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Villaescusa Nature Trail
Description
Through meadows between wildlife and the sea
Villaescusa is in the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, along the southern shore of Santander Bay in Santander County. It borders El Astillero on the north, Piélagos and Castañeda on the west, Santa María de Cayón on the south, and Medio Cudeyo and Penagos on the east.
Villaescusa Nature Trail starts in Obregón at Cabárceno Wildlife Park. The route traverses through meadows along a paved road that turns left at the interStage. From here, the path climbs steadily to the right until it reaches flat terrain. Past several houses, it ventures into a small forest of oaks (Quercus sp.), maples (Acer sp.), ashes (Fraxinus sp.), chestnuts (Castanea sativa), and strawberry trees (Arbustus unedo). Past the forest, the houses on the outskirts of the town of Villanueva appear.
The route heads to the former La Concha train station, currently used to house several municipal units. From here, it continues through meadows surrounded by maples, bay trees, oaks, chestnuts and holm oaks.
Further on, the route crosses the road to La Concha and continues through cornfields and pastures to a small rest area located near the town of Liaño. Next, it crosses a very busy county road (S-432), and passes next to a former brick factory.
The municipality of Villaescusa is left behind after crossing CA-142 road, then the route passes under one of the acces to S-30 motorway (Ronda de la Bahía de Santander) at first, and then under the actual motorway.
The Trail reaches Solía estuary, which it crosses via an iron bridge, and ventures through the industrialised town of Astillero. Past La Planchá Park, it arrives at the former mineral loading bay of Orconera. One can enjoy a beautiful, sweeping view of Santander from Solía Estuary.
Profile
MIDE (Method for the Information of Excursions)
Harshness of natural environment- 1. The environment is not risk-free
- 2. There are more than one risk factors
- 3. There are various risk factors
- 4. There are quite a lot of risk factors
- 5. There are many risk factors
Guidance along the route- 1. Well defined trails and crossings
- 2. There is a clearly marked trail and signage
- 3. Requires the identification of geographic features and cardinal points
- 4. Requires off-path navigation
- 5. The trail is interrupted by obstacles that have to be gone around
Route difficulty- 1. Walking on a flat surface
- 2. Trails with different types of path
- 3. Walking on stepped paths or irregular terrain
- 4. The use of hands or jumping over the terrain is necessary
- 5. The use of hands is required to progress
Amount of effort needed- 1. Up to 1 hour of continuous walking
- 2. Between 1 and 3 hours of continuous walking
- 3. Between 3 and 6 hours of continuous walking
- 4. Between 6 and 10 hours of actual walking
- 5. More than 10 hours of continuous walking
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Further information
Cabárceno Wildlife Park
Cabárceno Wildlife Park is neither a conventional zoo nor a nature park. It is a 750-hectare, man-made, naturalised space located on a former opencast mine, nestled in a karst landscape.
This space is home to one hundred animal species from the five continents that live in semi-liberty. One or more animal species coexist in large enclosures.
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