Sotres

We had a substantial step-up from the minibus as it drove us beyond Tielve to start the walk. The route was a simple loop to the head of the valley and back via the village of Sotres, reputedly the highest permanent settlement in the Picos de Europa. It is a prominent centre for the production of traditional Cabrales veined cheese and, even as a vegan, I jumped at the chance to see inside a cave when we had a chance meeting with  a producer.

Cheese maturing at a not very secret location

Even with the mechanised ascent and our walking it was a fairly low-level day passing through meadows and then onto moors that could have been in North Yorkshire.

Gorse and heather

We descended through farmsteads that looked ancient apart from the satellite TV dishes mounted below the solar panels. On a path off the major route we passed below a crag on which a griffin vulture was perched. he birds are very common in the Picos but not readily photographed with a compact camera usually.

A very distinctive silhouette

Todays walk: 13.6km 900m