{"id":875,"date":"2026-07-02T19:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T17:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/?p=875"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T09:14:56","slug":"northern-asturias-and-galicia-by-feve-a-window-of-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/?p=875","title":{"rendered":"Northern Asturias and Galicia by FEVE: A window of wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Last week, we travelled via small-gauge FEVE train from Gij\u00f3n, Asturias<\/strong>, to Ferrol, Galicia<\/strong>, and back with main stops in Avil\u00e9s, Cudillero, Pravia, Luarca, Navia, Castropol, Ribadeo, Foz, Burela, Viveiro, and Ortigueira. The views were amazing: industrial parks, rural greenery, coastal beaches, river towns, with oodles of forest, farmland, and mountain backdrops.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here are a few photos <\/strong>as seen from the train<\/strong>, in Ribadeo<\/strong> (where we stopped for one night), and in Ferrol<\/strong> (where we spent the weekend). Ribadeo was a joy, overlooking the tranquil Eo river\/estuary on the Asturian-Galician border, and Ferrol just as delightful: the port, Naval Museum, buildings of Rodolfo Ucha, Magdalena neighbourhood, and fabulous Meninas de Canido urban artworks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

With such high summer temperatures in most of Europe, the north of Spain is blissfully relaxing at under 25 C. And, of course, there is plenty of ever-yummy Galician food. We sampled a few: Bar La Queimada (Ribadeo), A Maruxaina (Ferrol port), and O\u2019Galo (Ferrol town). Muchas gracias a quienes conocimos en el camino y a nuestros compa\u00f1eros de viaje, Fernando y Isabel. Abrazos John y Bel\u00e9n<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

1. The 500-MW Abo\u00f1o power plant, just outside Gij\u00f3n aboard the Cercan\u00edas C-4 line to Pravia<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

2. An A-8 Autov\u00eda del Cant\u00e1brico bridge near the airport <\/strong>
between Santiago del Monte and Piedras Blancas<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

3. Overlooking el mar Cant\u00e1brico on the outskirts of Cudillero<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

4. After a short coastal Cercan\u00edas trip from Gij\u00f3n, <\/strong>
our intrepid travellers board the FEVE at Pravia<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

5. More A-8 viaducts in the lush green between Pravia and Cudillero<\/strong><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

6. O tranquility overlooking the mouth of the river Navia<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

7. A moment later overlooking the mouth of the river Navia<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

8. A quiet farmhouse in the luxurious Asturian interior near Castropol<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

9. Atop the Parador de Ribadeo patio looking south to Vegadeo<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lake and Blue Mountains of Connemara by Paul Henry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If there was any doubt about a Celtic connection between northern Spain and Ireland (people, music, landscape), zoom in to reveal a perfect Paul Henry west of Ireland Connemara painting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

10. Atop the Parador de Ribadeo patio looking across the Eo river\/estuary to Castropol<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

11. Atop the Mirador del Puerto in Ribadeo looking north at the A-8 autopista across the Puente de los Santos (in Asturias San Rom\u00e1n, in Galicia San Miguel)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

12. Bel\u00e9n looking north on R\u00faa Amando Per\u00e9z in Ribadeo<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

13. The two of us atop the Parador de Ribadeo patio after a lovely Yzaguirre vermouth (stirred not shaken)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

14. The coast just west of Foz. The train almost touches the water on parts of the trip.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

15. More coastal views just east of Burela and more exquisite contrasting colours<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

16. A lonely boat west of Burela<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As one would expect, the weather changes often over 300 km of varying coastal and interior landscapes. This photo above was taken when the skies were a bit greyer on the trip home. All the other photos are on the trip out from Gij\u00f3n to Ferrol.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

17. The town of Viveiro with stone arched bridge (Puente de la Misericordia) <\/strong>
with a spectacular mirador on top of the hill<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

18. Two different style bridges as we approach the town of (Porto O) Barqueiro<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
19. Barqueiro from the train station with a lighthouse in the distance at the entrance to the bay<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a>

19a. Only a few photos have been cropped, but check out the difference when the photo above is cropped to focus on the lighthouse. Greece?<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

After a 75-minute Cercanias from Gij\u00f3n to Pravia<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>, 3-hour FEVE from Pravia to Ribadeo<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>, overnight stopover in Ribadeo, and 3-hour FEVE from Ribadeo to Ferrol<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>, we arrived in the harbour town of Ferrol (pop. 70,000), home to shipbuilding, a naval base, and the start of the peninsular English\/Celtic Camino to Santiago de Compostela.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are 20 official English\/Celtic Camino routes in the UK and Ireland (from one day to 2 weeks long). To receive an official compostela<\/em> (stamp), one must walk at least 100 km. The Ferrol-Santiago route is about 93 km (6 stages).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

20. The Parque de la Reina Sof\u00eda on the edge of the central Magdalena neighbourhood<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In 2008, artist Eduardo Hermida<\/strong> started a series of \u201cinterventions\u201d in the abandoned areas of the Canido neighbourhood in central Ferrol, using Diego Vel\u00e1zquez<\/strong>\u2019s iconic Las Meninas<\/strong> painting as a theme to try to mask the sadness of the ongoing economic crisis since the 1980s. Various other artists added to the urban makeover that now has over 1,000 pieces. Here are just four. Have your camera ready!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"<\/figure>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

21-24. Las Meninas de Canido<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

25. Johny and the Marineros<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Esca\u00f1o is the naval station school in Ferrol, named after Antonio de Esca\u00f1o, a late 18th-century Spanish armed forces officer. The three naval candidates are on a one-year training course (hence no stripes). The other is a life-long candidate (lots of stripes). \u00a1Buen camino!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we travelled via small-gauge FEVE train from Gij\u00f3n, Asturias, to Ferrol, Galicia, and back with main stops in Avil\u00e9s, Cudillero, Pravia, Luarca, Navia, Castropol, Ribadeo, Foz, Burela, Viveiro, and Ortigueira. The views were amazing: industrial parks, rural greenery, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[5,13,14],"class_list":["post-875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spain","tag-food","tag-northern-spain","tag-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":970,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}