Alhaurin el Grande
In the middle of the Covid pandemic, we bought a house in Spain. A very old, in-need-of-much-love townhouse in the Andalucian hills. We signed the paperwork electronically from the UK in October 2020 and then a day later, lockdown 2.0 began. Flights and travel stopped and we didn’t have any house keys.
When we finally crossed the threshold, almost a year later, it instantly felt like this was our family’s next chapter.
Our house is on an old narrow street, in a white-washed town, called Alhaurin el Grande (AEG), and each time I visit, I fall in love with it a little bit more. We ultimately chose the town because of budget, but there were lots of other facts too, and here’s just some of the reasons we’ve fallen in love with this quintessentially Spanish place.
1. The location There are flights to Malaga from almost every airport in the UK and with a flight time of c2.5 hours, it’s a fairly short hop down to the Costa del Sol. Climate change pending, the weather is pretty lovely all year round, with an average of 325 days annually. Malaga airport is super-efficient and there have been times where we’ve done airplane to exit in less than 10 minutes – granted we only take carry on luggage these days. The onward drive up to Alhaurin el Grande is then just 25 minutes, meaning that the town is perfectly do-able for a weekend. A taxi costs c 40EUR, but there are good public transport links* from the airport to the town and every car hire company under the sun, should you wish.
From the town itself, there’s regular buses into Malaga as well as other nearby towns, and in the summer, there’s a fast bus down to Fuengirola on the coast. And if you love your golf there are courses surrounding the town in every direction.
2. The views Nestled into the side of the Sierra de Mijas, looking over the Guadalhorce valley, AEG provides some epic views of whitewash Spanish villages and the mountains beyond. The location of the town means the views are full 180 of the valley , and the other way there are equally lush views of the tree covered sierra. If you place your chair just right, you can sit and watch the planes coming in and out of Malaga airport pretty much all day – it’s hypnotic.
Whilst we’re lucky enough to have a balcony to soak in these incredible views, there are also plenty of dedicated viewing points throughout the town for all to use.
3. The sunsets The views on a night time are equally as impressive as the views during the day. As the sun sets behind the mountains, it is a different colour that lights up the sky on any given night. I’ve seen yellows, whites, pinks, purples, reds at all points of the year. They never get old.
4. The churches There are three big churches in the town that I’m aware of:
a. Parroquia Nuestra Senora de La Encarnacion
b. Ermita de la Santa Vera-Cruz
c. Ermita de San Sabastian
I am not at all religious but the presence of these churches in the town and the community and events that they inspire make me question whether I should reconsider. Every Sunday is very much a day of rest and celebration, everyone is out in their finery. The church marching bands can be heard practicing regularly throughout the week, the bells ring often, and the parades through the town are frequent and truly awesome. We have been in the town for Santa Semana and I highly recommend going sometime. It is incredible.
5. The food Is delicious! Whether it’s the fresh local ingredients that you can buy in the town through to the plentiful bars and restaurants where you can go to eat and drink, there’s something for everyone. From most types of takeaway to beautiful restaurants, we’re creating a guide of some of our favourites:
6. The walks
There’s everything from mountain hikes and woodland walks, through to all of the pavements that lead up and down the narrow whitewashed streets of this hilly town. You can walk and walk until your hearts content and are rewarded big with the panoramic vistas. You do need sturdy shoes and some of the walks are pretty exposed in the heat of the summer, but there’s also plenty of shady squares to sit in with the locals to take five and watch the world go by.
7. The community
It’s Spanish. This isn’t an English enclave in a sunny part of Spain, this is a working Spanish town. There is a small English community, but my view is that you need to learn the language. The people are lovely - friendly, joyous, people say Buenos dias and everyone knows each other. It’s a vibe. A true Spanish community that we’re gradually and lovingly becoming a part of.
We’ve found our piece of sunny happiness, and house renovations pending, we’ll be spending more and more time in this beautiful corner of Spain as we advance in years!
You can follow our renovation stories at @kdonov77 in highlights.
*There is a good bus service that runs from the edge of the airport site to AEG, but, you either have to catch another bus from the terminal to the edge of the airport site, or walk about a mile to get to the bus stop.
