I'm planning to travel along the north coast of Spain by rail and would welcome suggestions of pretty little places to stop en route which are either near the FEVE railway or accessible by public transport. I would particularly like to hear from anyone who knows if it's possible to get to Santillana del Mar by public transport (and which is the nearest station)!

are you going to be seeing the whole northern coast? The Basque Country to Galicia? There are tons of great small towns around and most are at least reachable by bus. IS there anything else you are looking for other than a "pretty little place"? On the northern coast, there´s a lot of those!

That's a great idea! As a matter of fact FEVE runs an all-inclusive (like a cruise - but very expensive) 8-or-10 day excursion from Bilbao to Santiago (the last part by bus). The scenery along that route is awesome! I would suggest Limpias for a stop if they have completed the new Parador there. If it were me, I would either start my trip or make a prolonged stop in Santander. From Santander's bus station (across the street from the FEVE station) you can catch a bus to Santillana del mar. Or you can daytrip from Santander to Comillas, Santillana del mar, Liebana y los Picos de Europa, etc. I day-tripped on FEVE to Limpias from Santander (came back via Laredo by bus) and to all those other places.