We now take our crop of Manzanilla and Blanqueta olives to a local press at harvest time. Something about feeding the raw olives in at one end of the process and a golden delicious liquid appearing at the other inspired our logo – as being analogous to the creative processes of painting, writing and cookery. In addition we have a lemon, orange and almond grove, the later at the foot of our stepped garden with pomegranate and fig trees.
For artists we have the ruins of a Moorish farmhouse and a pretty cottage, which we plan to renovate.
Our first course in 2002 on The Writer’s Notebook began a programme of week long residential courses sustained over sixteen years with many inspiring tutors such as Mimi Khalvati, Penelope Shuttle, Mark Doty, Matthew Sweeney, Michael Donaghy, Sue Whitmore and many, many others. Mountain walking weeks in the Spring and Autumn were guided by the author of ’50 Walks Costa Blanca’ Gill Round.
Retreats for Artists and WritersMay 30, 2019 - 6:24 pmA number of writers and artists have taken advantage of our retreat space here this year. With access to our extensive library, Wi/fi, printing facilities available and a quiet corner of the village an easy walk from the village square bars, market and local shops – everything fits to give you peace and tranquility to […]
A Trip to TabarcaMay 28, 2019 - 4:53 pmOn 24th May we took a ferry over to Tabarca, an island off Cabo Santa Pola, Alicante. We can just see it on the horizon driving from Relleu to Alicante via Aguas de Busot. Formerly a roost for the aggressive Barbary pirates, the island has the remnants of a fortress citadel built in 1770 with […]
Spring in the Valero GroveMay 13, 2019 - 12:32 pmWe’ve just had our 80 or so olive trees in the Valero Grove expertly pruned. There is plenty of flower buds so we are hoping for a good harvest this Autumn, say 200 litres plus of Extra Virgin oil. The combination of blanqueta trees and the locally traditional Manzanilla trees produce a very pleasant […]