After looking at a number of caves and farm houses over the last two weeks we put an offer in on a property in the hamlet of Puenta Arriba (meaning ‘high bridge’) part of the municipality of Benamaurel. The cave has 5 bedrooms (3 en-suite) and is situated in about 2 acres of land which is more than we originally planned for but still manageable. It has great views across the valley to the Neolithic caves just outside Benamaurel which are truly stunning.

The area is very isolated but is 10 minutes from the town of Benamaurel with all its amenities and 20 minutes from the larger town of Baxa. Once we are settled we will utilise the numerous markets that exist in the area – every village/town has a market on different days which means there is always one close by. The cave itself is neat and livable in now but lacks the character that comes with being lived in, it looks more like a holiday home at present! Once our stuff is in it will be better and then we can start to make it our own. Already been to the local ‘Car Boot’ that has several stalls selling antiques and things like old tiles etc.

For the outside I have been tasked with building outside shaded areas – Sombres, and an outside kitchen that includes a BBQ and Bread oven……I have a man that will help with this, wont you Brian?

As for the land I have great plans for this. Currently the area has a number of fruiting vines and I intend to keep one area of these for future use. I have ear-marked an are for my pigs but need to clear this and build a pig-sty and Knave (Spanish version of man-shed). Surrounding the pig area I intend to plant fruit trees – Fig, Peach and Quince, as well as some Holme Oaks and Cork trees for their acorns – which the pigs love.

The land is irrigated by use of the old Moorish system of Acequias, a communal set of irrigation ditches and sluices that allow you to utilise the sparse water o a rota system in exchange for their maintenance.

Its all very exciting