Villaviciosa to Deva

What you pass through

Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Villaviciosa. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.

1. start
   Villaviciosa5 m10 to stayBar · food

   Pay close attention to the arrows through town. The camino follows a route which takes you past most of the more notable monuments, including the Ayuntamiento building, the monument to Carlos I, and the Iglesia de Santa María de la Oliva. At the church it turns left to follow the AS-255 out of town and to La Ferrería.

2. 2.0 km
   La Ferrería - Amandi25 mBar · food

   In La Ferrería the camino leaves the road and crosses the Río de la Ria. On the other side of the small river is La Parra.

3. 2.5 km
   La Parra5 m

   Follow the road through the small village, but turn right at the end of town to follow the VV-10 in the direction of Grases. Casquita, and an important split in the camino, are 1km away.

4. 3.6 km
   Casquita25 m

   For Oviedo and the Camino Primitivo: Turn left at the fork in the road in the direction of Camoca. The camino passes through several small hamlets on before arriving in San Pedro de Ambás: El Ronzon, La Fontana, El Campu, El Pelu Riva, and La Cruz. After La Cruz, at a small intersection with a picnic table in the middle, the camino splits. The camino is to the left, and the alternate route via Valdedíos is to the right. This alternate route adds 700m hundred meters and rejoins the camino at the Alto de la Campa. If you miss this turn, and still want to go through Valdedíos, stay on the road when you get to San Pedro de Ambás and there are more arrows directing you to Valdedíos.

   In Casquita the Camino del Norte splits twice. Pay extra close attention to which route you chose as not all of them rejoin later.At the first split, just past the chapel at the start of the village and indicated by two shells on a post, you are presented with the option to leave the Camino del Norte and head towards Oviedo and the start of the Camino Primitivo. If you wish to follow that trail (not described here) turn left. Otherwise keep on straight to follow the official camino.Shortly ahead is the second split. Here the camino simply presents an option to stay on the road instead of turning left onto a lane. Here the road option is shorter and does not pass through Niévares.

5. 9.3 km
   Niévares125 m

   Beyond Niévares the camino joins the VV-8 and follows it to Peón.

6. 16.1 km
   Peón80 m1 to stayBar · food

   Beyond Peón the camino leaves the VV-8 and begins climbing uphill. It rejoins a different road at the summit and descends along it as far as the El Pinal restaurant. Just beyond the restaurant it leaves the road for a trail on your right. From here it continues desceding to cross the A-8 and into Deva.

7. 22.4 km
   Deva55 m1 to stayBar · food

   From the campsite in Deva there are two possible routes into Gíjon. The offical camino turns right at the campsite (with the campsite on your left). The alternative and some say more pleasant route along the river, turns left at the campsite and downhill past the parking lot. At the bottom of the hill it joins a path known as the Senda de Peña Francia, turn right when you get there. This alternative will bring you into Gíjon near the Playa de San Lorenzo. To get to the offical camino arrows simply follow the coast through town as far as the harbor where it passes.

   As you near the large and largely industrial city of Gijón the countryside virtually disappears. From here, all the way to Avilés, is difficult walking almost exclusively on pavement through city and industrial areas; the exception to the grime is the protected habitat west of the steel plant.