Yes, comfortably. Brittany Ferries sails from the south of England direct to Santander, and Casa Agara stands about an hour's drive from the city — so you can join a hosted week in Green Spain without going near an airport, bringing your own car over or crossing as a foot passenger.

How does the ferry to Santander work?

You board in England, sleep in a cabin, and dock in northern Spain; the crossing takes roughly a day, depending on route and season. Sailing days and times move around through the year, so check the current schedule directly with Brittany Ferries before you fix a week, and build in a night's margin if the timings look tight.

Is the Bay of Biscay crossing rough?

It has the reputation, and occasionally it earns it: the Bay of Biscay is open Atlantic, and in autumn and winter especially you can meet a proper swell. Modern ferries are stabilised and most crossings pass gently, but if you know you are prone to seasickness, plan for it — tablets, a cabin low and central in the ship, a flexible attitude. Plenty of travellers cross year after year and report nothing worse than being rolled to sleep.

Why does the ferry suit solo travel?

The crossing works as a decompression chamber. A flight delivers you abruptly; a night at sea lets the working week drain away, so you arrive already half unwound. The practical gains are real too. Luggage limits stop mattering, which changes what you can pack for — proper boots, a painting kit, binoculars, even a wetsuit, without a baggage fee in sight. There is no airport at either end. And for anyone who dislikes flying, or prefers to avoid it for reasons of their own, environmental ones included, the ferry turns the journey into part of the holiday instead of the obstacle before it.

One small reassurance: eating alone on a ship feels easier than most first-timers expect. A table for one on a ferry reads as seasoned traveller.

What happens when you dock?

Santander's ferry port sits close to the centre of the city, and from there it is about an hour's drive to Fresneda de Cabuérniga — much the same run as from the airport. Foot passengers have the same ground options as arriving flyers, taxis and transfers among them, all laid out in getting from Santander or Bilbao to Cabuérniga. If any part of the connection worries you, ask before you book; Rob and María know the arrival run well.

Do you need the car once you are here?

On a hosted week, no. The days out are escorted, dinner happens at one long table in the house, and the week works perfectly well for guests who arrive with nothing but a bag. A car is a pleasant luxury rather than a necessity: Santillana del Mar is about thirty-five minutes away, the surf beaches forty, the Picos de Europa an hour, and having your own boot means the free day is genuinely free.

How does it compare with flying?

Flying wins on time — direct UK flights reach Santander in a couple of hours, and the airport is the same rough hour from the house as the port. The ferry wins on nearly everything else that matters to a certain kind of traveller: no luggage limits, no security queues, your own car on Spanish soil, and a journey that belongs to the holiday rather than merely preceding it. Cost is genuinely variable — season, cabin, car — so compare like with like before deciding.

Who actually chooses the ferry?

Three sorts of guest, in our experience. People with time — often recently retired — for whom a journey no longer needs compressing. People with kit: painters, birdwatchers, anyone whose holiday does not fit in a cabin bag. And people who simply will not fly, for whom this route is the difference between coming and not coming. The common thread is that nobody who arrives by sea seems to regret the extra day.

Is there a group version of this?

Yes: the ferry pairs naturally with bring-your-own-group weeks, covered separately in no-fly group holidays via the Santander ferry. Travelling alone, you simply book a scheduled week as an individual and meet the group here. There is no forced single supplement — twin-share with a same-sex room-mate at no extra charge, the supplement covered if no match is found, a room of your own for an optional supplement — and every week is booked through Spice Escapes, Casa Agara's exclusive booking partner, ATOL 9046, whose wider range of hosted trips includes other options that suit no-fly travel if these dates do not line up.

If the slow way south appeals, see which weeks fit around a sailing, or ask Rob and María about the ferry run — they know it well.