Good evening

It’s becoming impossible to ignore the consequences of the climate crisis. We’ve become accustomed to annual headlines concerning extreme weather conditions and wild fires across southern Europe. Now, increasing temperatures are spreading further north with historically cooler nations such as the UK and the Nordic countries experiencing overheating and wild fires.

Without minimising the very real and human costs of such disasters, people still want to go on holiday. So where should they go that is comparatively safe and less prone to overheating - and that doesn’t involve flying?

In Spain, there has been a lot of buzz about “la España fresca”, or cool Spain, and Spaniards have been thronging to the northern coast in summer, decamping to Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, where temperatures are usually more like those of Cornwall on a good summer’s day.

For Brits, the added advantage of a holidaying on the north coast of Spain is that it is easily accessible by ferry from the UK, and the beaches can be reached by bus from Santander or Bilbao. A favourite stretch for Spain expert Annie Bennett is the Costa Trasmiera in Cantabria that runs for 30 miles between Santander and the fishing town of Santoña, with one superb beach after another. Days are spent lazing on the sands and evenings eating the local seafood and sipping rosé.

“It has everything needed for a relaxing holiday with no delusions of grandeur or attempts at being cool. No one cares what you’re wearing here.”

Elsewhere, we explore archipelago life down the coast from Stockholm and go for a beautiful French detour in an overlooked corner of the Pays de la Loire.