Tickets To Fly - Travel by Train and Explore Northern Spain Over a Week

To experience a beautiful sequence of changing scenery the train trip from Leon to Santiago is worth considering for your first train experience. A fishing port, whereas trains travelling east it stops in Llanes, travelling west bound the train stops overnight in Ribadesella. This is personal choice. Which direction should you travel by train in?

It is better before or after the main holiday season when the area is full of tourists escaping life in the cities. The air is clear and the countryside can be viewed at its best, as it is less humid, september and October are better, june, may. When is the best time to travel by train?

As it is possible to experience all the seasons in one day, pack clothes for all weathers.

This part of Spain also allows you to observe red squirrels foraging for food. To aerate it they pour into glasses from a height, they brew their own cider and when serving it. It is an area where you can still see some farmers cutting their grass with scythes and using horses and mules for transport. This area has the most rainfall in the country over a year as it has the most mountains. The Northern coast of Spain is one of the most industrialised and populated regions.

A Estrecha ( better known as FEVE), the rest is controlled by the Ministry of Works or Ferrocarriles de Ví through the Basque regions the operator (owned by the autonomous government) is EuskoTren, the network is owned by two companies. 1500km of track winds through the countryside; and across the mountains from Bilbao to Leon, as Altas of Galicia, from Hendaye in France to Ferrol on the Rí. More importantly it is here you will find the most extensive metre gauge railway network in Europe.

This enabled FEVE to offer weekly simultaneous departures. Brico 2 joined her sister train, el Transcantá so at the end of the 1990's. Once again they used carriages that were no longer used and also decided to make all the sleeper compartments en-suite. 1.3 million); the popularity of this train encouraged FEVE to invest more money (more than £. Brico were booked in advance, 85 per cent of places on El Transcantá every year. This proved to be a huge success and within a few years of starting profits were being made. Other carriages were transformed into sleeping cars. Four 1929 Pullman cars were converted into bar cars and a luxurious lounge. The 1970's saw FEVE initiate the first luxury touring train in Europe.

Singles or twin bedded compartments are not available. You are able to regulate the air conditioning and heating in each compartment. They also provide hair dryers. Turbo-massage or hydrosauna, steam bath, the showers offer a variety of options. Telephone with an exterior line and wardrobes; writing desk, en-suite double bed compartment which also has a bar, once on board the accommodation consists of. Licos in Santiago de Compostela; n or the Parador de los Reyes Cató the journey begins either from the Parador de San Marcos in Leó. You leave the train the following Saturday, the trip commences on a Saurday and lasts for seven nights. Brico is one way only, 000 km journey on El Transcantá the 1.

Outside the season it is possible to charter the train for a special tailor made journey for fifty people. The season operates between April and October. The exception to this is when dinner is served on the train at a remote station in Sotoscueva. As well as lunch and dinner (including wine) in restaurants on the route, the price includes a buffet breakfast on board. 340; 1, standard rates per person in a shared compartment are £ 000 per person, 2, if you want exclusive use of a compartment the cost is £.

The Schedule for Leon to Santiago

Saturday:

Here you have your evening meal and the first overnight stop. Ar to Cistierna which is a former coal mining town, through Boñ the train then travels east along the shoulders of the uplands that run south from the mountains. At the base of the mountains, ) Once on the train you travel up the Torio Valley to Mattallana. The Romanesque facade of San Isidro with storks nesting above it, with its magnificent stained glass windows, you are then treated to a short guided tour of the city ( the cathedral. This is followed by lunch; n, begin with a reception at Parador de San Marcos in Leó.

Sunday

You can try regional drinks at the local bar a short walk from the station. A show cave; thr train stops overnight in this idyllic spot which is just below the Ojo Guareñ. The final part of the journey on this day is down into the deep valleys and the town of Sotoscueva. You rejoin the train at Mataporquera and travel through uplands covered in heather to the south bank of the Esbro reservoir. You travel beneath wide skies and during the spring the roadside is covered with flowers, the countryside is beautiful. Mista; after lunch you visit the grand flight of locks on the disused Canal de Castilla in the town of Fró. Zar de Sirga; lunch is served in the town of Villalcá. N de los Condes; on arrival you transfer to a coach to visit the well preserved remains of the Roman villa at Olmeda and the Romanesque architecture of Carrió. Called Guardo, from Cistierna meandering towards another coal mining village, whilst you eat breakfast, as the train continues the journey.

