Part 2 Northern Spain Adventure Spring 2025 - With GPX Tracks
- Suzie Prevett
- Sep 7
- 16 min read
Updated: Oct 13
Please note, the GPX Tracks within this blog are the tracks we followed on our travels. If you choose to utilise these files then you do so at your own risk. Roads that we utilised are subject to change, roadworks, closures, deterioration and other hazards so we cannot be held responsible should you choose to follow any of the tracks we have shared within this blog.
The next morning, with the lift now in fully functioning order, we left our apartment in Llanes and set off to Besoy, just South West of Potes. It was a day of AMAZING roads! We stopped for coffee at a place that did climbing and zip-lining, and watched loads of very brave (or slightly crazy) people climbing a huge rock face. It gave me the heebie jeebies just watching them, it was soooo steep! They probably had a similar thought about us on motorcycles, ha ha! There was also an amazing waterfall right next to the rock face, so all in all, a good coffee stop.
There were so many great views on route, and the highest point was just over 1600m at 'Puerto de San Glorio'. There was thankfully no snow on the road, just at the sides, which I was very relieved about. No turning around required today!
We couldn’t find anywhere open for lunch but we managed to find a place at around 3.30pm once we got in to Potes. We were starvin' marvin and ended up with some oily chicken, chips and eggs, which filled a hole at least. At least least the hangry version of Suzie had calmed down a bit!
Next was to fuel up then go and find the apartment we’d booked out in the sticks, ‘La Barenca’. It was WAY better than expected. More than that, we lucked out massively as when I enquired about more nights I was able to upgrade our original apartment, and add on two more nights for a grand total of €58.50 a night!!! That was complete with a jacuzzi bath and kitchenette, plus access to the huge Jacuzzi’s in the ‘spa’ area. Absolutely spot on!
There was also parking for the bikes up near the accommodation which saved a steep walk up from the main car park. It was just such a beautiful location, and if you want somewhere to stay outside of Potes, it's a great shout. As we were unloading the bikes I got talking to a couple on a Husquvarna 950 who recommended a great dirt road nearby in Espinama, plus the cable car at Fuente de. Great, we now had a plan for the next day…the beauty of a ‘no-plan plan’! It was then jacuzzi time, then wine O’clock! Happy days!
Out of curiosity I looked up the place on booking.com for high season…it would be €300 for our apartment per night and minimum 5 night stay!!! Yikes, we’d done good with our very off-peak visit!
GPX Track For Llanes to Potes:
We had a slow get up after a better night sleep, ready for an amazing day. Following breakfast we went off to Potes for a supermarket shop, a mooch around, a coffee and then back to the accommodation to drop off our groceries.
Then we set off again up the track that was recommended to us by the Spanish couple. It was an absolutely amazing route and all because of a short conversation with other Spanish bikers, and just all happening to arrive at the same time. It was meant to be!
We headed up the track from Espinama and kept on going up and up, the views getting better and better, before getting to the snow capped mountains. Lush! We went on all the roads motorbikes were allowed on and up to the highest point. Then we ventured along another track, which was very loose and bouncy. The DR managed but struggled for traction in places. Fortunately I managed not to come off. We kept going all the way down to the other end of the track near Sotres, so approximately 13km of dirt road up (excluding the 2.5km detour that we did twice, so and extra 10km, up to Hotel Áliva). On the way back, as Kelvin was pulling off up a hilly bit of loose gravel, he managed to drop his bike...oopsy! Fortunately no harm done!
Then after getting off the dirt road route we headed up to the Teleferico (Fuente De) however we decided the views we'd had up the mountains were probably more spectacular. Plus, given it was approximately £20pp, and neither of us is great with heights, it just wasn’t worth it. Once back near Espinama, we stopped at cafe for a cold drink and bought some Coffee Liquor to enjoy later on. We then rode back to Potes for a snack and coffee at a cafe then back to our apartment.
