Hotel Los Castanos

Activities

• The countryside here is fabulous. There’s lots of it, not many people in it and it’s pretty to boot. Walking tracks connect 7 white villages, so pack a picnic and head on out. Bring your binoculars. Migrating birds pass through twice a year, loads of eagles, vultures, too. You can also head over the ridge and find the source of Rio Genal, the local river.
  
  
• The village swimming pool opens at 4pm every day in summer. You can go up and take a dip. There are tennis courts and a basketball court, too
  
  
• You can do a tour of the village in under 10 minutes. The church is next door to the house. It was destroyed during the civil war and rebuilt after
  
  
• Ronda is a 15-minute drive up the road. You get the famous gorge, great bars, big churches and the oldest bull ring in Spain. You can even glide over it in a hot-air balloon and then have a champagne breakfast
  
  
• Several civilisations have made this land their home. The Roman’s were in the area, the Moors settled here in AD711. Caves up on Riscos (the mountain) are visible from the road
  
  
• Tour the white villages, lose yourself on mountain lanes, wash up at a tavern for a spot of lunch, then park the car and scale a hill. Follow your nose; you’ll feel all the better for it