Tourist routes such as the mills in Ribadesella, try to remind us that in the Middle Ages, and after the replacement of human power by hydraulic power, water mills were not just anything and that, Taking advantage of the energy of the rivers, they supplied whole regions with flour from different cereals. The production of these mills increased from the seventeenth century thanks to the extension of the cultivation of corn, from America. The fact of being a reference for the economy of the community, besides a refuge always hidden and crouching between the fluvial shores, it turned the mills into an object of legend, above all in the matter of rumors about love affairs and sinful goings-on that took place inside.
In Ribadesella we can remember those times knowing first hand the gear of these mills and appreciating the high density of them on the banks of Tresmonte irrigation. We can even observe their mechanisms, because one of them is enabled and ready to move your molars if we operate a stopcock that lets it run to the water with force. Then we can get into the mill and handle their levers to make a handful of flour to take away as a souvenir.
Ribadesella Water Route: Where does the route of the mills begin?
The route to get here starts in the town of Cuevas del Agua where we will leave the car. We follow the trail that will lead us to the hamlet of Santiago a few hundred meters. On our left, the river Sella accompanies us for a long time. Once we arrive at the farmhouse, we cross this towards the bottom, where the Tresmonte water flows. We must close a country hatch at our pace.
Following the stream we will go into a narrow valley and very leafy sprinkled with flour mills, most of them in an advanced ruin, except the so-called Molino de Francisco. Precisely after this mill the road ascends to reach the track that leads to the hamlet of Tresmonte.
The route is also a botanical exercise, then we will discover an extensive sample of native trees in a short distance. Our tour is done well in an hour out and another hour back. A simple walk, full of culture and nature at the same time and very rewarding, which can be done in any season of the year if the weather is good.
The Cuevona de Cuevas del Agua
We usually call an artificially opened underground passage a tunnel. When the tunnel is…
Other hiking trails in the area
Taking this walk as an excuse, we can immerse ourselves in slightly longer routes that start from this same. If we follow the way we came we will arrive to the town of Tresmonte. This small town, today only inhabited by one family, is a good example of the popular architecture of the area, and known for having been the birthplace of Mr. Manuel Fernández Juncos, defender of Spanish in Puerto Rico against the advance of English and promoter of the free press in that country. In this forgotten village that once had many children and some illustrious personage, we will feel the pleasant sensation, at the same time as nostalgic, of the passage of time in those Asturian villages that have become ghost towns. Corners full of stories and memories that can only be remembered by its last neighbors, now scattered throughout towns and cities.
From Tresmonte you will go back down the track until you find a deviation to the left that you will follow until you find another crossroad. In this place we must decide for one of the two variants:
Option 1: deviation to the right: you descend quickly towards the town of Caves.
Option 2: to the left you go up to the Colu Moru, from where you can see unbeatable panoramic views of the coast of Ribadesella and its surroundings, as well as an important part of the Picos de Europa.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