Given there were a few good hours of daylight left we went on a 1.5km walk along the river to a ‘bridge’… it was a lovely nature walk but the bridge was disappointingly nothing to look at. There were some great features on the trail made by La Baranca, and lots of signs with various animal tracks on them. On our return it was definitely chocolate and wine time! What a great day, definitely one for the memory bank!
GPX Track For Potes TET Day Ride:
The next day we were up and out by 8.50am. We had a brief stop for fuel in Potes/Orujo then we started out on our 220km ride I’d planned using the paper maps, selecting a wiggly route that took in as many picturesque roads as possible. We ventured back along a road we’d come in on 2 days earlier, but it felt so different in reverse, and we had lovely open blue skies!
We got to the top of the mountain again at just over 1600m, then turned up the hill to an absolutely stunning viewpoint: Mirador de Llesba (aka Mirador del Oso). After taking in the breathtaking scenery for a little while, we set off again, continued along the road for a while longer then turned off in to new territory. There were such beautiful roads and so little traffic. Heaven! A little side road took our fancy and we headed up it, coming across a little church at the top of a dirt road.
Next stop was Guardo, and we parked up near church and sampled the delights of a cafe next to it, and also a Panaderia for emergency rations in case we couldn’t find anywhere for lunch. From Guardo we took a route North and then turned Eastwards. Again, absolutely stunning and virtually no cars, lots of lakes and plenty of ‘Miradors’ dotted along the route.
Continuing on we found a great little roadside place doing a ‘Menu Del Dia’ at around 2pm. Yey! I didn’t fully understand the menu options but I managed to choose stuff we liked and it truly was amazing food, especially for the price. Kelvin ended up with a soup type starter, with pork as a main, then it was a chickpea and shrimp stew starter for me with eggs with ham main, all followed by a lemon mousse and cheesecake. Nom nom! They also provided as much wine and water as you wanted, but unfortunately we couldn’t partake in the wine being on the bikes, but the water was lovely and we finished on a coffee!
I could barely get back on the bike I was so stuffed! We had a mere 60km left of the planned route and it was primarily super twisty roads. In fact, we’d had twisties all day long! I was certainly tired from the concentration, but it’s great as it keeps you present, ‘in the moment’.
Back in Potes we filled up with fuel, then headed up to the Sierra de Oso distillery. They make wine and Aguardiente, the latter being their speciality. The lady serving showed us how they create the wine, then take the grape pulp and ferment it in big vats. As far as I understood it, they then cook this and the steam rises (ha ha, stating the obvious I know!!). It then condenses and this creates the aguardiente. They then infuse this plain aguardiente with other flavours to create the various other drinks they had on offer…tonnes of options! We bought some gin for our neighbour Julie as a 'thank-you' for looking after our cat while we were away, and also a Herb infusion for me and a coffee liquor for us both…hmmm, we’d see how long the latter one would last…not long I expected!!
What a great day!! We topped it off with another jacuzzi bath before packing up for the next day’s (Friday’s) last big ride towards Bilbao, ready for the ferry on Saturday.
GPX Track For Potes Day Trip South Circular Ride:
It was Friday, our last full day, and what a fabulous day it was! Coming out of Potes there were quite a few roadworks and as we waited about 10 mins at one stop we watched some mountain goats scaling a bloody steep mountain side…I wouldn’t want to climb it with a rope and harness, let alone free climb. All hail the mountain goats! It made for a more interesting wait at least. Not long later we hit another long lot of roadworks but we managed to skip ahead of all the traffic in the queue. Oh for being on the bikes! The guy manning the ’STOP’ sign was worried we were going to just keep going as he started flapping his arms around, but he was happy once we came to a stop in front of the Lorries. From afar we were just two bikers, and it was apparent he assumed both male. So, as I rode past and shouted ‘Gracias’, he realised I was a woman and suddenly gave me a big beaming smile.
