John Hillman remembers back to the days of territorial warfare en-route to the south of Spain, that usually kicked off around San Sebastian

San Sebastian is changing. In the past this was a port that you passed through rather than a destination in its own right. I can remember staring out of the car window as we drove off the ferry and headed south on our family holidays, back in the 1980s.

I always remember thinking that it looked like a perfectly decent place to have a holiday, a much better prospect than having to spend the next three days stuck in the back of my mum and dad’s Peugeot, conducting a relentless territorial war with my sister over precious millimetres of the back seat.

But Mum and Dad were of that 60s generation, having met in Marbella they intended to make sure that their children enjoyed the full Andalucía experience that had so captivated them; regardless of the bruises on my sister’s arm or the clumps of hair missing from the back of my head by the time we’d arrived.

Now a father myself I find that I can’t bring myself to subject my children to those three days of hell: crossing La Mancha in searing 90 degree heat, stopping in roadside bars for oily tapas and suspicious glances from six fingered locals.

I like to think that each generation improves on the last, so I take the Pride of Bilbao ferry to San Sebastian and head to the hills nearby in the summer.

Ok so the beaches aren’t as scorchingly abrasive as the south coast, but that’s just fine by me, the food around here is infinitely superior, no-one listens to flamenco (gracias a Dios!) and I don’t have to be responsible for the acts of violence and recrimination that will inevitably occur on my back seat should I even think about venturing further south than La Rioja.

Tags: P&O Ferries, Spain by John Hillman
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The English Channel is much more than a dirty ditch, devoid of excitement and life. John Hillman explains why.

Looking out across the English Channel from the deck of your P&O ferry you may be forgiven for thinking that there is precious little living beneath the surrounding murky waters. The volume of shipping and that strange grey hue that usually fills the atmosphere creates a sense that any self-respecting marine dweller would have packed up and moved off to quieter waters many years ago.

Indeed, most holiday makers crossing the channel are under the impression that all that lies beneath them are a load of 17th Century shipwrecks and half the Luftwaffe.

But this is far from the case. Despite the English Channel, or La Manche as they say in France, being one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and playing host to over 3.5 million people, who live around its shores, It still has a vibrant and diverse marine community that is constantly throwing up surprises to delight the many marine biologists and archaeologists that study in the area.

One of the best tests for any marine environment is the presence of large fish and marine mammals, as these numbers can only be sustained if there is a healthy and plentiful supply of smaller fish to feed the ones at the top of the food chain. Here is where dolphins and whales become crucial indicators of just how healthy fish stocks in the Channel really are.

There have been plenty of sightings in recent years of Dolphins around the English Channel. Clive Martin, director of wildlife charity Marinelife, was very fortunate back in May 2007 when he reported seeing approximately 30 Bottlenose Dolphins just 4 miles of the coast of the Isle of Wight. As he was travelling on board P&O’s Pride of Bilbao ferry, on its way to Cherbourg, there’s no doubt that many of the ship’s passengers would have also been lucky enough to witness this rare of awe inspiring sight with him.

On a less pleasant note, the discovery of 150 common dolphins, washed ashore at Pleubian Beach on the Cotes d’Amor back in 2002, also demonstrates that large groups of Dolphins are living in the Channel. Happily 90 of these dolphins were saved by locals.

But it isn’t just dolphins that act as indicators of the seas health. Hundreds of people from around the Channel’s coastlines, on both sides, regularly report coming across weird and wonderful species of marine wildlife.

Some very rare creatures of the deep seem to be popping up all over the place these days. Just recently a fisherman of the coast of Guernsey came across a Hippocampus Hippocampus known to you by its more common name: a Seahorse. These fascinating little shrimp like aquatic stallions are a really rare find around the British Isles and seeing one in the wild is a real treat.

Other strange sightings include Pygmy Sperm Whales, Giant Squid and even some Sailfin Dories, which are supposedly only to be found off the west coast of Africa. Moon Jellyfish, Boar Fish and even Wakame (Japanese seaweed) are appearing in numbers up and down the English Channel. Combers, Seranus Cabrilla, are another very rare species of fish which have recently been recorded in greater numbers; scientists believe that there may even be a full breeding population living out there.

So next time you are leaning against the railings of your P&O ferry, looking out across the sea and thinking of all the historical comings and goings that this eventful stretch of water has played host to in the past, take a bit of time to think about what’s beneath you. Because far from being just a barrier that separates the UK from the rest of its European neighbours, you are actually travelling across a thriving aquatic metropolis that a lot of living creatures call home.

Tags: Britain, France, P&O Ferries by John Hillman
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