Chamois

We have had lots of good weather this autumn and I’ve been able to make the most of it, doing some lovely high mountain walking in the Picos de Europa. On my walks I have had the chance to see a lot of chamois, which is probably the most representative fauna species of The Picos de Europa.


This amazingly agile animal is generally found above 1,500m and as a mountain dweller is very well adapted to living in the rugged, rocky landscape of the Picos de Europa.
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A fully grown chamois reaches a height of about 75 cm and weighs about 50 kg. Both males and females have short horns which are slightly curled backwards. In summer, the chamois' fur has a rich brown colour which turns to a light grey in winter. Distinct characteristics are a white face with pronounced black stripes below the eyes, a white backside and a black dorsal strip. Chamois can reach an age of up to 20 years.
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The hooves are thin and highly versatile, capable of running with extreme agility over difficult rocky terrain as well as snow and ice fields. This agility is due to the unique design of the cushions that occupy the central part of their hooves


Chamois are social animals that move in small groups in search of mountain pastures. These groups are formed only by males (which may be solitary) or only by females and their offspring, which only meet during the mating season.
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Their sight, smell and hearing are excellent. This helps them quickly identify their predators, including bears, wolves, lynx and men. Other dangers to the chamois are avalanches, to the extent that it is not uncommon to find whole herds killed by avalanches at the time of thaw.

In the national park of The Picos de Europa there is an estimated population of about 5,000 individuals. Although they are active throughout the day the best time to see them is in the morning or early evening. One of the (relatively) easier walks where there is a good chance of seeing them is from Pan de Carmen near the lakes of Covadonga up to the Ordiales viewing point. (More information on this walk and others on the self guided walking section of our web page)

Walking up to the Ordiales view point with chamois admiring the views!

Apple Picking and Press Coverage

We started picking apples today and are expecting quite a large harvest this year (about 10 tonnes.) There were 6 of us picking and it will take about 15 days work to complete the harvest.

Interestingly enough this coincided with a news article about us on the BBC news web page:

"Looking out over their cider apple trees towards the Picos de Europa mountains beyond, Nigel and Joann Burch take a break from the harvest." To read the full article click on the following link:
BBC NEWS Spain's organic farmers dodge recession.

And for another interesting press coverage we had earlier the season in the National Geographic Adventure magazine you might like to look at this link: The New old Thing!

Its all publicity!

A New Sheep Shelter

The new sheep shelter in the Castañarina farm finished today.

Our farm is divided up into different plots of land and when the sheep are grazing we like them to be able to have access to shelter from these different plots in case of bad weather. Our original stable is in the middle of the apple orchard and the sheep have direct access to this stable from six of the farm plots. However when we brought the Castañarina farm in 2003 the sheep had no shelter whilst grazing this farm as it is too far from the stable.

To reduce the labour input for maintaining the rocky pasture land in Castañarina, we considered it necessary to have the sheep grazing here for a couple of months over the winter period. To allow the sheep to have access to shelter whilst grazing this farm in the winter we decided to build a sheep shelter.

There are various old stone walls in the Castañarina and we thought it would be good to use these old walls as part of the sheep shelter. We also wanted to use materials we had available on the farm as much as possible. This reflects our desire to start incorporating more permaculture principles on the farm.

We finished building this new sheep shelter today and the photos beneath show the building process.

The sheep shelter site before we started work, with parts of the original stone wall somewhat overgrown with vegetation.

The site now cleared and beginning to restore the stone walls.

One of the restored walls and the first roof beam .

All the Eucalyptus beams (cut from the farm) positioned on the stone walls.

Roofing in place, made from old pallets we had collected over time.

The pallets covered with plastic and secured with sheep wire and stones.

Front view of the shelter.

Room with a view, looking from inside the shelter out. No problems with over booking now!

Farm Fungi

The blusher (Amanita rubescens).

One of this year’s projects on the farm is to extend the Farm Flora Guide beyond herbaceous flora and into other areas. The herbaceous flora section itself has been constantly updated as new species have been found and better photo’s taken, and we will soon be adding three new sections, all of which are currently in progress – trees, ferns, and fungi. So, as a little behind-the-scenes glimpse to whet your whistle on a wet autumn day, here are a few fungi photos taken on the farm….

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Common zoned polyporus (Trametes versicolor).


Clathrus rubber (no common name).


The common earthball (Scleroderma citrinum).


The common stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus).


Dog-vomit slime-mould, a.k.a. scrambled-egg slime-mould (Fuligo septica).


