Seen on a walk: Surf Cats of San Sebastian

At the eastern end of surf-tossed Zurriola beach in San Sebastian the sea wall is home to a colony of wild cats.

Pedestrians, Pintxos, And Other Puzzles

Santander, San Sebastian, Bilbao: so many pintxo bars, so many cake shops, so many ice cream parlours…so few obese people. How come? Here are a few observations - unscientific, anecdotal and observational, and based on a couple of weeks spent in Northern Spain - which doesn’t mean not valid. Mostly, the answer appears to be food culture and active travel. First, the food, though wonderful, comes in small portions – eg, pintxos (tapas). Very little is processed. Moreover, it’s ok to share. The fast food oligopolies/chain outlets (please don’t call them “restaurants”) are scarcely seen (San Sebastian has one McDonalds). Practically all of the dining happens in small independent businesses, whether bars or restaurants. There's hardly any eating or drinking “on the go.” You just don’t see people toting bottles of soda or eating crisps whilst walking. Eating goes like this: Arrive. Talk. Eat. Talk. Leave.

So much for the food culture, what about active travel? As per the previous post/Argus article, great swathes of Santander, Bilbao and San Sebastian are carfree and there’s efficient and inexpensive public transport. Not just in the main cities, but in many small towns and villages, cars have been put in their place – after pedestrians. San Sebastian is a poster child for rebalanced streets – cars come way down the hierarchy, below walking, cycling, roller-blading, skateboarding, jogging and running. Pavements are uncluttered and unobstructed - the advertising “A boards,” which make getting around on British pavements so difficult, are just not to be seen. Guard rails, which pen pedestrians onto pavements at crossing points, don’t exist. So what’s the paradox? Brits abroad will tell you that they love these places. Elected and appointed officials from UK local government go on fact finding- missions to see for themselves. But back in the UK many of the good intentions melt away, and motorists seem to acquire a magical power of veto when it comes to improving our towns and cities by better management of the car. The question is, why? Pedestrians have votes too….

A Tale of Two Cities: San Sebastian vs Brighton and Hove

Great news: today's Argus included my article comparing Brighton with San Sebastian. Not such great news: it was published under the headline “Lot to learn from Spanish cycling ways.” Newspapers favour stories which play into a conflict - like motorists vs cyclists - but that wasn’t the point of my article, which was actually about re-modelling Brighton and Hove to be more like San Sebastian: improving the quality of life for visitors and residents, and not just cyclists (although it’s better for cyclists too!)

Here's the original (uncut) article - under it's original title.

A Tale Of Two Cities: San Sebastian vs Brighton And Hove

It was interesting to read in the Argus that Brighton and Hove came a ’narrow second' to Spain’s San Sebastian in the CIVITAS ‘City of the Year’ award in a competition to assess sustainable urban mobility.
By coincidence, I have just returned from a summer holiday in Northern Spain, where I was lucky enough to visit the cities of Santander, Bilbao and San Sebastian, as well as many smaller towns and villages. One thing really stood out: great swathes of these cities and towns have been re-designed to be car-free and car-lite. All were thronged with people walking and cycling as a pleasant, easy, safe and un-polluting way to get around. Although cafes and restaurants were full of people enjoying the delicious cuisine, I saw few signs of obesity. And the shops on these car free streets were busy - in an economic climate that is more challenging than that of the UK.

 In Brighton and Hove there are currently several schemes in the pipeline designed to reduce the dominance of motor traffic, including plans for Seven Dials, Valley Gardens, the Old Town and the Lewes Road. All will help make us a little bit more like these cities in Northern Spain. Yet whenever such a scheme is announced, the columns and comment pages in the Argus fill up with drivers bewailing the effects. It's time that the silent majority - those of us who are expected to put up with cars dominating the public space that we should all be able to enjoy – make our voices heard. The same goes for the endless tirades about parking, which are often accompanied by evidence-free comments about car parking being necessary for economic prosperity - a link that research does not support.


San Sebastian is, in many respects, similar to Brighton and Hove. We are a city of around 250,000 inhabitants compared with San Sebastian’s 180,000. Both cities are coastal holiday destinations with great city beaches (although Brighton is famously pebbly, whilst San Sebastian has golden sand). Both cities have very good public transport, impressive architecture, a warm maritime climate and attract a boho crowd keen on surfing and water sports. Both are full of great places to drink, eat and meet. San Sebastian has an international film festival, Brighton has Britain’s second biggest arts festival. But unlike Brighton and Hove, San Sebastian has had a long term policy to reduce on-street parking and re-allocate the freed-up space for pedestrians and cyclists. Motor traffic has been removed from many roads to improve conditions for pedestrians and enable a joined-up network of segregated safe cycle lanes to be put in place. In the city centre the default speed limit is 30kph (20mph), and there are no guard rails or A boards to get in the way. So when it comes to maximising the potential of our city, although we came a narrow second, we have a lot to learn from San Sebastian. Hasta mañana.

Free WiFi On The Streets: San Sebastian

For pedestrians, San Sebastian is a great place. And it’s pretty good for cyclists too (More on this anon). Another amazing thing about San Sebastian is what’s shown on top of this signpost – free wifi on the streets. And for those of a dubious turn of a mind, here’s a screen grab of the log on screen.  What an excellent way to take the roaming charges out of roaming.

Pinxtos And Pedestrians: Carfree In The Basque Country

Santander, Bilbao, San Sebastian – three fine cities on the coast of Northern Spain. Two of which are in the Basque Country (Santander is in Cantabria). But whatever it's called, it's a great place for a carfree holiday. The food is great (especially those pinxtos, the Basque variant of tapas), there’s lots to see and do and the people are friendly, even if the Basque language is a bit of a challenge (some Spanish will get you by). Best of all, the three cities have gone a long way to being pedestrian and bike friendly, with carfree streets and cheap and efficient public transport. Not only is it easy to get around the cities on foot or using public transport, the region is very accessible, with lots of opportunities for side trips by bus and train – incredibly, you can go to the beaches near Bilbao using the Metro. Overall, here’s what we did and how we did it: taxi and train to Portsmouth, taxi to ferry port; overnight ferry to Santander, walk from ferry port to city centre accommodation, stay in Santander; train from Santander to Bilbao, walk to accommodation, stay in Bilbao; tram to station, train to San Sebastian (Donostia in Basque), taxi to accommodation, stay in San Sebastian; taxi to station, train to Hendaye (France) TGV to Paris, taxi to hotel, stay in Paris; metro to Gare du Nord, Eurostar to London, train and taxi home. Trains and boats were nearly all punctual (except for the 20 minute delays on the high speed trains - both TGV and Eurostar). But best of all, no jams, no hassles with parking, no motorway tolls, no getting lost, no driving on the “wrong” side of the road, no breakdowns, and plenty of time to enjoy the views rather than stare at the tarmac. More to come on the carfree delights of The Basque Country....and Cantabria.