“No, no, no!” Too late; the bikes are dumped, strewn across the pavement in a disorganised tangle of pedals and chains. Sprinting away from earshot, or more likely choosing to totally ignore me, the kids speed towards the Atlantic Ocean over pristine sand.
With a young family, it isn’t the cycling along this section of the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain (a 500 mile pilgrimage route from the Pyrenees to the city of Santiago de Compostela) that’s a challenge. It’s getting the kids off the wonderful beaches and back onto their bikes for the next leg!
Planning a pilgrimage
When my family were very young, we went cycling in Scotland most summers with the children either on the back of the bikes or towed in a trailer. It was easy to cover many miles a day, stopping regularly for picnics or paddles in the sea.
But now that my children are seven and nine, a host of long-distance cycling issues have been thrown up. Firstly, the kids are now far too big to be towed. Secondly, sitting in a trailer and watching the countryside pass by is rather dull for a child seeking a little independence.
So it’s now time for them to be travelling under their own steam – well, on their own saddle. With the family all agreed that a cycling holiday was a good idea, the question was – where to go? Having been rained on and flooded out of tents in Scotland once too often, we thought we’d head south, hopefully for some guaranteed sunshine.
A child taking control of their own trajectory, especially on the wrong side of the road, is where the additional problems can start as a parent. You simply can’t trust a child under 10 to concentrate in the saddle all day long - especially my daughter, who is easily distracted by a passing butterfly and often crashes into inanimate objects!
Holidays are supposed to be about unwinding from life’s daily grind, and it’s far from relaxing if you’re stressing out about an imminent disaster. Therefore traffic-free routes, or at least quiet backroads, are a must.
Unfortunately, long-distance, child-friendly, traffic-free routes are few and far between, and authoritative information on them is almost non-existent. A long-distance independent journey suitable for young children was proving elusive.
That was, until some research led me to discover that the Camino De Santiago, ‘The Way of Saint James’, has two main recognised routes along Northern Spain, leading pilgrims to the shrine of Saint James the Great in the city of Santiago de Compostela. The Camino Frances, literally the ‘French Way’ takes about a month to walk and around two weeks to cycle but lacks the beaches and cool sea breeze of the Camino del Norte, the ‘Northern Way’, which hugs the coast.
Often seen as a much harder challenge to hikers, the northern route is rarely flat, and sections often follow busy coastal roads. But the 43 mile section between the villages of Pechón and Ribadesella, whilst not without climbs, is well signed, mostly either traffic-free or on very quiet country lanes, and perfect for family cycling.
We’re joining another family with three kids, and total a cycling contingent of nine. A few hours on the web and we’ve organised hotels and B&Bs all within a few hours cycle ride of each other. Next we find a bike rental shop that will both deliver and collect the bikes, plus sort luggage transfers. The latter is a big help when cycling with kids - cycle touring fully loaded isn’t an issue for an adult, but carrying a share of a week’s worth of family supplies is a little too much to ask of a small person.
Just pedalling through
While flocks of tourists head to Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the Spanish take their holidays on the north coast. A world away from crowded beaches and multi-coloured umbrellas, the north is graced with tiny secluded sandy coves surrounded by jagged Atlantic-beaten rocks. Think Cardigan Bay with tapas.
The wonderful beaches have a backdrop of rolling lush green hills that in the distance push skyward towards the high peaks of the Picos de Europa National Park, which is well worth a side trip for a hike.
Our starting point is the village of Pechón, where we pick up bikes and ride downhill towards the town of Guadamía. Our small group soon spreads out, some kids screaming with joy as they fly downhill, others pulling hard on the brakes and all the parents screaming a chorus of “Slow down!” and “Keep right!” Mayhem ensues before we eventually reach the town of Guadamía and the start of the pedestrianised route, well marked with yellow clam shells.
We’ve only been going twenty minutes but a local café proves too tempting and we stop for delicious coffee for a princely 90 pence, plus giant slabs of empanada (a stuffed savoury pastry).
Relaxing into the ride, we climb steeply out of the village on a paved path towards a small hilltop shrine. I’m pleased that we’ve only planned to go nine miles, to the village of Pendueles, as distance and pace are key for young children.
It takes a little while for us mile-eating adults to get used to a slow pace, but a chilled ride with plenty of time for stops to study caterpillars, swim in the sea or relax over a third cup of coffee proves hugely enjoyable. Set yourself a big distance target each day and you’ll soon find yourself shouting at the kids and stressing about where you are and how far you have to go.
The old fashioned way
Pendueles is a dreamy farming village seemingly from a bygone time. Slightly set back from the coast, many of the houses are in need of a little love, but in a charmingly romantic way. Sitting outside in the cool evening air, we’re served a traditional meal of fabada Asturiana, a butter bean stew of shoulder of pork, bacon, black pudding, chorizo and saffron, all washed down with still cider, a delicious local speciality.
