Lovely country house, walking distance to Montefrio, with private, gated pool

About Clare

My husband, Rupert, and I live just outside London and have three grown up daughters. Ru is an antiquarian book auctioneer and I, having had a career in magazine marketing, now have a business of my own teaching children to touch type. We are a good few years off retiring but are beginning to have more time to spend abroad now that the children are only periodically living at home.

Clare purchased this House in 2015

Why Clare chose Montefrio

We have always wanted a sunny bolt-hole of our own. We considered France (Ru speaks French well) and Italy (where we've spent many lovely family holidays) but settled on the south of Spain because of the mild winter climate. We explored extensively and then came across Montefrio and fell in love with the town and its warm and friendly inhabitants. It is big enough to be really useful and enjoyable, and small enough to be unsophisticated and very thoroughly Spanish. The house itself appealed because of the pretty, rural views, the flat land (with the opportunity to grow our own fruit and veg should we ever be lucky enough to live here semi-permanently) and the proximity to town (local wine sampling an option without the need to drive). We knocked the house about a bit to achieve spacious and comfortable living and have tried to maintain some of the Moorish character that influences Andalucia in its decoration.

What makes this House unique

In anticipation of grand-children visiting (very much thinking ahead here), it was important to us to have a pool that was safe. Being raised, ballustraded and gated not only gives the pool area full sunshine all day long but it also means it is child-proof and therefore worry free. It was also important to us that we have neighbours (though not close ones and not very many of them) to avoid feeling isolated and one of these neighbours is the lovely Fransisco who looks after our land.