On a grassy knoll above the Lena valley, south of Oviedo, stands a tiny stone church that has watched over the main road between Asturias and Castile for more than a thousand years. Santa Cristina de Lena is one of the jewels of Asturian pre-Romanesque architecture, built in the ninth century when the little Christian kingdom of Asturias was the only part of Iberia outside Muslim rule. Its unusual plan, with a raised presbytery behind an arcade of carved arches, and its finely worked stone screens are unique. Together with Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo in Oviedo, it is part of a World Heritage listing.
The church is reached by a short walk or ride up a narrow lane from the old Lena valley road near Pola de Lena. Opening hours vary and there is usually a small entry charge, so check ahead. Even if it is closed, the setting is worth it: green slopes, chestnut trees, the sound of cowbells and the motorway in the valley below.
The riding here is pure Asturias. The old N-630 climbs south past the church to the Puerto de Pajares, at about 1,380 metres the historic pass between Asturias and León, with steep gradients, tight hairpins and spectacular views when the fog lifts. The motorway, AP-66, uses the Huerna valley instead, with a toll, so the old road is quiet. Nearby, the Puerto de la Cubilla is a narrow, steep climb on a smaller road. Asturian weather is changeable, and mist and drizzle are common; roads stay damp under the trees.
The Lena valley was mining country, part of the coal basin that runs through Mieres and Langreo, and the miners' strikes of 1934 were a major event in Spanish history. Today the valley is greener and quieter. The pilgrimage route of the Camino de San Salvador passes nearby, linking León with Oviedo, and you may meet walkers on the lane.
Pola de Lena, four kilometres away, is a town of nearly thirteen thousand people with fuel, cafés and cider houses where waiters pour cider from above their heads into the glass. Fabada asturiana, a rich bean stew with chorizo and black pudding, is the dish to eat before tackling Pajares.