Weekender

We had a two-week holiday to explore the coastline of Northern Spain. This trip would take us through three very different regions of northwest Spain: Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia.

The Magdalena Peninsula in Santander

Cantabria is where the mountains meet the sea, with a landscape of green valleys, dramatic coastline and prehistoric treasures. Further west, Asturias is often described as España Verde, Green Spain where the Picos de Europa provided a spectacular mountain backdrop to a lot of our journey and where pouring cider from a height is a big thing. Finally, Galicia occupies the far northwest corner of Spain, where the Atlantic coastline becomes wilder and more rugged. Here, seafood is a way of life and pilgrims have been walking towards Santiago de Compostela for centuries.

The lighthouses of Northwest Spain

Our preparation for a trip of this type starts with a very analogue, old-fashioned marking up of the map with all the lighthouses we could potentially visit. This dictates the number of stopping points, which leads to the candidates of where we could stay and for how long, and these destinations for are thrashed out according to merit and location. Once my wonderful wife has completed this plan, I step in, say great work and take all the credit for it. We then translate this into a feasible itinerary. Some lighthouses are too much of a detour, in some location's hotels are preferred over Airbnb options. The variables are whittled down and then the booking starts. On this trip we would travel several thousand kilometres, stay in six different locations, and visit 26 lighthouses. The only variable we can't control is of course the weather, but it would transpire that on this occasion we would be blessed, given the region's predilection for wet, grey skies.

The iconic Los Raqueros, the Street Urchins, Puertochico Waterfront, Santander 

The first destination was Santander, a little over two hours from Manchester and the starting point for our tour of Northern Spain. Santander also makes a pretty good destination in its own right for a long weekend, sitting on Spain's northern coast with the Bay of Biscay on one side and the green hills of Cantabria rising behind it. Santander is a city that has had to reinvent itself. Much of the historic centre was destroyed by a devastating fire in 1941, which swept through the city for several days, destroying thousands of buildings. The rebuilding that followed explains why Santander can sometimes feel surprisingly modern for a city with such a long history.

The calm before the storm, Mercado del Este, Santander

Its geography has always shaped its fortunes. Santander sits around a huge natural harbour, sheltered by the sweeping curve of the Bay of Santander. The harbour helped establish it as an important trading port, while the arrival of the railway in the nineteenth century opened the city up to visitors from inland Spain. And those visitors were increasingly arriving for the seaside.

Puertochico Waterfront,

The city developed into an elegant resort, particularly around El Sardinero, where grand buildings, sandy beaches and wide promenades still give it something of a Belle Époque feel. Elsewhere there is Puertochico, the old small harbour that has evolved into a lively marina area, and further along the coast the Magdalena Peninsula, a huge green headland jutting into the bay.

Looking up in Santander

We arrived late in the evening in Santander but the airport is only a short twenty-minute taxi ride and once we'd dropped our bags at the central Airbnb apartment, we did a quick turnaround and headed straight back out and by 8.30pm we were sitting outside Mesón Rampalay, right in the heart of the city.

The restaurant was already busy, and before long the locals were queuing for tables which is always a promising sign. This was our fifth trip to Spain this year, so we quickly settled into the Spanish routine with beer and wine accompanied by mussels, prawns, patatas bravas and fried squid. Everything was superb and it felt like we'd arrived properly. Nearby is Plaza Cañadío, one of Santander's liveliest squares, and we perched outside Bar Ventilador for a few nightcaps. It was a Sunday evening, but nobody seemed particularly interested in going home. For our first few hours in Santander, we'd done pretty well.

The mermaid statue of Sirena Magdalena on the Magdalena Peninsula in Santander

On our first full day in Santander, we managed to fit an entire holiday into one day. It started at the supermarket. Well, it had to start somewhere. Then we headed to the seafront and started walking.

Santander's coastline is one of its great attractions because the city gradually changes character as you move east from the centre.The built-up waterfront Puertochico gives way to beaches, we passed Playa de los Peligros and Playa de la Magdalenaparks as we made our way to the headlands, with the Bay of Santander opening up in front of us.

Faro de La Cerda, Magdalena Peninsula in Santander

Our first official target was the Magdalena Peninsula. The peninsula is a world of its own, with grand entrance gates, wooded paths and wide views across the bay. At the top sits the Palacio de la Magdalena, built between 1909 and 1911 as a summer residence for the Spanish royal family. The palace itself looks more like an English country house than a traditional Spanish royal residence, which seems appropriate given its setting above the Atlantic and its distinctly northern European feel. The surrounding park area is home to lots of art installations which brightened up an already very sunny day.

Palacio de la Magdalena, Santander

But we weren't particularly interested in palaces, we had lighthouses to find. Walking around the peninsula brought us towards Faro de La Cerda, built in the early nineteenth century on the eastern side of the headland. From here there were fantastic views across the water towards another of Santander's famous navigation lights, Faro de la Isla de Mouro.