What beautiful roads once again…I know I keep saying it but Northern Spain is just so blessed with fabulous roads, both tarmac and dirt! The route today I planned using the orange Michelin maps and it was VERY non-direct as I wanted to take in as many of the scenic routes as possible so we went all over the place. Sorry Kelvin!! I think he enjoyed it though?! It beats the Google suggestion of the main road straight up to the coast and then major coast road across to Bilbao. We took in loads of back roads, which once again were virtually empty, filled with switchbacks literally all day, and punctuated with stunning miradors.
We took a break next to Embalse de Enro for a menu del dia, which set us back a mere €14 each. I had a cod stew starter and stuffed hake peppers for main with a Tirimasu pudding. Kelvin had a soup with egg to start, fried chicken main and also opted for the Tirimasu. Once again we declined the wine and just had tap water. It wasn’t quite as good as yesterday’s menu but still yummy and much needed. As we ate at about 2pm there would no need for a big dinner after our three course lunch!
Closer to our destination we came across a mountain with loads of wind turbines, and a dirt road that was open access to ride on. We made the most of that and went along both sides, really enjoying the amazing views. There was a bunch of horses grazing around the highest turbines, which were not moving as there wasn’t enough wind today to make them move…maybe a good thing for us though!
A quick stop in at a pharmacy was required as Kelvin lost a front tooth eating his chicken at lunch (a tooth implant from previously knocking it out), and luckily we managed to get some fixodent. It was then on to Ambasaguas and we stopped at Bar Erpeak for a coffee and tortilla. Mmmmmm!
It was only a stone’s throw up to our accommodation from the little town. We’d left our apartment at around 9.30am and arrived here at about 6.30pm! We’d only done about 230km in that time, but it was epic, and we'd thoroughly enjoyed all of the landscapes we'd come across.
On arrival at our accommodation the chap told us all about the grand house and the family that went to the USA, earned lots then came back and built it. The family then moved to Madrid and only came to use the property on vacation. As they’s had no children, once they died it went to the local church. Now it’s rented out as accommodation for holidays. It was also surrounded by lots of land (about 15,000,000 square meters I believe) but the ‘gardens’ were not as substantial, being only at the entrance. He also said that they used to have horses grazing, and used to work the land more, but not now.
Our room was huge, and very nice, plus it randomly came with a block of nougat, so we ate that, plus some leftover biscuits. That was all washed down with some Wine and coffee liquor. Nice one! What a great last day!!!!
GPX Track For Potes to Chavarri Etxea:
Overnight, Kelvin discovered an ant infestation. Uugh! They’d been trooping all over our kit, which meant us both being up in the wee hours trying to de-ant our gear and make sure it’d be somewhere safe and insect free for the rest of the night. Not fun! Needless to say we got very poor sleep, and just as well it was going to be followed by a very short riding day.
We were welcomed in to the breakfast room by José, who cooked us some beautiful scrambled eggs and bacon for €10 each. Had I known how good and reasonably priced the cafe near the port was going to be, I think we would have delayed our breakfast. However, it was nice to support their business at a less busy time of year, so all good!
We left in the rain, and quickly came across diesel all over road, which went on for absolutely ages, and made it very slow going. We reached Bilbao at about 10.25am, stopping for a coffee at a very popular cafe. The food looked great but we just weren’t hungry after our eggs.
GPX Track For Chavarri Etxea to Bilbao Ferry Port:
We then headed to the ferry at 11am, and experienced a very swift passage through passport control. We chatted to a few people in the queue, before boarding and finding our cabin. Unfortunately, the toilet wasn’t flushing and the coffee was absolutely awful (aka dishwater) at bar this time, so not the best start to the trip. We reported the toilet and after leaving them to it for a little while, we headed back to cabin for a workout, shower, hair wash, followed by lunch. Lunch was €17 for piece of quiche and a ,croque monsieur, so a bit steep but it’s a captive market. The food wasn’t as hot this time, and generally I would say the quality of everything was not as good on this trip so far, and we’d only been on board two hours!
