After the parade, locals and visitors retire to open-air kitchens around town to feast on polbo á feira – octopus with potatoes, olive oil, salt and paprika – and drink local white albariño wine. There is live music, a flea market and lots of farmers selling produce, such as wine and vegetables. The whole day is a mix of macabre and merry. It may sound lugubrious, but the festival is in fact a celebration of life: you are more likely to encounter tears of joy than of sadness. No one is sure when the festival actually started some say it began as far back as the 12th century as an attempt by the Catholic church to adapt to the pagan rites widespread in the region. The coffins are followed by relatives and friends dressed in black, in a procession that replicates a Spanish funeral. Santa Marta de Ribarteme, As Neves, Galicia When: 29 July Highlight: The procession of coffins: locals gather outside San Jose church holding long candles, waving incense and sobbing into handkerchiefs, waiting for the coffins to appearĭuring this festival in rural Galicia, devout Spaniards who have survived a near-death experience in the preceding year, whether illness or accident, are paraded in coffins through streets to give thanks to God and Santa Marta, the event’s patron, for being alive. Where to stay: Casas de Alamajar has self-catering houses from €50 a night for two (two-night minimum) in a garden setting in nearby Prado del Rey. Bikes available to rent at all three places. While you’re there: Cycle the Via Verde de la Sierra from neighbouring Puerto Serrano to Olvera (22 miles) or at least to the old station house cafe at Coripe (9 miles). This is a complete assault on the senses: glorious, surreal and what passes as normal in these parts. After 11pm, the town’s entire population of 12,000-odd people, most elaborately, fabulously attired in flamenco dress, heads to the Recinto Ferial, to parade, eat, drink, sing and dance in the casetas (roadside tents) that line the route, and enjoy tacky fairground delights. Aside from shopping for cows, there’s a chance to catch traditional horse and carriage contests, demonstrations of horsemanship and gutsy flamenco performances. Villamartín offers the quintessential Andalucian combination of cattle fair by day (held here since the 16th century) and dancing, drinking and a fair by night. The feast of Saint Matthew, celebrated across Spain, is the last big party of the long hot summer. Jon Bryant Flamenco fair, Spainįeria de Ganado y Fiestas de San Mateo, Villamartín, Cádiz When: 20-24 September Highlight: Teenagers in full flamenco dress on the fairground wall of death ![]() Where to stay: In the hills above Digne, the Chateau d’Auribeau (doubles from €90 B&B) produces its own honey and lavender oil. The journey takes about three hours, past cliff faces and through dark pine forests and dramatic gorges. While you’re there: Take the narrow-gauge Train des Pignes to Nice. Members of the Commanderie de la Lavande, dressed in purple robes and felt hats, declare the harvest over, light the fire under a huge copper still in the centre of the town and celebrate with lavender liqueur, lavender biscuits, syrup, nosegays and lavender paté. Even older is the lavender fair, which takes place at the end of August, once the harvest is in. ![]() Digne’s lavender festival parade has been running since the second world war. Every afternoon, scores of stalls sell lavender and lavandin (its more photogenic hybrid variant) products. The festival begins with a firework display over the river and is followed by four days of lavender-themed festivities: parades, marching bands, floats covered in the mauve flowers and a nightly ball in the main square of this spa town. Corso de la Lavande, Digne-les-Bains, Provence When: 3-7 August Highlight: Nighttime parade of illuminated floats covered in lavender and locals in traditional costume
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