La Camocha

La Camocha
THE SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBOURHOOD
Built in 1955 as a residential area for workers from the Moreda factory, it
comprises 202 one-storey terraced houses distributed over a number of
streets. It was first called the Grupo Santa Barbara, as the Santa Barbara
Industrial Company was the main shareholder in the company at the time.
It was the first working class neighbourhood in Gijón.
Greenway
La Camocha Greenway forms part of Spain's National Greenway Programme, a
state initiative launched in 1993 by the Foundation of the Spanish Railways with the
aim of converting disused railway lines into paths for cycling enthusiasts and
pedestrians alike, also accessible to people with reduced mobility. They constitute
an ideal instrument for promoting a new culture of leisure and outdoor sports.
QUINTA LA TORRE
The stately home of the Marquises of Tremañes built in the mid-18th century.
It was renovated in the 19th century and restored in the 1970s. The main
building has two floors, a monumental entrance with stone benches and a
private chapel. The extensive gardens boast an outstanding collection of
sculptures, including a copy of Myron's Discobulus and a colonnade leading
to a cypress-lined path.
EL MORTERO OR LA MORTERA FOUNTAIN
An altar dedicated to the Roman goddess Fortuna Balnearia was found nearby
in 1826, whose inscription venerates the waters of this spring as a source of
health and wellbeing. Today, the altar is preserved inside the Castillo
pharmacy on Corrida Street.
SANTA MARÍA DE LEORIO / LLORIO
The foundation inscription of this church, preserved in San Andrés de La
Pedrera, dates from 1051, although it may originally have been built before
then. Destroyed during the Civil War, its more important elements —arches,
apse, capitals and fine stonework— were used in the building of a private
pantheon, the property of the Rodríguez Sampedro family. Located in La Pedrera
cemetery, the pantheon is an exact replica of the original Romanesque church.
LEORIO / LLORIO LEISURE ALLOTMENTS
A municipal facility containing 160 leisure allotments for residents of Gijón, it
boasts a complementary services building and a recreational area next to
Cagüezu Mill.
Greenway
CASA CANAL
The house has a water well with a pump and tank at the top, a reminder that
the borough of Gijón is rich in groundwater. These aquifers provide part of
the water that is consumed in the borough.
La Camocha
La Camocha Greenway
A path running along the old mining railway that linked La Camocha Colliery
with Veriña and Gijón's port, El Musel. A route that combines industrial Gijón
and Asturian countryside: native woodland, Asturian country estates, country
houses, Leorio Church and colliery pit heads. Ideal for any time of year, as the
path is suitable for all kinds of users.
ROCES TOWER
Also known as the “Tower of the Fine Gentleman”, in reference to its founder,
Gonzalo Menéndez Valdés. Built in the 15th or 16th centuries, it has a shield
bearing the coat of arms of the Bandujo and Valdés Families on its façade.
LA CAMOCHA
COLLIERY
PIT HEADS
QUINTA EL RECUESTU
The former mansion of the Dukes of Riansares set in an extensive estate
traversed by small tributaries of La Pedrera Stream. The main, stately
building is located in centre of the property and is surrounded by a wood
populated with native species.
It is said that the reason behind the
name of the pit is that when they
were establishing the site to start
perforating La Camocha mineshafts,
there was a type of cow nearby
known as a vaca mocha with a
broken horn… and va ca mocha
ended up as CAMOCHA.
CASETU'L POLVORÍN
A cement shed used as an ammunition dump during the Civil War, it served
as a family dwelling during the post-war period.
LA PINGANIELLA FOUNTAIN
Located on the Marquis of Valero's estate, it has a small recreational area.
CASA RUBIERA
The house bears an ancestral coat of arms formed by six circles or dots. Next
door is the old llagarón (large cider mill) and opposite, a panera (raised
granary-cum-storehouse) decorated with motifs from Asturian folk art.
COUNTRY HOUSE OF THE MENÉNDEZ MORÁN LLAVANDERA FAMILY
A 16th-century country house that has undergone extensive subsequent
alterations. The Chapel of La Candelera was added to the ensemble in the
18th century.
INFO SHEET:
AREA: Centre of the borough
STARTS: Los Campones
ENDS: La Camocha Colliery
LA TORRE ESTATE
This estate previously housed the Juanín el de La Torre cider mill as well as a
part of the facilities of Mareo Football School. It is nowadays home to the
Centro Asturiano de La Habana Sports Club.
TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE
C/ Rodríguez San Pedro, s/n. 33206 - Gijón. Tel. +34 985 34 17 71 infogijon@gijon.info
Editing and coordination
Divertia Gijón S.A.
(Tourism Promotion Department)
Cartography
Gijón City Council Corporate
Integration Unit
Texts
Gijón City Council Municipal Foundation
for Culture / Parks and Gardens
Photos
Cris Rubio
Divertia Archives
English translation
Paul Barnes
Design and layout
Juan Hernaz
Printed by
Gráficas Covadonga D.L. AS/2637-2014
1st edition: October 2014
Printed on 115 gsm Igloo Gloss recycled paper
EL PUENTÓN
An old bridge over the railway that used to link the port of Gijón with San
Martin of Rey Aurelio. It enjoys splendid views thanks to its high position
over the River Llantones.