Monday

Once here lunch is served and there is a trip to the Guggenheim Museum. The scenery becomes more industrialised as the train heads towards Bilbao. With its gate house bridge over the river, the journey continues through Balmaseda. In the days of steam this was a terrifying descent and is known as El Cabrio. You will see the floor of the Cadagua valley disappear, eating breakfast, if you are sitting on the left hand side of the carriage. The day starts with the train clinging to the mountain side at the bottom of a limestone precipice.

The overnight stop is in Santander where you have dinner. The pasture aromas of the Cantabrian will stimulate your appetite for dinner. Birds of prey can be seen sitting on telegraph poles watching the world go by, at all times. Through October purple crocuses can be seen, primroses cover the embankments, during Spring. It has been described as one of the most scenic rail journeys in Europe. During the afternoon the train heads towards Santander.

Tuesday

Then on to Altamira to view replica cave paintings. Where you will have lunch, this is a world famous medieval town, here you board a coach to visit Santillana del Mar. Here the air is full of fumes from the SNIACE cellulose works. The train heads westwards through the Cantabria pastures towards the industrial town of Torrelavega.

Dinner is here as well as an overnight stop. It runs along the base of the Sierra de Cuera to Ribadesella mountains. A short break here allows time to discover this example of an Asturian lively fishing port. Back on board the train to travel through the Saja and Escudo valleys when you begin to climb and reach the cliff tops between Unquera and Llanes.

Wednesday

This is famous for its Roman bridge that spans the Sella, s, then the trip continues to the town of Cangas de Cangas de Oní lunch is taken in a nearby restaurant. The scene of Pelayo's victory over the Moors in 722, journey back down to Covadonga. N massif of the towering Picos de Europa, which are high in the Cornió after breakfast you board a coach to visit the lakes of Enol and Ercina. The train winds up the gorges of the Sella to Arriondas, during breakfast, today.

Dinner is served here as well as an overnight stop. N; brico' heads north towards the coast at Gijó the 'El Transcantá. N where the train reverses; you reach the railway town of El Berró. N horses horses grazing in fields, cider apple orchards and watch Asturcó here you see hazlenut copses. A valley; after lunch the train continues up the Piloñ.

Thursday

The approach to the overnight stop is breathtaking as you cross the viaduct into the fishing town of Luarca. You continue the journey on an incredible part of the track which weaves between the coast and the mountains whilst spending over half of its time underground. This route follows a stream and links the harbour and the upper end of the village. See if you can discover the subterranean route. Take time to thread your way along the narrow footpaths of this urban maze, once here. Orchards of kiwis and cherries before arriving in the fishing village of Cudillero, you will see villages that seem not to belong in this century. N valley; after lunch the train winds down the Naló. All these have been restored, n, see the cathedral and the market courtyard of El Fontá this morning time is spent exploring Oviedo.

Friday

The fishing port of Ribadeo offers lunch and where from the Paradour you can overlook the estuary. This forms the border between the regions of Asturias and Galicia, firstly to the drowned valleys (rias) of Eo. The train leaves the mountains behind as it heads west across the coastal plateau.

The last night of the journey is spent here. Brico' are given a short cruise along the ria, the passengers on the 'El Transcantá on arrival. As Altas and the fishing port of Viveiro, before reaching the inlets of the Rí cloaked in eucalyptus, the train heads inland and climbs into the hills, on reaching San Cibrao. It travels through the fishing ports and resorts of Foz and Burela, it travels below cliffs and is a stones throw away from the sea. The next part of the journey is the only section that can be classed as a coastal line.

Saturday

The trip is now complete. Here you are given a brief walking tour which is followed by a farewell lunch. To reach the city of Santiago de Compostela, which takes an hour by coach, after a walk through Ferrol to explore its old quarter before the final journey. The views are exhilarating as you begin the descent into Xuvia from Cerido. A de Ferrol; the final journey winds past more rias and then turns inland south of Ortigueira to begin the climb over the uplands to Rí.

Spanish and English versions are available. Brico' and click; the home page is in Spanish but at bottom left of the page find the link to 'El Transcantá. For more detailed information link to http://www.transcantabrico.feve.es.