Royston & District Twinning Association

Villanueva de la Cañada

Royston's most recent twinning link is approximately 20 miles to the west of Madrid. The twinning charter was signed by the mayors of both towns in June 2011. Robert Inwood, Royston’s mayor in 2011-12 described this as one of the achievements of his year in office.

Although close to the capital, Villanueva de la Cañada is surrounded by open countryside, with views of the hills towards El Escorial. The town has 17,000 inhabitants, with a large proportion of young families as well as many students at two private universities. It has been completely rebuilt since the Spanish civil war, and has grown rapidly in the last 20 years. There are excellent sports and leisure facilities and several music and dance schools.

A regular feature is an invitation to participate in the celebrations of the local saint's day, the ‘Fiesta de San Isidro’ on 15 May, which is an exciting and enjoyable occasion. The first group from Spain visited Royston during the Arts Festival at the end of September 2011. The cave by candlelight was one of the highlights of the trip, and Royston Museum even provided a Spanish speaking guide.

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To find out more about our link with Villanueva de la Cañada, please email us.

Location map

Villanueva's town twinning web-page (in Spanish)