Live cameras in Torrelavega, Spain

Torrelavega is the second-largest urban center in Cantabria, a municipality of about 52,000 people in northern Spain where the Saja and Besaya rivers meet, some eight kilometers inland from the Bay of Biscay coast and about 27 kilometers southwest of Santander. It was founded in the late Middle Ages around a tower built by the noble Lasso de la Vega family, which gave the place its name. It became an industrial and market town, with zinc mining in the nineteenth century and the big Solvay chemical works opened in 1904. Its weekly livestock market is one of the best known in Spain, held in the National Livestock Market building since 1973.

About the cameras

These cameras are run by the DGT, Spain's national traffic authority. Torrelavega is a junction for the main roads of western Cantabria: the A-67 motorway linking Santander with the Meseta through the Besaya valley, the A-8 coastal motorway along the Cantabrian shore between Asturias and the Basque Country, and the N-611 and N-634. Cameras near these interchanges and approaches are filed under Torrelavega as the nearest named place. They provide still pictures, each refreshed every few minutes.

Cantabria's climate is mild and green, with frequent drizzle all year, so the images often show wet tarmac and low cloud on the hills. Heavy snow can close the higher passes inland on the A-67 near Reinosa in winter, and the cameras give a quick sense of conditions before setting out. Spain's mainland is on Central European Time, with summer time from the end of March to the end of October; at this latitude winter dusk comes shortly after six.

The city's main fiestas are those of the Virgen Grande, centered on 15 August, with music, fairs and a flower parade. The Cave of Altamira, famous for its prehistoric paintings, and the medieval village of Santillana del Mar are only about ten kilometers to the northwest, and the beaches of Suances are close by.

Sources: Torrelavega - Wikipedia · Torrelavega - Wikipedia (es) · DGT - Información de tráfico.