Tazones, Asturias

- Jim Mottram

Tazones is one of the most charming villages on Spain’s northern seaboard and well worth a visit. In the past its main income was from fishing, but now it mainly relies on the many visitors coming from nearby Gijon, especially at weekends.

Sailing eastwards from that port, the first big headland is the steep-sided Punta Tazones, which is heavily wooded with a high lighthouse peeping out from the trees and almost hidden when close in. Rounding this at a reasonable distance, the breakwater is seen first before the white houses of the village appear. The approach and harbour are clean and inside the breakwater the sandy seabed shelves gently.