Apartamento de férias em Picos de Europa

The Accommodation

For several hundred years La Casa de Las Chimeneas was a small farmstead. The present owners, British-born Tony Bastian and his Spanish wife Lucia, have converted it into top quality holiday accommodation, retaining and restoring as much of the original buildings as possible and preserving its charm and rustic atmosphere. Enclosed within its own wall, it is a village within the village. (Tony and Lucia have also recently opened a characterful bar in the village - La Taberna del Ingles - ;see below).

The apartment detailed here is one of eight (one of three bedrooms, four of two bedrooms and three of one bedroom) within La Casa, all light and spacious and with wonderful views of the Picos de Europa. The three-bedroom apartment has a private garden. Two apartments have balconies. Most feature exposed original stone walls inside. The wood is a mixture of old oak and new chestnut and pine. The decoration includes murals based on medieval illustrations. Each apartment is fully independent and has all the amenities needed for an enjoyable and comfortable holiday: wood-burning stove, central heating, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, TV, DVD, etc.

Every apartment has a sofa bed in the lounge. The 3-bedroom apartment has 2 double beds and two singles. It can sleep up to 8. We allow a maximum of 7 adults and 4 children (within the overall maximum). In July and August we allow an overall maximum of 6. Two of the two-bedroom apartments have two double beds. They can sleep up to 6. The other two-bedroom apartments have one double bed, two single beds and room for a supplementary bed. They can sleep up to 7. In all the 2-bedroom apartments we allow a maximum of 5 adults and 3 children (within the overall maximum). In July and August the overall maximum in these apartments is 5. The one bedroom apartments can sleep up to 4 (of which a maximum of 3 adults and 2 children).

There is a social room (which can be used as a meeting room), with a billiard table, large-screen television, DVD; free Internet access, games, maps, a library, information about the area and Internet access. There is a table football and other games just outside.

The communal areas include a swimming pool (warmed by solar panels), garden, and a beautiful wooden covered entrance, with seating beneath, an ideal place for relaxing or enjoying a drink. There are swings in the village square near the main entrance.

The owners, who run the business themselves, live with their young family nearby in the village. They will welcome you on your arrival, and be happy to help with any queries you may have.

You will find an information pack in your apartment on arrival, with information about the establishment and details of services and activities in the area. There is a map, with descriptions, showing half a dozen walks that can be done from the village.

Tudes

Tudes is a small, quiet, sunny village, off the beaten track, a cluster of houses built in the traditional local style. At over 2,000 feet, it offers magnificent views of the Picos de Europa mountains. Yet it is only ten minutes from Potes.

Winner of the competition Cantabria Village of the Year 2010 Tudes was described by the judges as "a quintessential mountain village with its traditional architecture and customs well-preserved, in a magnificent natural setting"

Tudes is also a living village. Most of its thirty-odd inhabitants still farm the land and can be seen each day herding their cows and sheep through the village.

As well as an ideal base for exploring Liébana and the Picos, Tudes is a place to be enjoyed itself - for its tranquillity and wonderful views, and as the starting point for a series of lovely walks in the nearby hills and woods.

In January 2009 the owners of La Casa opened an attractive and cosy bar in the village - La Taberna del Ingles -, designed and decorated by the same team that created La Casa. The tavern offers simple snacks and has a pool table and darts.

The Area

Tudes lies in The Liébana Valley, in Cantabria, at the western edge of the Picos de Europa mountains, an area of exceptional beauty and enormous contrasts, a little world of its own, sheltered by the mountains that surround it, yet only an hour from the sandy Cantabrian beaches and easily reached from the UK.

Its imposing mountains, which reach over 8,000 feet, provide spectacular views and are home to alpine flora and fauna. The vegetation in the valleys, by contrast, is almost Mediterranean. The higher ground is home to the Iberian brown bear, wolf, and ibex. Wild boar and birds of prey abound, and there is an extraordinary variety of wild flowers.

The area enjoys its own microclimate - warm in summer, bracing in winter, and with low rainfall.

Scattered in the valleys and lower mountain slopes are more than fifty delightful small villages and hamlets, where farming still dominates. Many have attractive old churches. In the Saint Toribio Monastry, the largest surviving piece of Christ’s cross is held.

The main town in Liebana, Potes, has an old part with a medieval atmosphere, restaurants where you can sample the local cuisine, bars, and a wide range of services. Every Monday, a traditional market is held there, and several times a year the town plays host to larger festivals. Many of the villages also hold their own fiestas.

Liebana offers a wide range of activities for the holidaymaker who wishes to do more than just relax and explore the area. These include walking, bird watching, horse riding, mountain biking, mountaineering, canooing and hang-gliding.

Further afield, the neighbouring region of Asturias is easily reached, into which the Picos mountains extend, accompanied in places by spectacular lakes and gorges. There are fishing villages to be visited and a dinosaur museum. Back in cantabria, there are spectaular caves (El Soplau), a large nature park and the vibrant city of Santander to be visited.