New territory - grey Spain and beyond.

North of Salamanca the A66 - Ruta de la Plata - is new territory for us; whatever reservations we may have had concerning the tawdry delights of Zamora were more than compensated by the fact the place was unfamiliar. The same should have been the case for the journey north from there, towards Gijon and the coast of Asturias. Sadly for most of the 300km journey all we saw was a uniformly grey landscape glimpsed through the rain spattered windscreen. 

There were occasional breaks between the downpours. The landscape of Castillion y Leon, as we approached its eponymous regional capital, looked very northern. A slightly undulating plain, big fields, big sky, clumps deciduous trees struggling to burst into leaf, a dour landscape un-cheered by the occasional patches of fruit trees in blossom.

It is not surprising that Spring comes late to inland Spain, most of the central plateau lies between 800 - 900 metres, most mountains in England fail to reach such dizzy heights.

As we reached the southern foothills of the Cantabrian massif we drove back into cloud. The autovia follows the valley of the Rio Luna. For people of a certain age this will inevitably result in a deeply embedded earworm featuring either Audrey Hepburn or Andy Williams, or in my case a mash-up of the two.

The upper valley of Moon River is actually more of a zig-zagging canyon, overshadowed by vertical cliffs and needle-like outcrops. Some of the geology is jaw-dropping, once horizontal strata contorted over millions of years by a sort of slow corkscrew motion; so now the layers run vertically forming a jagged rock face like the fossilised backbone of an enormous dinosaur.

 In clear conditions the scenery must look magnificent, today, half hidden in cloud and mist it looked haunted and ominous.It not obvious when you reach the top and cross the watershed; due to the miracles of modern civil engineering I suspect it happens in one of the many tunnels. 

Anyway, this rite of passage was acknowledged somewhat grudgingly when a small sign just beyond the northern end of the Caldas de Luna tunnel informed us we had reached the Asturias border. Thirty kilometres of snaking upwards was immediately followed by twenty plummeting downwards. The steeper and bendier sections of the motorway have an 80kph speed limit. I soon realised why, heavier vehicles soon pickup momentum and though the bends are never sharp they are persistent, and at speed in wet weather it would very easy to lose control.

As AccuWeather predicted it was much clearer on the northern side of the mountains. First came breaks in the cloud, then the tops of the mountains made an appearance, soon they were patched with sunlight. 

By the time we were heading east along the A8 which runs along the 'Costa Verde' we had reached a familiar looking Spring day.

The only thing to persuade us that we had not mysteriously arrived in Pembrokeshire was the fact that the rolling hills beside the sea were twice the size of their Welsh cousins and there were no daffodils.

We have travelled through Asturias previously in a shoulder season. In October 2016 we struggled to find places to stay.The same thing happened now. The area is a popular destination in the Summer for Spanish people seeking a fresher, less oppressive climate than the stifling heat of Madrid. This means that most campsite on the north coast only operate between April and September, some only during the summer months. The coast is very hilly, the roads narrow and the more remote beaches inaccessible for motorhomes, so areas autocaravanas are few and far between too.

We headed for one of the few all year sites. Camping Villaviciosa is actually not particularly close to the medium sized town it takes it's name from. 

In a rural spot about 12kms west it would be very peaceful if it was situated a little further from the motorway. Nevertheless, the site is very green and wooded with neatly hedged pitches. 

The thermometer notched up into the twenties, out came the chairs, table and the Cadac. This is more like it, we agreed.