I read the list of things going on…yoga on the deck tomorrow morning…we will see! It was hard enough walking inside let alone holding yoga poses in the wind, and the ferry was already more bouncy than the way out. Erm...maybe not then?!
An Aperol spritz and Moretti was required, and thankfully the spritz was up to a good standard. Phew! The sea sickness tablets were causing some real drowsiness (especially with the alcohol) despite being caffeinated tablets, and we both felt like dropping off, so we headed back to the cabin and slept two hours!!
After our siesta we awoke to beautiful sunshine outside and calmer seas, although the boat was swaying lots. We had a lovely walk on deck, which was a tad windy but welcome none the less. Then back inside to the bar, ha ha! At dinner I had paella, and it was pork for Kelvin, but I came out in hives! It was really horrible, and my voice changed a bit like my throat was a little swollen. The rash was all over my chest, up my neck and on my face. Attractive!! Kelvin was a little worried that it may develop in to anaphylactic shock or something, as we didn’t know what caused it. I didn’t usually react to seafood, however maybe the combination of alcohol, seafood, poor sleep, sea sickness tablets and return home stress had culminated in to a bit of a reaction? Who knows, but he watched me like a hawk…Bless!
We slept so well and woke at 6am ish (although the clocks had gone forward) and then we just dozed until to about 8am. It was oddly so comfortable on the ferry beds, and my rash was all gone to. Yey!
We enjoyed breakfast sitting in a window seat with lots of sun and opted for coffee out of the self-service machine as it was a lot better, and then just sat in the quiet zone for a while to chill, before having a wander out on the back of the boat; so calm and lovely.
Our late lunch of beef Tagine for me and spag bol for Kelvin, complete with pudding, meant we were stuffed, so no dinner would be required! Having then done a workout in the afternoon, it was on to the bar for a weak lager shandy, and a bit of sitting around again before the ferry docked at 8.30pm. We were off by about 9pm, with a swift and easy passport control. We then headed down the M27 to Woodlands Lodge Hotel. Our room smelt strongly of paint (it hadn’t been done well…there were loads of drips everywhere) and the room was very cold, but the bar was still open, so we had a red wine and chill.
It sounds odd but we both preferred the outward bound two night ferry option, getting on at 10pm, sleeping, having a whole day, then sleeping again, with early get up for the arrival, meaning getting an early start and a whole day before needing more accommodation. This return trip had seemed so much longer!
GPX Track For Portsmouth Ferry Port To The Woodlands Lodge Hotel (New Forest):
We were up at 7.30am, breakfast at 8am and left by 9.30am to get to Rugged Roads by 10am for Kelvin’s Kove 450 rally test ride. We had a good chat with Yvette the owner, before Adrian came to familiarise him with the test bike. Kelvin was like a kid in a sweet shop and couldn’t wait to give it a go. Thankfully he really enjoyed it and was keen on it as a replacement for his 1996 DR650, which was now definitely in need of some real TLC after this last trip.
We rode back home and it was so crowded on the roads. We avoided the motorway and were very thankful to be able to filter in some long traffic queues. At least it was sunny which made it so much better, and in the latter half we got some lovely, quiet country roads. It was just as well because my bike was struggling with gear changes. A gearbox fault was what I was dreading the diagnosis to be, however on closer inspection Kelvin realised the gear changer was hitting the cover and therefore I couldn’t change gear. At least it’d be a quick fix! We got home, had a cuddle with our kitty cat, unloaded, and then Kelvin washed the bikes as they were covered in salt from the snowy Spanish mountain roads. What a good couple of weeks it had been! Roll on the next adventure...
GPX Track For Woodlands Lodge Hotel to Barnstaple (Via Rugged Roads):
Please note, the GPX Tracks within this blog are the tracks we followed on our travels. If you choose to utilise these files then you do so at your own risk. Roads that we utilised are subject to change, roadworks, closures, deterioration and other hazards so we cannot be held responsible should you choose to follow any of the tracks we have shared within this blog. Th.
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