Date Cost Availability Deposit Single Supp	24 Aug - 02 Sep 2025 £4365.00 7 Spaces £870.00 £300.00 Book Now

Leader	Julian Sykes
Flights	Vueling, scheduled Outbound: Morning, Gatwick-Bilbao Inbound: Evening, Bilbao-Gatwick

Day 1	Fly from Gatwick to Bilbao and transfer to our hotel in Cremenes - 4 nights Hotel Huelde.
Days 2-4	Three full days in the Cantabrian Mountains searching for Iberian Wolf and European Wildcat.
Day 5	Transfer to Pola de Somiedo - 3 night Hotel Castillo de Alba.
Days 6-7	Two full days searching for Cantabrian Brown Bear near Villablino.
Day 8	Transfer to our hotel near Gijon - 2 nights Rural Casona de Cefontes.
Day 9	Full day pelagic trip on board our boat from Gijon.
Day 10	Transfer to Bilbao for our evening flight home, stopping enroute if time allows.

Weather	Probably a mixture of sun and showers (15°-30°C), warmer in lowland areas and on coast, but will be cooler in the mountains and on the boat trip.
Walking	There will be some short easy walks on level paths, but some of the watchpoints can involve steep walks up uneven tracks through vegetation.
Health	A decent level of fitness is recommended.
Meals	All included from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 10.
Insects	Biting insects are not usually a problem but repellent may be useful.
Accom.	Twin and single rooms all ensuite.
Group	7

A wonderful opportunity to combine the fantastic wildlife and scenery of the Cantabrian Mountains and the coastline of the Asturias Costa Verde.

	*   Rare mammals of Europe - Iberian Wolf and Cantabrian Brown Bear
	*   Good chance of European Wildcat in the meadows
	*   High mountains for Wallcreeper, Alpine Chough and Alpine Accentor
	*   Breathtaking scenery in the Cantabrian Mountains
	*   Full day at sea from Gijon chumming for seabirds
	*   Spanish Ibex, Southern Chamois, Snow Vole, Red Deer
	*   Lots of seabirds – petrels, shearwaters, skuas, terns, gulls

Day 1	Fly to Bilbao and drive straight along the coast, stopping off at the excellent Santona Marshes briefly to kick off the tour checklist with Cattle and Little Egrets, Spoonbill, Curlew, Western Yellow-legged Gull, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. With a bit of luck, we might even find Whimbrel, Ruff and Little Stint, making their way back south for winter. We continue to our accommodation in Cremenes, close to the Picos de Europa National Park. Late afternoon, we shall make our first local excursion looking for either Iberian Wolf or European Wildcat, which in reality takes a lot of patience and luck. However, we shall be in the best position to encounter one of these elusive mammals, due to our local guide’s local knowledge, which is invaluable.
Days 2-4	The next three days will be spent primarily searching for the Iberian Wolves at dawn and dusk, as this is the time when they are most active during daylight hours. The Sierra de Riano forms part of the Cordillera Cantábrica, which holds most of Spain’s 3,000+ wolves, a marked and welcome increase since the estimated lows of the 1970’s. During our time watching and waiting we should also see other mammals including Fox, Wild Boar and Red and Roe Deer, some of the wolves known prey. Off-road vehicles will be used to access the remote areas and local knowledge of their dens will be invaluable. Although seeing these beautiful canines will be our main priority, we shall also utilise the main daylight hours for other wildlife excursions, looking for Southern Chamois, Spanish Ibex and rare Broom Hare, found only in these mountains. One day we shall drive back into the Picos de Europa National Park, where we shall take the 600m cable car assent up to Fuente De, looking for scarce montane breeding wildlife such as Wallcreeper, Snowfinch, Alpine Accentor and Snow Vole. If we are really lucky a Lammergeier might be seen amongst the much commoner Griffon Vultures.
Days 5-7	After another morning visit to one of the watchpoints for either wolf or wildcat, we shall return to the accommodation, collect our luggage and head off west along the edge of the mountains. Enroute we stop for lunch and a welcome rest in the heat of the day. We shall then continue the drive to Pola de Somiedo, where we shall spend the next three nights at a fabulous rural hotel, in the heart of the Cantabrian Brown Bear country. The next two full days we shall drive and walk through this incredibly scenic mountain range in search of Cantabrian Bears, which is a sub-species of the much wider-spread Brown Bear, that occurs in the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, through hunting and habitat destruction, they were reduced to very low numbers in Spain, but are now making a fantastic recovery. These mountains are a stronghold for the species and we have a good chance of spotting one on these vegetated scree slopes feeding on Hazel and Buckthorn. These fabulous karst limestone mountains are also home to Southern Chamois and Red and Roe Deer, which we should find as we scan for bears. This is a very special place with wonderful natural beauty, plus some fantastic birds such as Golden Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Red-backed Shrike and Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush.
Days 8-9	After a final look for Cantabrian Brown Bear, we leave the mountains and drive north back to the ‘Costa Verde’, where we shall make our way to our charming, rural hotel. We are only a few miles from Gijon where we spend our final full day in NW Spain, on a boat in the North Atlantic. Specialist charters have been sailing into these waters for several years now, with excellent results for attracting seabirds. This pelagic will offer fantastic photographic opportunities, with shearwaters, petrels, skuas and other seabirds feeding at the back of the boat – making for a day to remember and a fantastic finale to the holiday.
Day 10	Depending on the time of the return flight, we may have a chance for a stop at one of the coastal wetland sites enroute to Bilbao Airport. A great way to end the holiday.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Cantabrian Brown Bear	Lammergeier	Black Woodpecker
Iberian Wolf	Egyptian Vulture	Snowfinch
European Wildcat	Honey Buzzard	Alpine Chough
Southern Chamois	Golden Eagle	Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush
Snow Vole	Short-toed Eagle	Iberian Chiffchaff
Spoonbill	Long-tailed Skua	Red-backed Shrike
European Storm Petrel	Sabine’s Gull	Wallcreeper
Great Shearwater	Black Tern	Alpine Accentor
Cory’s Shearwater