Path of the Mills
- Bimenes Eastern Asturias
- Distance: 3,9 kms
- Difficulty: Short
- Code: PR141
- Altitude: 531 m.
- Unevenness: 163 m.
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On foot:
1 h. 30 min.
Round trip
- Start point: Chapel of the Virgen de la Velía (La Llera)
- Tour type: Round trip
- Layout of the route: Download kml, Download gpx
Info
Five mills in barely 3 kilometres transport us to a time of subsistence economy, very close to the land, to the wealth coming from the river, its floods and its fertiliser from the surrounding land, where maize was the basis of the family diet. The frequency of a mill every half a kilometre or so, which is found in other parts of Asturias, is repeated here, which shows us the importance of this now practically ethnographic element.
Almost without leaving the forest, we walk next to the river at almost all times, enjoying the restoration of some of these mills among alders, maples and old chestnut trees in the areas furthest from the water. It is not difficult, if we walk in silence, to spot the occasional roe deer in the area.
A short route, barely three kilometres in each direction, to get in touch with the Asturias of our grandparents, with nature in its purest state, with a beautiful valley covered in vegetation whose views can be seen from the upper part of the route. An essential walk in the Cider District.
Route
Chapel of the Virgen de la Velía (La Velía) - Rozaes 3
This route starts at the chapel of the Virgen de la Velía, in the parish of Santu Mederu, on the way up to the well-known Peñamayor mountain. Here we will see the beautiful windmills that give the route its name. We can leave our car there and start the route along the path that starts at the hermitage.
After the first 300 metres of the route, turn right, and a few metres further on turn right again. About 200 metres further on, we find ourselves surrounded by native Asturian forest. We come to the first crossroads, where we choose the path on the left, which will take us to the mills of Peña del Hombre or, in other words, Milio and Honorio.
After barely 800 metres, we come to a turning: Honorio's mill to the left and Milio's mill opposite. We turn left first. After 150 metres, we reach Honorio's mill, where there is a path on the left that leads to the village of Melendreros.
After walking the first kilometre and a few metres, we arrive at the Milio mill, perfectly restored, which shows the mechanisms and instruments that have been used in the Asturian milling tradition.
Almost halfway along the route, kilometre 1.4, we return again to the initial crossroads, but now we take the path on the right, which allows us to access the rest of the mills. About 800 metres further on, kilometre 2.2, we come across the other water mills on the route: the Matilde mill, which has a small dam through which water was supplied to power the millstones used to grind the corn; the Máxima mill; the Ferreru mill; the Flora mill; and the Barrial mill, which has been perfectly renovated. Shortly after, we cross the river.
Having reached kilometre 3 of the route, we reach the last of the bridges, that of La Llera, at the height of the village of Rozaes, where the route ends. You can also start the route at this point and finish at La Velía.