Bumming around Benicassim........

Keith is strangely attracted to Machine Gun fortifications!!

So far on this trip we have not had much of an agenda, when asked where we were going our reply would always be a vague "France then Spain", although what we have tried to do is not to revisit our usual haunts. But sometimes you get drawn to a place and the familiarity is refreshing.
Just such a place is Benicassim on the Costa Azahar. After a few nights on a lovely beachside campsite ( Camping Estanyet at Les Cases d'Alcanar) on the outskirts of a sleepy Spanish resort town north of Vinaros we headed further down the coast intending to stay for a couple of days and ended up staying a week!

The beach at Castellon stretching all the way to Benicassim

We first went to the Aire at Benicassim, but found it too noisy with road noise and barking dogs so headed a few miles on to an Aire right on the beach at Castellon. Yes it was a bit crowded and you may wonder what the appeal of staying in a car park for a week might be, but let me tell you that free camping doesn't get much better than this! On the Aire the water supply is free as is the waste water disposal, there is a toilet nearby which is cleaned daily and better then some of the toilets on campsites, a bustling area by day it was blissfully peaceful at night. The Aire is a short walk to a beautiful sandy long beach and there is a cycle path which passes by going all the way along the seafront to Orepesa via Benicassim including a short Via verde and one of our favourite places to stop and look out to sea, watching the waves battering the rocks below.

On a clear day you can see the rocks under the turquoise sea, the sun shimmering in sparkles on the surface and maybe a ship out on the horizon.

Our favourite place to stop and admire the view!

The promenade at Benicassim

On Saturday night we took a stroll along the promenade enjoying the warm sea breeze, seeing all the Spanish families out enjoying the evening walking, talking or sitting eating and drinking in restaurants or around a picnic table under the trees by the beach. They love to talk the Spanish - I'm not sure what about!

Victoria Villa

As you can guess we spent our time in the area cycling along the cycle track, stopping for coffee stops or a picnic. Benicassim is a large resort town with many Spanish tourists, not many tourist tacky shops or high rise hotels, but lots of cafés, bars and restaurants to chose from. The wide seafront promenade is famous for its grand villas built from 1890 to the 1930's which became a meeting place for the bourgeoisie society and ostentatious social gatherings. The area was nicknamed "Hell" for the scandalous parties held by the wealthy families and artists in the roaring twenties. Later some of the villas were used as hospitals in the Spanish civil war.

The Aire - too close for comfort ( Planetarium in the background in case you're wondering!)

 Even though we have been to the area a few times now we really enjoyed our time there, but with the confined space and lack of privacy of the Aire at Castellon we thought we would find somewhere we could breathe again!