Hi Neve, I walked over the mountain on that trail this spring and had no trouble with directions except in one spot close to the end (more on that in a sec). There are some new signs showing that there is a bit of a hiking circle up there used by locals. The only spot that gave me a moment to pause was close to the end where you meet a road and large yellow arrows point off to the right promising a bar at Pradela. I definitely could have used a coffee by this point but I knew to go that way made it a few km longer to get to Trabadelo. I had made this trip a couple of times before in 2003 and 2006 and that didn't feel right to me so after a couple of minutes I noticed a small path going off to the left. This is a shorter route and I followed my instincts instead of the sign pointing right, which (I finally noticed) was nailed over the original arrow pointing left. Success!
I should mention that the route up and the route down are both very steep and ungroomed so if you're having any knee problems it might not be the way to go.
However - it is spectacularly beautiful and one of my favourite days. It does get the heart pounding and definitely don't plan to rush. I didn't see anyone for the whole trip up there. Be sure your water container is full and you have a snack or lunch. Enjoy the view!!
Cecelia
And incidentally, as I was leaving Villafranca a man was leaning out of his window urging everyone not to go that way saying it was too hard. It is hard but the only thing I found a little disconcerting was that you have to keep going back and forth under high tension wires now which, literally, had my hair standing on end. Hope this helps.