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.
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 […]
A Visit to the Nature Reserve at PegoMarch 20, 2019 - 7:06 pmInspired by Stephen Moss, the broadcaster, author and ornithologist who gave a talk in our village on ‘Mrs Moreau’s Warbler – How Birds Got their Names’, Terry Gifford and I drove an hour North to visit the 1290 hectare Bird Sanctuary at Pego. This has a remarkable list of specialities including 3 types of Heron, […]
- Blossom time in RelleuFebruary 12, 2019 - 7:16 pm
The first two weeks in February are a magic time in the valley — the almond blossom is out. A hundred years ago there would twice as many trees at least, the almonds going to the nearby Jijona Turrón factories, but there are still thousands of trees left – lining the bancales like white […]