Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Soto del Barco

What to see and do in Soto del Barco (Avilés, Asturias): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Nature · 1 Curiosities

How far each place is from the centre of Soto del Barco

Towns near Soto del Barco

What to see in Muros de Nalón 4.7 km · 6 places
What to see in Castrillón 5.3 km · 7 places
What to see in Pravia 6.4 km · 9 places
What to see in Illas 7.5 km · 6 places
What to see in Candamo 7.8 km · 6 places
What to see in Cudillero 8.6 km · 8 places
What to see in Avilés 11 km · 16 places
What to see in Las Regueras 13 km · 3 places

Spain › Principality of Asturias › Avilés › Soto del Barco

What to see and do in Soto del Barco

Soto del Barco
Village
Soto del Barco is a municipality of Asturias, on the Cantabrian coast, situated on the right bank of the mouth of the river Nalón, within the Cinco Villas association of municipalities. With about 3,800 inhabitants, concentrated mainly in San Juan de La Arena and in the capital, it owes its name to an old boat that, before bridges existed, linked the two banks of the ria. Its relief is gentle, formed by a coastal platform that rises southward into the Mafalla and Fontebona ranges, where the municipality's highest point is reached, the 467 metres of the Alto de la Corona. Above the ria stands San Martín castle, an Iron Age castro converted into a fortress against Norman raids and excavated in the 1990s, and at its foot lies Los Quebrantos beach.
Castle of San Martín
Monument
San Martín Castle, in the Asturian concejo of Soto del Barco, was built or rebuilt on a Roman fortress that in turn stood on an ancient castro, with occupation layers from the first and second Iron Age, the Roman period and the early Middle Ages; it is on these latter layers that the castle now stands, first recorded in the 11th century and restored in the late 15th. The site was excavated in the 1990s, although the results of those campaigns were never published. The tower is surrounded by a wall reaching the bank of the Nalón river, which in other periods included structures such as the church of San Martín; also preserved nearby are 19th-century buildings, among them a house with a cantilevered glazed gallery.
Beach of los Quebrantos
Nature
A long stretch of sand by the mouth of the Nalón, in San Juan de la Arena, fully exposed to the swell of the Cantabrian Sea and backed by dunes. From it can be seen the comings and goings of the fleet that still works the ria. Together with the playón de Bayas, in the neighbouring concejo of Castrillón, it forms at low tide a continuous stretch of sand about three kilometres long; its own section measures about 810 metres long by 100 wide and is protected as a Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Community Importance (SCI). Its sand is dark because of its proximity to the river mouth, and the dune system behind it, much deteriorated, coexists with an already urban setting. It is suitable for surfing and has a nearby campsite, parking, lifeguard cover and an amphibious beach wheelchair for people with disabilities, although bathing near the river mouth is not recommended.
Puerta del Mar Interpretation Centre
Monument
At San Juan de la Arena it explains the two activities that made the village: fishing at the mouth of the Nalón and the coal that came down the river to the loading docks on the Asturian coast.
Isla de la Deva and Playón de Bayas
Nature
A natural monument declared by Decree 20/2002 of the Government of Asturias that protects the Playón de Bayas, the longest sandy stretch in central Asturias, alongside the cliffs of Punta Socollo, and the Deva, the largest island in the Principality, east of the mouth of the Nalón river, between Castrillón and Soto del Barco. Almost three kilometres long, the Playón de Bayas was formed by sediments carried by the Nalón, moved by littoral currents until they formed an extensive dune system, interrupted only by the Fontebona stream. Protected species grow on its dunes, such as the sand spurge, present in barely two other Asturian localities, along with marram grass and sea daffodil, as well as rock-dwelling vegetation and colonies of seabirds.
The elver fishing fleet of San Juan de la Arena
Curiosity
Between November and March, on moonless nights, eighty or a hundred boats work the mouth of the Nalón trailing small nets after elvers; the village passes for the elver capital of Spain and its fish market handles thousands of kilos each season.