Kampaoh Santillana del Mar

There are walking and cycling routes all around this site to give you a taste of the local landscapes – and at some point you should definitely take a walk into Santillana del Mar, your local town. That 10-minute stroll will get you to a lovely little town with a medieval centre, an impressive Romanesque church and the somewhat gory Museum of Torture - Inquisicion. This area is also known for its lengthy history, as you’ll learn on a visit to the Altamira Caves (five minutes’ drive), famed for its paleolithic paintings. Meanwhile, for life that is very much alive and well, you can take a trip to the Cabárceno Nature Park (half an hour), where animals from around the world (most of them threatened with extinction) are brought together at a 1850-acre park. A trip to the Cantabria coast may well be on your schedule as well – a drive of 10 minutes or so will get you either to sheltered coves like Playa de Tagle or to coastal hikes around places like Puerto Calderon.