Our home and your English family-run accommodation, Casa Gustavo, is a 500 year-old farmhouse converted to a friendly and informal guesthouse. We (Lisa & Mike Stuart) have been living here, welcoming guests (many returning) from all over the world, for the last seventeen years. It is now shared with children, cats & dogs. This ancient and atmospheric old house has a captivating charm with it's thick stone walls, solid oak beams, wonky, wooden floors and interesting door. There is a flower-filled courtyard with barbecue where dinner is served on summer evenings & a dining room with large table for convivial meals in winter. Evening meals are three set courses of good food with an internationally rustic bent (see Casa Gustavo Recipes), making use of as much local and seasonal produce as possible. They could include goat cheese and pear salad, Lisas' lentils with chorizo or Mikes' paella, all accompanied by plenty of our “extremely quaffable� house wine. ("Fly-pasts" we've been treated to during dinner outside include stag and rhinoceros beetles, numerous bats and an eagle owl). Delicious vegetarian meals can be cooked with prior notice. Earlier meals for children can be arranged, with high-chairs if needed. Packed lunches can be booked, as an optional extra, on a daily basis. Our sitting room and balcony, with it's south-facing view of the highest peak in the Cordillera Cantabrica - Pena Prieta, is a favourite spot for bird watching, reading, studying & identifying from our growing reference section or poring over our supply of maps of the Picos, and is cosy in winter with it's wood-burning stove. The seven bedrooms are almost all en-suite with comfortable beds, more books and magnificent views. Two have french windows. Cots are available on request. Our converted barn is now available - great fun for older children, please enquire. Our wealth of information and knowledge of the topography and nature of the Picos de Europa, Liebana and surrounding areas is at your disposal. Casa Gustavo also makes an ideal base for groups whether friends, families or university field study. Discounts available!

If you like walking in small groups, in good company, amid stunning scenery, read on..... From ambling through shady woods and flower-strewn meadows, trekking the Scottish Highland-like Cordillera Cantabrica to scrambling on high limestone peaks, the Picos de Europa have something to suit every level of walker. Our intimate knowledge of both the high and low terrain is probably unsurpassed. This information allows our guests to explore, either guided or independently, whole areas often overlooked by others. Whether strolling in the valleys and on the hillsides of Liebana or hiking in Picos pastures, walkers can't help but stop to admire the astounding beauty of this remarkable region of Northern Spain (midge-free too!) Year-round walking is possible due to the temperate climate enjoyed here. In the heat of summer there are always "fuentes" (natural springs) from which to fill your water bottles. In winter there is still warmth in the sun, however, as with all mountain areas, experienced walkers not using Mike's services must be aware of the possibilities of sudden changes in the weather and be suitably prepared. We take no responsibility for independent winter excursions.

The Picos de Europa, Cordillera Cantábrica and valleys of Liebana are home to an amazingly rich and diverse range of plant species. More than 45 species of orchid alone have been recorded in the Picos. Between the lower meadows and high alpine pastures the opportunity for botanising is endless, partly due to the local's use of traditional methods of land management - tractors and combine harvesters being useless on small, sloping patches of ground.

From secluded, little coves to big, sandy stretches, the Cantabrian coast offers a wide range of beaches from which to choose. Surfers have long known of the Atlantic rollers hitting land here. Superb seafood lunches can be enjoyed in, for example, the fishing port of San Vicente or the small town of Comillas, with its' very unusual architecture, including a Gaudi building. There is a horse riding stable in the lower part of Aliezo which offers two or four hour treks around the hills dotted with vineyards and woods.

The Picos de Europa are a small but impressive range of karstic limestone mountains in the north of Spain just 20 kms from the Costa Cantabrica. Straddling three provinces - Cantabria, Asturias and León, they are split into three massifs - Western (El Cornión), Central (Los Urrielles) and Eastern (Andara), by the rivers Cares and Duje. Bordered by, in the east and south the valleys of Liebana and the river Deva, and in the west the river Sella, the Picos de Europa enjoy a temperate climate with the mountains on the Asturian side bearing the brunt of the prevailing, westerly weather fronts. The valleys of Liebana, lying on their eastern flank, find themselves in a natural rainshadow and enjoy a much drier climate than the coast. The topography of the Picos makes them notoriously complicated to navigate, the karstification process having compounded the effects of glaciation by creating deep hollows (hoyos) and vertical mountain walls. (Espeologists can explore some of the deepest caves in Europe). Water is scarce in the high Picos with only occasional, small springs. Among the highest peaks are Torre de Cerredo (2,648m), Torre de Llambrión (2,642m), Pena Vieja (2,613m) and Pena Santa de Castilla (2,596m), although the most well-known is El Naranjo de Bulnes (2,519m), aka Picu Urriello in the local dialect. This lump of a mountain sticks up like a thumb from the central massif and, along with the rest of the range, can be seen, on a clear day, from the coast. According to legend, the Picos de Europa were so named by northern European sailors approaching the Costa Verde from the Bay of Biscay.

 Baby chairs and cots are provided
 Playground for children
 Clothes dry cleaning
 Facsimile services
 Heating
 Access to internet
 Laundry services/washing machine
 Pets are accepted
 Quiet surroundings
 Private/Ensuite bathroom