How to Make Friends on a Walking Holiday in Northern Spain

Halfway along the coast path from San Vicente de la Barquera to Playa de Oyambre, the group stops on a headland for the picnic. Somebody shares a flask of tea, somebody else hands round the crisps, and two walkers who only met at breakfast work out that they have both walked the same stretch of the Pennine Way. By the time the beach comes into view they are arguing happily about the best pub at the end of it. Nobody planned that friendship. The walk simply made it easy.

That is how friendships start on a solo walking holiday in northern Spain. Here is why it works so well, and how to make the most of it.

Friendships start on the trail

Walking side by side is the easiest way to get talking. You are both looking at the same view, so conversation flows without anyone having to try. Every stile, every vulture overhead and every wrong turn gives you something to laugh about together.

On the Cantabrian Walking Week, the format is informal by design. Jen and Jim Holgan, the volunteer walking hosts, have taken walkers out in Scotland for almost twenty years and have scouted every route here themselves. You walk with them rather than behind them: Jen at a leisurely pace, Jim happy to push on if you want the miles. You choose who to walk beside, and that choice, repeated day after day, is where the friendships form.

The routes that bring people together

The walks are real, scouted routes with something for every pace:

• The coastal linear from San Vicente de la Barquera to Playa de Oyambre: 7.6 km, about 100 m of ascent.
• The river walk through the Bárcena Mayor valley: 8 km out and back, or a 9.3 km circular.
• The sequoia forest circuit at Monte Cabezón and Monte Corona: 14 km of tall trees and soft paths.
• The Bárcena Mayor to Alto de la Guarda circular: 8.5 km with 650 m of climbing, for the day you want your legs to earn their dinner.

Nobody remembers the ascent figures afterwards. Everybody remembers who they talked to on the way down.

Dinner seals the deal

Back at Casa Agara, an 18th-century stone casona in Fresneda de Cabuérniga inside the Saja-Besaya reserve, every meal is cooked for you: breakfast, a light lunch (carried as a picnic on walking days) and a home-cooked dinner every evening, with vegetables from the kitchen garden. Dinner on the walking week has run from tapas and cava round the fire to berbere-spiced courgette soup and duck confit, a curry night, seared tuna, Cantabrian mountain stew of pork and butter beans, Tudanca beef and grilled sardines with slow-cooked pork belly. You end up talking about the food before you have finished introducing yourself.

The bar is free: house wine, beer and spirits, poured all day, with only premium brands carrying a charge. Nobody is nursing a single glass, so people linger around the table and then carry on into the firelit sitting rooms. Rob, the host, keeps the evening rolling, and Chispa the house dog makes friends with absolutely everyone.

Five easy ways to make friends on a walking week

1. Walk beside someone new each day. Swap places at the picnic stop and you will have walked with most of the group by midweek.
2. Say yes to the extra. The detour to the viewpoint, the paddle at the end of the beach walk, the nightcap by the fire.
3. Share the photos. Offer to send round the group shot from the top of Alto de la Guarda, and you have everyone's number.
4. Ask about their walks back home. Walkers love talking about walks, and you will collect a list of new routes to try.
5. Plan the next one. The last night is when the reunion walks get pencilled in.

Fair terms for solo walkers

There is no forced single supplement. Solo guests twin-share at no extra charge, or take a room of their own as an option. We have broken down what a hosted week in Spain costs, item by item.

Questions people ask

Do I need to be super fit to join the walking week?

No. Routes range from a flat 4.3 km beach circular to an 8.5 km hill walk with 650 m of ascent, and Jen and Jim walk at different paces so you can match your own. You will need proper boots and full kit, and every pace is welcome.

Will there be other people travelling solo?

Almost certainly. Scheduled weeks are booked person by person, so the group is made up of solo walkers, pairs of friends and couples who have all signed up for the same walking. The walks and dinners do the introducing for you.

Can I book with a friend rather than coming solo?

Yes. Couples and friends join the same hosted weeks as solo guests, and everyone walks and eats together. Read how friends book onto the same week if you are planning to come as a pair.

What if I do not want to walk every day?

That is fine. There is walking on at least four days of the week, balanced with sightseeing and time at the house, and you can sit any walk out. The garden, the river Saja and the sitting rooms are there whenever you want a slower day.

Come and walk with us

If a week of coast paths, beech woods and lively dinners sounds like your kind of company, the Cantabrian Walking Week is booked through Spice Escapes, our exclusive booking partner (ATOL 9046). See all the scheduled weeks and pick your dates. If you lead a walking club and want to bring your members, enquire about bringing your group and Rob will reply personally with dates and how a week could work.