CASA EL ACEBO
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no pets alowed.
The house El Acebo is a small semi-detached house, 80 sqm -living space: 60 sqm- (1 sqm aprox. = 10 sqft) with garden, built in the 19th century in wood and stone and located in the tiny village of Argüébanes, at the foot of the Picos de Europa National Park, declared by UNESCO a Biosphere reserve site. It’s set among mountains, walks and rivers, but only 4 kms from Potes, the capital of the Cantabrian district of Liébana (North Spain). Argüébanes is a hamlet built into the mountainside in the Picos de Europa (Potes 4 km, Santander 100 Km, Bilbao 200 km). The Picos de Europa is the most impressive part of the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range of the North of Spain.
El Acebo is an old property fully restored and modernised. It was built in the local traditional style, with a closed garden who affords complete privacy with fantastic views to the valley and to the high peaks. The house is surrounded by mountains valleys and woods. The very nice garden, with chairs, table and deckchairs, is perfect for eating out, sunbathing, and enjoying the magnificent view. The house has spectacular views over the Picos de Europa and is very sunny. There are a lot of lanes for peaceful and tranquillity walks without the need of a car.
The house is perfect for relaxing, sunbathing or enjoying the marvellous local walks. It offers accommodation for a family or friends who wish to be together. This village of the Liébana Valley remains unspoilt. The climate of this sheltered valley is almost Mediterranean, a genuine sunny, warm, dry microclimate. The coast, with its white sandy beaches, is to 40 kilometres away through the Hermida gorge.
A net work of mule tracks and footpaths covers the forests and meadows, ideal for walkers, bikers or horses, (stables in the next village). There are agencies in Potes supporting all outdoor pursuits inc.river canyoning, parapente, mountain biking. There are sports crags in the valley. There is safe swimming and surfing at nearby beaches, lakes and rivers provide refreshing dips, canoes can be hired and there is game fishing. The cable car at Fuente De whisks you up 800m to access the Central Massif and can provide a great start to your walking, climbing or mountain biking day.
The vernacular architecture with its red roofs, over hanging balconies and heavy beams make for very attractive villages. There is a very modern and impressive visitors centre at Tama. The Monastery at San Toribio with its satellite hermitages, the mozarabic church of Santa Maria de Lebeña, and the ancient church at Piasca are among the most important sites of their type in Spain. Santo Toribio was second only to Santiago de Compostela in its importance. On the coast the medieval village of Santillana del Mar is a national monument and the nearby Altamira cave are less than about an hour's drive from the house, the new cave's pre-historic paintings are stunning, visits and an English speaking guide to the cave can be booked at Banco Santander in Potes, on the previous day. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the cities of Leon, Oviedo and Burgos with their cathedrals, churches and museums can each be visited in a long day. Madrid is a day away.
The Picos de Europa, Cordillera Cantabrica and valleys of Liébana are home to an amazingly diverse range of species of both flora and fauna. More than 40 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. With eagles and vultures soaring the thermals, capercaillie and black woodpeckers lurking in the woods, little egrets on the coast, redstarts, wrynecks and nightjars around the house and wallcreepers on the limestone, this is a birder´s paradise. Among the alpine species to be found here are rock thrush, wheatear, alpine accentor and chough, snow finch and that elusive wallcreeper. As to raptors, Griffon and Egyptian vultures are plentiful. There are golden eagles, while booted and short-toed are fairly common in summer, Bonelli´s being rather more rare. Kestrels, buzzards and honey buzzards are abundant.
