano the latest two tunes she had learnt. They were a little improbable for rural Spain, I thought — a Scott Joplin rag and Oh! Susanna, the anthem of the Californian gold rush. And the evening — and the glorious Spanish hospitality — took off from there.RURAL TREAT An intimate hotel, gentle pastures, dramaticcoast and graceful towns prove a heady mix for Nigel Reynolds Harbouring delights: the little fishing port of Cudillero, right, is one of many pretty seaside towns; far right, a traditional carniceria (butcher’s shop) in Ribadesella and, far right, below, one of the region’s thousands of cows At first, Ana, the girl’s mother, apologised that the dining room was closed on Mondays. I would have to drive several miles to the seaside town of Llanes for my supper. But it took no arm-twisting for her to relent. Soon, Jimena ferried platters of local smoked hams and cheeses, plus wine and cider, to us in front of the fire and Ana spent the evening explaining about walking expeditions that could be taken into the mountains, about riding trips and of how she and her husband had dropped out of city life to restore Arredondo, an abandoned bull-breeding farm (one of its dozen bedrooms was the stable where visiting cows would be paired with prize bulls). She told of how they had revived the farm to provide meat, dairy produce, chickens, honey and vegetables for their dining room. Most proudly, she said that the principality of Asturias had recently been adjudged to offer the best quality of life in the whole of Spain in a nationwide survey. Arredondo is a typical casona, a tranquil, generally rural, family-run hotel with a maximum of 20 bedrooms but with luxury facilities. More than 50 across the principality belong to the Casonas Asturianas Quality Club and their combination of friendliness, with good service, high-end facilities and restaurants make them blissful retreats. Asturias is not the Spain of the sunparched, concrete costas of the south. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the north coast, which is why Asturias is on the Costa Verde — the Green Coast. Lush and verdant, it is a land of cream and cider (if a field is not packed with cows, then it’s probably an orchard) and, with mountains in the south (the snow-capped Picos de Europa), a gently undulating coastal plainIIf a field is not packed with cows, it is probably an orchardAncient city dancing to the tune of pipers ou would not think that there could possibly be a link between bagpipes, Woody Allen and the messiest alcoholic ritual in the world. But there is and, improbably, the answer is Oviedo, the beautiful and exquisitely civilised capital of the Principality of Asturias, the first Christian kingdom in Europe. First, Woody Allen. Oviedo loves public sculpture — altogether, 110 statues of great citizens and heroes grace its streets and squares, along with numerous spectacular fountains — and the lifesize bronze of the Manhattan film-maker stands, spectacles typically askew, close to the central park. It was erected soon after he won a Prince of Asturias Prize, Spain’s version of the Nobel laureates, in 2002. Mr Allen was evidently very flattered. Not only did he return to shoot parts of his latest film,YFrozen in time: Oviedo’s cathedral and one of the city’s statuesVicky Cristina Barcelona — which has just won an Oscar for Penelope Cruz — but he heaped lavish praise on the city. Oviedo, he purred, is “a delicious, exotic, beautiful, clean, pleasant, tranquil and pedestrianised city”. He went on: “It is as if it didn’t belong to this world. Oviedo is like a fairytale.” Which is just how I felt on my first stroll there, past 16thand 17th-century palaces, elegant 19th-century apartments and several museums and art galleries one Saturday evening. As I approached a square, I heard a familiar but unexpected wail. A troupe of Asturian bagpipers, in navy blue breeches and black pointy hats, serenaded a wedding cavalcade on its way to the town hall. The pipes, I was told, were a common sight because Oviedo and Asturias, one of the few parts of Spain not to fall under the rule of the Moors, claimCeltic brotherhood with Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. Oviedo is also the capital of Spanish cider country — the tradition goes back to Roman times — and the fairytale took a strange twist when, walking through the Plaza Daoiz Y Velarde, an ancient, pretty colonnaded square that resembled a medieval version of Covent Garden, I spied my first sidreria, one of the thousands of cider bars-cum-restaurants to be found across the principality. Nothing could have prepared me for the strange ritual of pouring the cloudy, flat cider from above my head to oxygenate the brew. Oviedo, founded in the 8th century by Alfonso I and sitting on the famous pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, is a rightly proud city. The university dates back to the 17th century, the opera house is perpetually sold out, the streetsare astonishingly clean — rubbish can only be put out between 8.30pm and 10pm — and in February, its smart citizens, dressed in Loden coats and furs, give it the feel of a prosperous German provincial capital. It has many treasures. The Fine Arts Museum boasts pictures by Goya, Velázquez, El Greco and Dali, while the Gothic cathedral of San Salvador has an ornate early 16th-century altarpiece that is the envy of Spain. To take a breather, the visitor should travel up a green hill overlooking the city a mile away to see one of the greatest sites in Northern Spain — the ninthcentury pre-Romanesque Santa Maria del Naranco, an ornatelycarved, honey-coloured, twostorey stone building standing in a meadow, the remains of the oldest Christian palace in Europe. NIGEL REYNOLDS
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009|| 1NORTHERN Your 16-page guide to a region of historic cities, green valleys and stunning beachesSPAINThe Daily Telegraph Saturday, March 21, 2009Distributed with
2| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukAbout this supplement It’s called Green Spain. You’ll soon see why when you catch sight of the emerald hills rolling down to the spectacular coast. But it ma
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 3For holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINSpend the night back in historypriests launch the botafumeiro, a 350lb incense burner that swings up and down the nave. These days it’s more of a tourist attrac
4| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukFEELING CAPITAL BY SANTANDER There are close links tying this coastal resort to Madrid, not least the royal connection and a feisty nightlife, as n my first
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 5For holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINAncient view is picture perfect ALTAMIRA Brilliant facsimiles ofthe world-famous paleolithic cave paintings are now on permanent showalf an hour’s drive from Sa
6| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukBEACH BEAUTY landscape along its sandy shores. By John Wilmott iant sweep of golden sand or minuscule sheltered cove? Wild, rocky strand shadowed by cliffs o
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 7For holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINAlong this stretch there are some strange rock stacks angled outwards, as if to defend the land against the sea. Cantabria’s capital, Santander, has several lar
8| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For details of Brittany Ferries services, go to www.brittanyferries.comGET OFF TO A GRE TOUCH OF CLASS With Brittany Ferrieslaunching a new route from Portsmouth to Santander, Deborah Stone travels with her family aboard
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 9EAT STARTFor holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINSPECIAL OFFERBrittany Ferries offers a great range of holidays in Northern Spain, with a choice of casas, apartments or chalet camping throughout the r
10| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukAWESOME ASTURIAS f, in the strict sense, paradise cannot exist on earth, then I can only say that it was a near-paradise experience I had in the Asturian co
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 11For holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINand, finally, a breathtaking coastline, it is as different from the rest of the country as the Costa del Sol is to the west coast of Scotland. The coast, rugge
12| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukA TASTE OF TRUE HEAVEN LA RIOJA Fine, complex wine and foodto match make this an area that is a dream for all gastronomers. By Annie Bennett I headed toward
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph| 13For holidays in Northern Spain, go to www.brittanyferries.comNORTHERN SPAINInspiring spires: León Cathedral, above, is known as the ‘house of light’; appealing Burgos, top right; early human remains at Atapuerco, right; and the Protos
14| Distributed with The Daily Telegraph|SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009NORTHERN SPAINÞ For more information on Northern Spain, visit www.spain.info/ukSECRETS OF A SPECIAL LAND NAVARRA A wonderfully diverse scenery sprinkled with some outstandinghistorical monuments... it’s no wonder pilgrims are still wan
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