Properties for Sale in Northern Spain
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There was great excitement today at Spanish Property North headquarters when this large, purple truck pulled up at our door.
The cavalry had arrived.
But before I explain, let me first tell you a cautionary tale of an over-optimistic, overly-romantic ex-pat, with eyes bigger than her belly, who took on too much land, with too little knowledge and quickly found herself in a pickle, with weeds and brambles threatening to consume all before them. Armed only with a whimsical scythe our heroine was quickly overwhelmed.
So I she did the obvious thing. Ignored it all. Gaining a permanent crick in her neck from avoiding looking at the disaster that was her hopefully envisioned garden field. The thing is, the climate in Asturias is perfect for growing. It really is. The only problem is that if you don’t plant up and manage your land cleverly then nature will take over. If you don’t decide what grows, then she will. And she does seem to have a perverse liking for brambles and nettles and other unpleasantries. Punishment for neglect, I guess.
The good news is that there is no need to suffer in this way. Help is at hand. If you, like I, don’t have the necessary tools, time or training to get the best out of your garden (or field!) you can do what I did and call in ‘El Jardinero Inglés’ (The English Gardener – an added bonus for newly-arrived expats, the boss is English so no language difficulties to navigate).
I have to say, it’s one of those things you just wish you’d done sooner. I’ve seen that big, branded purple van knocking about for years now and yet it was only last week that I got around to ringing the number and asking for help. I think I thought they just specialized in bigger, posher jobs than mine. Turns out, if it’s a garden or growing related job then they can turn their hand to it. And all for a very reasonable price. Highly recommended.
Watch out for photos of my newly-scalped (and accessible!!) field coming soon to a social media account near you…
Well 2015 has got off to a flying start here at Spanish Property North. I don’t know whether it’s down to our constant hunt for the best properties to market combined with our excellent service or the fact that prices have fallen as low as they’re likely to or simply the strength of the pound to the euro, but we are currently swamped with buyers.
As ever, properties with lots of land are particularly popular, with many of our clients looking to escape from the stresses of city life and to live more in harmony with nature. The dream of self-sufficiency and low-impact living is alive and strong in the hearts and minds of those moving to Asturias, ‘el paraiso natural’. Properties like this one, with 2 hectares of land and the chance to buy more, plus various outbuildings ripe for conversion in addition to the main house, are generating lots of interest.
The house is fully renovated and has a secluded setting, 8km from the popular fishing port of Ribadesella
The architecturally typical Asturian house, stone and wood built with classical galeria or corredor, is also as popular as ever; particularly if it’s detached, with a garden, great views and great access, all at a very accessible price – like this gem, located in the natural reserve of the Sueve.
Gorgeous traditional Asturian house, ready to move into.
And then there’s the properties that have had their prices slashed to way below cost, making them unbeatable value, like this luxury villa in Galicia, on sale at half the original asking price. No wonder buyers are beating a path to our door!
Luxurious top-quality villa set in 8,000m2 gardens
I love houses. Lucky really, given my job. I love the glimpses they give you into the lives lived within their walls, the histories created there and the views looked out upon over the years. Architecture, objects, landscapes all come together in a property to shape and illustrate cultures, communities and personalities.
Treasure chest, in the attic of a house in Quiros
With older houses in particular you’ll often stumble across pieces that speak volumes. Objects that make you want to run your hand along them, to hold that touch for a moment, pause and listen. As though it might be possible to feel history vibrate through a cool palm held on ancient hand-carved wood. Like this wooden chest that I found last week in the attic of a house in Quiros. What treasures had it stored down through the years?
Or these madrenas, found in an alcove of the same house. What paths did they once tread? Whose feet encase? When was it that they were shelved for the last time?
A solid oak beam stands in the roof of the long-abandoned house. The light filtering through the wind-shifted, old-fashioned roof tiles falls upon it and highlights the rich, untreated grain, with not a single sign of decay or woodworm or any weakness upon it. A bang with your fist gives a reassuring answering thud. There is something deeply satisfying in the knowledge that some things really can withstand the test of time.
If you fancy buying your own piece of history in northern Spain then take a look at this lovely traditional Asturian house set in a spectacular hill-top hamlet and ready to move into so you can start to write the next chapter…..
Autumn is in the air. Finally, there is a fresh crispness to the temperatures and a faint russet tone is creeping into the woodlands. Sweet chestnuts are starting to appear underfoot. Soon amaguestu will be upon us. Families are slowly settling back into the school routine, having started back on September 11th after a lengthy 3 month summer holiday.
Once again we are slaves to the alarm clock. We must be breakfasted, presentable and assembled at the bus stop by eight thirty a.m. And make no mistake about it, here in Spain eight thirty in the morning is pretty much right next door to the middle of the night. The Spanish are not naturally early risers.
Still, for me anyway, the pain of the early start is completely anaesthetized by the glorious beauty of the school run. As my son happily rides his first bike the 500 or so metres to the bus stop, I stride briskly alongside him, hand at the ready for the occasional quick shove on the steeper sections, my head raised to take in the views on all sides.
The photos below were all snapped on yesterday and today’s school run, on my iphone. Not a bad way to start the day, eh?
If you fancy swapping your school run for one with a better outlook, check out this lovely family home with views to the Picos and woodland paths on the doorstep.
Gorgeous traditional house in idyllic location
I took this snap on my phone yesterday as I wandered back from my neighbours’ house at twilight. It’s a bench that sits on the side of the road a few metres from our house. The Asturian countryside has a high bench to people ratio. In our tiny hamlet there is a total of 4 benches and a permanent adult population of 18. Benches are, of course, for sitting on. This one, as you can probably make out from the photo, is under a large fig tree and is the perfect spot to rest out of the heat of the midday sun and to while away half an hour or so, watching the world go (slowly) by or chatting to a friend. A few metres away around the corner in the plazuela (not quite so big or grand as a village square) is another, shadeless, bench; better suited to cooler winter days when there is nothing more nourishing to soul and body than to sit for a while with face upturned to the sun. But back to this bench. Alongside the fig leaf you see poking through the back slats is a well-ripened pepper and underneath the seat is a pair of discarded clogs, both indicators of its location next to the entrance of my neighbour’s huerta (veggie plot). This is the spot where she kicks off her ‘madrenas’ as she exits the field. These Asturian clogs, with their stilts for traction and to keep them out of the mud and their ample size to accommodate the wearing of slippers within, may be funky looking but they are eminently practical. (Before you ask, no, I haven’t got a pair. I haven’t *quite* worked up the courage yet. For now I’m sticking to wellies.) I’ll often see Rosi’s impressive harvest haul piled high here before she stores it in the barn or leaves it to dry under the eaves of the horreo. Often she’ll leave some fresh pickings on the bench for me to take for our tea. It sure beats the supermarket. If you fancy some bench-sitting in Asturias yourself why not take a look at some of the lovely country houses we have for sale in Asturias. With some land to work you’ll have a great excuse to buy yourself some clogs!