 Faro de Cabo Mayor, Santander

The island lighthouse sits on the tiny Isla de Mouro at the entrance to the bay, marking the hazardous waters for ships approaching Santander. From land it looks wonderfully isolated, perched on its rocky island with nothing around it but sea. 

Monumento a Neptuno Niño in front of the Isla de Mouro

Then we stumbled across something we definitely weren't expecting. Tucked into the rocks on the side of the Magdalena Peninsula was a small marine park containing seals, sea lions and penguins. It was a bit bizarre. Apparently the marine park dates from 1986 and was built directly into the rocky shoreline, using the natural cliffs and seawater from the bay to create a series of pools. So these weren't conventional aquarium tanks, they were effectively natural seawater pools carved into the peninsula.

Penguin of the Magdalena Peninsula

From there we continued towards El Sardinero, Santander's grand seaside district. The first beach, Primera Playa del Sardinero, is enormous, sweeping around the bay beneath elegant hotels and apartment buildings. In the distance we could see our next destination of Cabo Mayor, at the northern tip of the city. The walk there delivered the reward of another spectacular stretch of coastline and Faro de Cabo Mayor, dramatically positioned high above the sea. And that made three lighthouses for the day.

 Faro de Cabo Mayor, Santander

By this point we'd also clocked up more than 25,000 steps, all in glorious sunshine so clearly, we'd earned lunch. Back into town at the Mercado del Este, we found Quesoba Cheese-Bar and settled down with beer and cheese. We also sampled the Gilda, the classic northern Spanish pintxo of olive, anchovy and pickled chilli, The famous Gilda pintxo takes its name from Rita Hayworth’s iconic 1946 film. Like the character herself, it was described as verde, salada y un poco picante i.e. Green, salty and a little spicy. It seemed rude not to try one.

Lunchtime, Mercado del Este, Santander

Late afternoon was the perfect time for an hour-long cruise around the harbour and bay, seeing Santander from a completely different perspective and, rather conveniently, revisiting much of the coastline we'd spent the day walking along.

Gilda, Mercado del Este, Santander

The bay itself is enormous, and from the water you get a much better appreciation of Santander's geography. The city wraps around the western side of the bay while the opposite shore remains much greener and less developed. The entrance to the bay, guarded by the lighthouse on Isla de Mouro, opens directly onto the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic beyond.

Faro de Isla de Mouro

Our evening destination was Barrio Pesquero, Santander's traditional Fishing Quarter, to the west of the centre. This is one of the city's more down-to-earth areas, away from the smart resort architecture of Sardinero and the marina terraces of Puertochico.

Eating out in Barrio Pesquero, Santander's traditional Fishing Quarter

We were early but were made to feel welcome straight away with a beer whilst they opened up. The restaurant had a great atmosphere. Behind it was the slightly unglamorous backdrop of apartment blocks and the industrial port but out front a charcoal grill was working away and filling the air with the smell of cooking fish. The waiter was outside playing football with some of the local kids. We started with huge sardines and wonderful scallops before moving on to hake and sea bass. Their own wine was just €10 a bottle, and at the end of the meal we were even given a complimentary liquor. A perfect day.

Lighthouse cakes, Santander

After yesterday's marathon, day two was deliberately going to be less full-on. We were going to explore Santander properly, but at a more leisurely pace. Santander's cathedral is an interesting survivor of the city's turbulent history. The lower church, Iglesia del Cristo, dates back to the medieval period, while the upper cathedral was rebuilt and expanded over the centuries. After the 1941 fire, much of the surrounding city had to be reconstructed, making the cathedral and its surviving historic fabric particularly important reminders of Santander's past. We also visited Mercado de la Esperanza, Santander's main traditional food market. The fish hall was extraordinary. I've never seen fish that big.

Mercado de la Esperanza, Santander

By now we were gradually heading back towards the waterfront, where the city's old and new architecture meet at the Centro Botín. Opened in 2017, the Centro Botín is Santander's striking modern art and cultural centre, designed by Renzo Piano. Rather than simply sitting beside the water, the building appears to float above it, with a series of terraces and walkways climbing around the structure. We climbed the labyrinth of stairs and were rewarded with some excellent panoramic views across the bay.

Centro Botín, Santander

Santander had given us three very different days: a lively Sunday-night introduction, a ridiculous 25,000-step lighthouse expedition and then a slower wander through the city's markets, streets, galleries and waterfront. We'd seen the grand beaches of Sardinero, the royal palace at Magdalena, the fishing quarter, the old cathedral, the modern Centro Botín and, most importantly, three lighthouses.

Faro de Cabo Mayor, Santander

Not a bad start to Northern Spain. The next day we'd leave Cantabria behind and head west into Asturias.