The western Asturian coast does not have postcard tropical beaches: it has cliffs, pebbles, cold water and sunsets that make up for all of the above. The best known is fifteen minutes from Cudillero.
Playa del Silencio
It is 12 km from the village and it is the photograph you saw before you arrived: a cove closed in by cliffs, a pebble floor and an amphitheatre of rock around it. The name is not entirely misleading, though in August the silence is more an idea than a fact.
Two practical warnings. First: you get down by a stairway and a path, so it is not an easy beach with a pushchair or with limited mobility. Second: there are no facilities, so bring water.
The best time is late afternoon, when the crowds leave and the light arrives.
Other beaches nearby
The usual mistake is to visit Playa del Silencio and go home. There are larger, easier beaches close by, several with better swimming:
- Playa de Aguilar, wide and with facilities — the sensible choice with children.
- Concha de Artedo, an open cove a short distance from the village.
- Cudillero's own beach, by the harbour, small and close at hand.
The water, honestly
This is the Cantabrian Sea. The water is cold in July and still cold in August. You can swim perfectly well, but it is worth knowing before planning a beach week the way you would further south.
Planning the day
With a car, all these beaches are within twenty minutes of Cudillero, so you can string them together in a day. If parking in the village worries you — and in summer it should — how to get here and where to park has what you need.
A plan that works: beach in the morning, fish for lunch, viewpoints in the afternoon. The lunch part is on the menu.
Sleeping nearby
Driving back to Oviedo or Gijón after a day on the coast is a good hour. Staying in the village is better: our boutique hotel in Cudillero is up in Tolombredo, with its own car park and the restaurant under the same roof.