The hazel rough-stalk (Leccinum carpini).


The octopus stinkhorn (Clathrus archeri).

More information on the farm natural history

Entry and photos by Hugh Taylor

Joe's Food Recipes

August has come to an end and with it the surge of Spanish tourists (who come to Asturias fleeing from the hot temperatures of the south) have gone. The roads are quieter, the beaches almost empty and the mountains as remote and wild as ever.

Our son Sebastian has also gone (to do voluntary work in the UK) but before he left he finished a lot of work on the hotel web site, (amongst other jobs). So thanks to him we now have incorporated a new section on our web site titled Joes Food Recipes.

The idea of writing the recipes has been something we have been considering for a long time as we have had many requests from guests for recipes for the food they have eaten whilst staying at the hotel. So to start with we have now put eleven of Joe’s recipes on the web. We’ve included recipes for, aperitifs, soups, vegetarian and non vegetarian main dishes, desserts as well as basic recipes for bread and cakes.

Writing recipes is something new for us, so if you do happen to try any of these recipes out, we will be very happy to receive your feedback

These recipes are dedicated to our guests because without them, the hotel and restaurant wouldn't exist. So we hope you enjoy looking at the new web section Joe’s Food Recipes and try some of the dishes either at the hotel restaurant or cooked by your selves.

High Mountain Walking; Torre Cerredo

Landscape of the high Picos taken from the summit of Torre Cerredo.

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Today is national holiday in Spain and the busiest time of the year for the tourist industry in Northern Spain. Yes there are lots of people in the area but it is still possible to get away from the crowds by going to some of the less well known mountain regions such as the Ponga Mountains or by climbing high up into the Picos.

With Sebastian providing extra help in the hotel I managed to take a two day break last week and climbed the highest peak in the Picos de Europa Torre Cerredo with Hugh (who helps on the farm.)

The Canal de Amuesas near the begining of the walk with the village of Bulnes at the bottom

We started Tuesday morning at Poncebos (218 metres) situated at the beginning of the Carres gorge and climbed to the Refuge “Jou de los Cabrones” (or git’s hole) at 2100m where we stayed the night, and saw an amazing sun set. The following morning we climbed the summit of Torre Cerredo (2648 m) and then made the full descent back to Poncebos passing by the famous Naranjo de Bulnes.

Nigel on the long ascent to the summit of Torre Cerredo

This might not be every guest’s cup of tea with an accumulative ascent of more than 2,500 m, over 10 hours walking on the second day plus a night in a refuge with no toilets or washing facilities and where you (try to) sleep like sardines in a hot tin. However as you can see from the the photos the scenery was fabulous and for me it was a fantastic experience.

The refuge "Jou de los Cabrones"

Above the refuge with the sun setting over a sea of cloud; the Carres Gorge in the foreground and the Western Massif behind.

It is possible to see and experience this type of scenery; the shattered limestone and Karst of the high Picos from some other (relatively) easier walks such as the ascent to the “Mirador de Ordiales” or to Jou Santo and these can be done as day outings whilst staying at the hotel. You will find more information on these and many other walks in the Self Guided Walking section of our web page. There is also information on some very leisurely walks along the coasts or in the mountains for those who want a gentler time. That’s Asturias something for everyone!

The famous "Naranjo de Bulnes" with its 500m verticle rock face, a real challenge for rock climbers.

A family hotel

All the family working in the hotel

For the first time we have all four members of the family working together at the hotel. Our daughter Samantha is working for the whole season and our son Sebastian started working mid July working for a six week period before he goes to England as a volunteer at the Schumacher College. Sebastian has been helping a lot with the hotel web page, translating certain documents we produce, serving in the restaurant at peak times and helping on the farm. So it really is a “family hotel” at the moment.

Our small diverse organic vegetable garden.

Over the last months we have been producing a lot of new information sheets in a series which we have entitled “How and Why”. These are documents covering different topics, mostly related to the farm, with the emphasis on sustainable, mixed organic farming techniques. They are intended for people who want more detailed information on these topics, and who may have an interest in starting or running a small-holding, allotment, or growing vegetables in their back garden. Some of these documents have been the base of previous blog entries but there are two information sheets covering new topics; one on biodiversity and one on organic farming versus industrial farming. These are two topics we fill very passionate about.

Biodivesity on the farm

On the farm there is always a lot to do and last week we made our traditional hay stack or “palancar”, and with that we finished all the work with the hay for this season. More information on how we make this traditional hay stack.

This years traditional hay stack.