PAYARES MILL (Molín de Payares)
The building that housed the famous Payares Mill stood at the foot of the
“puentón”. This mill was one of many that operated with the water from Llantones
Stream. It preserves an artistic carved panera (raised granary-cum-storehouse).
Several of the old mine buildings
have now been listed in Gijón's
Urban Planning Catalogue as
protected buildings due to forming
part of the borough's industrial
heritage, which has been actively
conserved since 2007. La Camocha
represented a boost for Gijón in
terms of both its economic and
demographic development,
attracting hundreds of people to
work in the mine, many of them
from the mining valleys of the
Rivers Caudal and Nalón.
The first coal was mined in 1935.
After the Civil War, two other pits
were opened, the railway was
inaugurated and the first mining
villages began to be built in the
vicinity of the mine.
La Camocha Greenway runs along much of the former mining railroad that used to
link La Camocha Colliery with Veriña and El Musel Port. It starts out from Avenida de
Los Campones in Tremañes, its first section running parallel to the Ferrol-Gijón
railway line along Calle Trinchera. At the end of a long straight stretch, it crosses
under the Gijón-Laviana railway line via a tunnel, before passing under the socalled “Y” motorway. It then joins up with the branch of the greenway coming from
the Santa Barbara Neighbourhood, near the C.D. La Baraña football field. In the
vicinity of the football fields can be found La Mortera fountain, the Balnearia
Fortuna of Roman times.
Some people start the route at the sports court in the Santa Barbara neighbourhood
instead, where there is parking space for cars and bicycles, as well as rest areas and
a fountain. From there, the trail begins to head down a gentle slope, beside the
sprawling Quinta La Torre estate, the stately home of the Marquises of Tremañes.
The greenway then follows Pilón Stream, running along a stretch with abundant
riverbank trees and vegetation until crossing a wooden footbridge, the entrance to
La Fana, in the parish of Roces. It then continues through an area with numerous
industrial estates that is soon left behind.
The path now enters an eminently rural area dotted with trees for a long stretch of
the way. It then passes near the mansion of the Duchess de Riansares, in the middle
of an extensive wooded area of unquestionable ecological interest: bay, chestnut,
oak and poplar trees, among other native species, can be admired along the way.
Ferns and brambles grow on the stream banks in the shade of the trees. The
greenway sometimes converges with crossroads and local roads, like the one on
the left that heads to Mareo. Further ahead, a stream marks the boundary between
the parishes of Porceyo and La Pedrera; a good place to rest beside the restored La
Pinganiella fountain.
The path then crosses La Pedrara Brook and passes through a long, illuminated
tunnel under the Carretera Carbonera (coal road) before reaching the parish of
Leorio/Llorio. Overlooking some allotments to the left can be seen the Quinta La
Torre estate, nowadays home to the Centro Asturiano de La Habana Sports Club.
There is a rest area a little further on, at El Puentón (the old railroad bridge), with
excellent views to the south of Llantones Valley, El Picumil and l'Altu La Madera hill.
Below the rest area stands the building which housed the famous Payares Mill.
Back on the trail, you can see the silhouette of the old parish church of Santa María
de Llorio.
As you pass under the viaduct of the Autovía Minera dual carriageway (AS-I), you
can make out the silhouette of Picu'l Sol (439 m). Numerous enthusiasts launch into
the air from this mountaintop to fly their paraglider. The greenway then enters the
parish of Samartín de Güerces through the neighbourhood of Cagüezo, an idyllic
country setting overlooked by the tall pit heads of La Camocha Colliery, below which
the route ends. In the rest area or at nearby Cagüezo fountain, you can decide
whether to return along the same route, link up with the Piles Riverside Path or take
the bus that stops nearby
La Camocha
Greenway
Tremañes
a.
d
Av
Download
the route for
Google Earth
(KMZ file)
nes
ampo
os C
eL
d
Quinta La Torre
1
Santa Bárbara
Neighbourhood
Sports
complex
El Mortero fountain
2
Roces Tower
General information
Actual distance: 7,291 m
Profile of the route (measured in metres)
(Distance on the map: 7,275 m)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
3
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
Walking: 1 h 40 min
Running: 40 min
By bike: 35 min
Difference in elevation: 68 m
Accumulated difference
in elevation: 96 m
Casetu'l Polvorín
Type of surface:
Compacted crushed limestone and asphalt
Quinta El Recuestu
La Pinganiella fountain
4
The Menéndez Morán Llavandera
family country house
Key
5
Recreational area
Children’s
playground
Junction with
other paths
Bridge
Tunnel
Fountain/washhouse
Food&Drink
nearby
Place of interest
Church or chapel
Start of the route
Junction with road
Car park
La Torre Estate
Casa Rubiera
3
BUS stop
Kilometre
sign
Payares Mill
Strectch passing
through a tunnel
6
Leorio Leisure Allotments
La Camocha Colliery
El Puentón
Santa María de Llorio
Scale 1:20000
0
250
Cagüezu fountain
N
500
1000 m
W
7
E
The Piles Riverside Path
Casa Canal
S
La Camocha Colliery Pit Heads