Tips for Northern Spain

I never found Spain any real issue. The airports there are reluctant to correspond in written English and even less keen to speak on the phone in English

It's probably not that they are reluctant, but because the people on the phones and doing the correspondence may just not speak English at all (or not sufficient English). Not so long ago I read in one of the Spanish newspapers of a European report on foreign language speaking in various EU countries, and Spain actually came below the UK for the number of people comfortable to speak in another language (which I find a bit hard to believe, knowing how lazy British people are at learning other languages). However during Franco's time many people were taught French in schools but not English, so for people >45 or so, if they speak a second language, it might well be French.

People in Britain will often have the impression that everyone in Spain can speak English, but that's probably because they've only stayed in tourist areas and really only interacted with the tourist industry.

I agree with you, and I am lazy myself (after forgetting most of my Czech and learning English I had no interest in anything else, having found German and French impossible) but I think there is an expectation in aviation of English proficiency.

This is correct for ATC at "international" ("Customs") airports, but I think it suprises many that it does not extend to anybody else in the airport.

For example I landed at Zaragoza LEZG and nobody at all could speak English. Not even the tourist information desk.

But even the person at the back of the ATC room, picking up faxes, may not speak a word of English. They don't need to because the AFTN messages are standard.

The only place which is highly likely to speak English is a handling agent but GA normally tries to avoid contact with those.

5 summers ago ,trying to land Castellon de la Plana (a GA airport in the midst of UK groupie hotels and beaches). The AFISO is not responding my endless calls in the published frequency. Returning to Radar control freq for explanations,the say "....ohh,it is not our fault". So,I follow the American proceedure of CTAF self announcing everywhere and making a cross pass over the RWY to check the wind sock. Still no replies and land ,then taxi to the parking position.Just before locking the doors,a furious GUARDIA CIVIL car came to intercept me.Of course they only spoke Spanish.I tried to ask them,in Italian,what was going on.Eventualy a boy from the local Aeroclub came to assist.They accused me of low,suspicious and dangerous flight over their police headquarterts (which is located just before the RWY finals ) !!! I told them through my interpreter that if someone is to put charges on me is not the Police but the CAA.Later on they left after puting a police shepperd dog sniff the 172's trunk. Eventualy, I found the AFISO who was drinking coffee in the garden next to his shack. I asked in Italian "...why dont you respond the calls ?..Reply "...sorry no speek Igliss".

And by the way, to any monolingual English speakers here, I highly recommend learning another language:

1. No, you're not too old to learn a language.
2. No, British people aren't "bad at learning language", British schools are just shockingly awful at teaching it turning something that should be fun into dry frustration. (In 6 months of starting on Spanish - teching myself with resources available online, plus Rosetta Stone - I could speak more Spanish than I could French after 7 years of school French. After only 18 months learning, I gave a technical talk in Spanish, including Q&A).
3. You learn a lot more than language, you learn a culture too.
4. It opens so many doors.