Visit 'green Spain', the sharply rising regions of the foothills jutting towards the jagged limestone of Picos de Europa for the already described fantastic mountain scenery, mix of trails, tiny, traditional mountain farms and pretty Spanish towns producing excellent cheese and cider.

Tajo Gorge is more than an impressive rift in the countryside, it also separates the popular tourist regions along the coast from the mountains (people are put off by the long drive in a single line of traffic.) which keeps the villages here remote and the landscape pristine.

You don't have to be a strong technical rider to enjoy yourself here, but the variety of trails means that if you are you will find terrain to challenge you.

By basing yourself in Potes, the small attractive town at the centre of the region, you can take advantage of the local lifestyle including the regular fresh produce markets where you can buy goat cheese or a goat and good bars and restaurants as well as a traditional square. There is about a weeks worth of variety of countryside to explore here, one of the highlights being Fuente de at the end of the valley where you can get a cable car to the top and cycle down. If you want a through trip you can still begin at Portes and by passing through Cares and Urdon Gorges you'll see some of the best of the region's scenery.

Written by  Andrew Straw.

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