Villabona Route

Info

Just twenty minutes from Oviedo, Gijón or Avilés we find Villabona train station, a copy of Liverpool, the first train station in the world. From here we head towards the area of Barandiallu, at first sight a plain meadow, but in which excavations in the eighties of the 20th century have revealed the existence of anthropomorphic archaeological remains dating from between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.

With such a start, the walk shows us an eminently rural landscape, in which we can distinguish the scattered quintanas with their houses, hórreo and stables. They are scattered among pastures, cornfields and some eucalyptus groves.

On the way, the pre-Romanesque church of Villardeveyo, although it has little of that left, and on the opposite side of the valley, the palace of Villabona, belonging to the Quirós family, tell us how this area has been inhabited since the dawn of time.

A peaceful walk where you can see birds of prey, listen to the odd woodpecker or who knows if you might catch a glimpse of a roe deer grazing.

Route

Villabona 9,3

This route starts at the Villabona train station, where we can leave our car parked. Continue along the station road for the first 500 metres, where you come to a roundabout; follow the right-hand branch of the AS-325 road until you reach 1.5 kilometres, when you leave the road and take the path on the left.

A few metres further on we come to some archaeological excavations on the left-hand side; continue along the road until we reach La Vega, kilometre 2.3, where we can see some granaries and a water well. Further on, cross the railway tracks through an underground tunnel and follow the ascending path that passes between some houses and then enters a wood.

At kilometre 4, now out of the forest, our path forks; we take the branch to the right and continue straight on. From this point we can see Gijón and the Asturias prison. About 500 metres further on we come to Cogersa, where we turn left and follow the path through dandelion pastures, where we can also see manzanilla.

We continue the route down the LL-9 road, and without turning off it we pass the church of Villabona and its yew tree, kilometre 7.5, until we reach the bridge that crosses the railway again, kilometre 8.2, which takes us back to the starting point.

Map

Villabona Route

GPS: 43.461522292345762, -5.826602121815085

Detail

This route starts at the Villabona train station, where we can leave our car parked. Continue along the station road for the first 500 metres, where you come to a roundabout; follow the right-hand branch of the AS-325 road until you reach 1.5 kilometres, when you leave the road and take the path on the left.

A few metres further on we come to some archaeological excavations on the left-hand side; continue along the road until we reach La Vega, kilometre 2.3, where we can see some granaries and a water well. Further on, cross the railway tracks through an underground tunnel and follow the ascending path that passes between some houses and then enters a wood.

At kilometre 4, now out of the forest, our path forks; we take the branch to the right and continue straight on. From this point we can see Gijón and the Asturias prison. About 500 metres further on we come to Cogersa, where we turn left and follow the path through dandelion pastures, where we can also see manzanilla.

We continue the route down the LL-9 road, and without turning off it we pass the church of Villabona and its yew tree, kilometre 7.5, until we reach the bridge that crosses the railway again, kilometre 8.2, which takes us back to the starting point.