Our next destination causes much merriment among the kids - the bustling port of Póo. Another easy 10 mile ride is broken by a morning swim before a stop at the dramatic Bufones de Arenillas, a series of blowholes which throw shafts of water vertically skyward when the sea is rough.
We’re here on a Sunday, and the locals are out enjoying amazingly extravagant picnics - long tables for twenty people stocked with enough food for an army are balanced high with treats next to the horse and cart the whole family has arrived in. We decide to follow the Spanish family tradition and take a day off too, swapping bikes for surf boards.
We play all morning in waves gentle enough for all the kids to mess around in but big enough for the adults to ride towards the beach on long foam surfboards. And our next day’s ride to the village of Poncebos leaves time for a cliffside hike along Garganta del Cares gorge, lauded as one of the world’s most beautiful hikes.
End of the line
Two days later we ride into Ribadesella after a varied couple of days in the saddle that include sheltering from a thunderstorm in a beachside cave and apologetically leading a procession of children across the sand of the only packed beach we found, lifting bikes over and between sunbathing families.
There’s collective group sadness among big and small riders alike as we dismount for the final time. Ribadesella is a hub for adventure sports, so to cheer everyone up before we sit down for a just-caught seafood dinner I sign us up for a canoe decent of the Sella River at one of the village’s many adventure agencies.
For all the city glitz of Bilbao and Gijon, the north coast of Spain - and particularly the entire Asturias region we rode through - feels like a time capsule, an old-world Spain that could be straight from the days of Ernest Hemingway’s travels.
Our route was easy on the legs and dotted with secret beaches, welcoming villages and traditional cafes. The towns and villages here, while bustling, are unspoilt; alternative days of surfing, canoeing, climbing, canyoning and hiking in the Picos de Europa are easy to arrange, and it’s all easy on the pocket, too.
We watch herring gulls being buffeted by an Atlantic breeze over our last breakfast and I ask the kids if they’d like to come back to this green corner of northern Spain.
“I wish we weren’t leaving!” they reply. Success!
Our trip
Pete and his family travelled solo, but Saddle Skedaddle offer seven-day guided family cycling holidays in Northern Spain from £1,245 per person, excluding flightsand bike hire.
Swap bike saddles for surfboards with tuition (one hour from £22) or board hire (£13 for half a day) from Surf Llanes, based in the coastal town of Llanes.
Health and safety
The weather, even in summer, can be changeable, so be prepared for rain, temperature drops and sudden sunshine. Allow plenty of time to reach your destination to avoid overtired children.
What to pack
Water and windproof jacket and trousers, good breathable base layers, swimming kit, a decent book.
Getting there
EasyJet fly to Asturias airport from London Stansted from £20 each way, and to Bilbao from Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester and London Stansted.
Getting around
Bikes can be hired all along the coast – Peter and family rented from Bicicletas Jose Fernandez in Pechón from £10.50 per day.
Food and drink
Fabada stew, stuffed empanadas and still local cider are must-tries.
Four other family-friendly cycle routes to try out:
Tarka Trail - Braunton to Meeth, England
Length: 31 miles
Devon’s Tarka Trail is a whopping 180 miles long, but there’s a great family section between Braunton and Meeth that is totally traffic free. At 31 miles this is the perfect family challenge, and can easily be broken down into shorter rides for littler legs, with numerous villages, pubs and places to stay dotted along the route. Pack a copy of the classic tale of Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson to entertain the kids with.
Swansea Bike Path, Wales
Length: 12 miles
Take in fantastic views across to Mumbles Head and the Gower Peninsula on the Swansea Bike Path, a six mile ride that follows the wide curving sweep of the bay from Swansea Marina to the pretty Victorian seaside town of Mumbles along a former railway.
Flat, easy and perfect for wobbly kids.
Veloscenic - Remalard to Alençon, Normandy
Length: 37 miles
The Veloscenic is a 270-mile cycleway linking Paris and the UNESCO listed island monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, and while the route in its entirety isn’t suited to family riding, the disused railway line between Remalard and Alençon definitely is. This wonderfully flat 37 mile route winds its way through the gentle Normandy countryside and there are plenty of local markets on route for picking up lunchtime supplies.
Loch Lomond Cycleway, Scotland
Length: 20 miles
One of the first long-distance cycle paths in Scotland, the mostly traffic-free Loch Lomond Cycleway is best suited to older kids. The route runs from just outside Glasgow to the world famous waters of Loch Lomond, following parts of the disused Partick to Yoker railway.
There are many working train stations just off the route, helpful if You want to skip parts or ride it one way. Don’t forget to allow time for a visit to imposing Dumbarton Castle, too.
