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Tinx Newton discovers a 10th Century chapel and makes friends over tapas while exploring northern Spain

While driving down the coast of northern Spain, I spied a small chapel out at sea.

I stopped the car and reversed back to a lay-by. Through a gap in the trees I saw a path conveniently winding down the gorse-covered cliffs to the beach.

As I made my way down I could see that to reach the chapel I would have to climb hundreds of steps that snaked up the rocky outcrop of land.

It was worth the effort – the tiny island of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a very special place. It belongs to the municipality of Bermeo and the chapel is a 10th-century hermitage, dedicated to San Juan.

There was a truly spiritual air at the top and I was tempted to pull on a long rope, presumably attached to a bell, but I thought hundreds of villagers might rush to prayer.

A local man assured me nothing alarming would happen and gave it a hearty pull to prove it. The heavy chimes rang out to sea, and to my alarm, two nuns appeared around the corner.

They weren’t answering the call of the bell, however, they were on a coach trip from Dublin and proclaimed San Juan to be an oasis of calm after the “fast pace of Santander”.

Encounters like these fall upon those who take their time in northern Spain. In the coastal resort of Mundaka, I shared a table in a tapas bar one evening and ended up watching the Surf Kayak World Championships on the beach the next morning.

Northern Spain manages to uphold ancient folklore and traditions without hanging doggedly to the past. Don’t be tempted to rush it – this is truly a region to be savoured and enjoyed at a steady pace.

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