Why this ride
A 60 km round trip from Santander - roughly 1 h 06 in the saddle. It goes by way of Monte Castillo - El Castillo, Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas, Monte Castillo - La Pasiega and Monte Castillo - Las Monedas.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Santander afternoon · Monte Castillo - Las Monedas
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 60 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 06
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Santander
Santander is a seaside capital that happens to have a mountain range at its back. The city wraps around a broad, sheltered bay, with long beaches at El Sardinero on the Atlantic side and a working harbour facing the old town, and on a clear day the Picos de Europa show as a faint white line far to the west. A great fire in 1941 destroyed much of the historic centre, so the architecture is mostly post-war, but the waterfront has been given a bright new face, with the glass and steel Centro Botín by Renzo Piano projecting out over the water. For riders arriving from England, the ferries from Plymouth and Portsmouth land here, which gives it a slightly salty, expectant air.
Read the complete Santander write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santander is where the day begins. Next is Monte Castillo - El Castillo.
2. Monte Castillo - El Castillo
Some of the oldest paintings in Europe sit in a hill above a village best known for its hot springs. The cave of El Castillo opens in the flank of Monte Castillo, right above Puente Viesgo in the Pas valley of Cantabria, and inside it are hand stencils and a red disc that scientists dated, in 2012, to more than forty thousand years ago. That makes them contenders for the oldest cave art known on the continent, and possibly older than any made by modern humans, since Neanderthals were around at the time. UNESCO lists the Cantabrian caves, and a visit means a guided group entering in small numbers, so book ahead and expect limits on the day.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - El Castillo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Castillo - El Castillo comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas.
3. Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas
Everyone talks about Altamira, but Monte Castillo has a better claim to the title of Europe's oldest gallery. El Castillo, the cave that gives the hill its name, contains a red disc that was dated in 2012 to more than forty thousand years ago, which makes it among the oldest known cave paintings anywhere. Las Chimeneas, the cave marked here, is one of its neighbours inside the same hill, and the whole mountain is a kind of honeycomb of Ice Age art.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 30 km into the recorded legs you reach Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas. Next is Monte Castillo - La Pasiega.
4. Monte Castillo - La Pasiega
Puente Viesgo has the strange distinction of being a Cantabrian village of about two and a half thousand people that sits under one of the most important prehistoric hills in Europe. Monte Castillo is a steep, cone-shaped limestone mountain beside the River Pas, and it is riddled with caves. La Pasiega is one of four that have been explored and painted on a grand scale, the others being El Castillo, Las Chimeneas and Las Monedas. Together they form a small campus of Ice Age art, and people travel from across the world to look at them.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - La Pasiega write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Castillo - La Pasiega, about halfway. Next is Monte Castillo - Las Monedas.
5. Monte Castillo - Las Monedas
Las Monedas is the cave that took its name from a handful of small coins, and the story says a lot about the place. Monte Castillo, at Puente Viesgo in Cantabria, has been known as a prehistoric hill since the early twentieth century, and visitors have been coming here for centuries, leaving behind bits of themselves. The coins were found in the cave, and the name stuck.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - Las Monedas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Castillo - Las Monedas sits at 31 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monte Castillo - La Pasiega.
6. back through Monte Castillo - La Pasiega
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - La Pasiega write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monte Castillo - La Pasiega comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas.
7. back through Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 34 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas. Next is back through Monte Castillo - El Castillo.
8. back through Monte Castillo - El Castillo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - El Castillo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monte Castillo - El Castillo, late in the day. Next is Santander.
9. Santander
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Santander write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 60 km.
Leg by leg
Santander to Monte Castillo - El Castillo
Santander → Monte Castillo - El Castillo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monte Castillo - El Castillo to Santander
back through Monte Castillo - El Castillo → Santander is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.