Inside

The house has red-tiled floors throughout under which there is underfloor heating controlled by thermostats in each room. Be aware that it takes time to alter the temperature in each room!

The staircases are based on a local design and all the materials used in the rebuilding of the Mill were locally-sourced. The project manager, architect and the builder and his team were all local. We have also tried to ensure the house is as ‘green’ as is currently practical. The kitchen hob uses induction technology, there are solar panels on the roof, the boiler uses wood chippings, and the water comes from our own spring and artesian well.

The house has rugs throughout collected from our travels in South America, Africa and Asia.

Decorations are from various parts of the world; in particular the copper ware from Pakistan and some of the pictures and wooden articles from Australia and India. There are a number of antique English chests, and the light shades and pottery come from Morocco – once the home of one of the owners’ daughters. Birds also feature, a consequence of one of the owner’s obsessions!

We have internet connections throughout the house and in the grounds.

The formal entrance to the house is through the grand old chestnut door that opens into the Hall.

The Hall

This colourful traditional Spanish entrance with its internal glass and wrought iron door decorated with fig leaves takes you past a Tibetan tanka and an old English oak settle into the rest of the house. A wicker pig set in an alcove and a lovely Moroccan vase from Fez greet you. To the left are the stairs that rise to the “Kitchen”, Sitting Room and bedrooms on the upper floor. To the right the “Chestnut” bedroom and stairs to the “Holm Oak” and “Mill Wheel” bedrooms. There is also access to the “Upper East Side” terrace from the Hall.

The “Kitchen”

This wonderful room with its ‘Mark Wilkinson’ kitchen, an 8-seater bar, 10-seater Australian- hardwood dining table, and large corner sofa and coffee table allow for the most sociable of gatherings. Two large elegant chandeliers grace this 20-foot high room that looks over the valley of cork and holm oaks to the castle-topped, white-washed town of Cortegana in the distance. These views were the reason we fell in love with this old ruined mill. The “Kitchen” opens into the sitting room through a large curved archway.

The Sitting Room

This high-ceilinged, large but comfy room, which is so cosy in winter when a fire is burning in the grate, has two leather sofas and two leather arm chairs around an Australian “Blackwood” coffee table in front of the fire place. A chandelier, in the same style as those in the “Kitchen”, looks down over the room and a staircase rises to the “Musicians’ Gallery” that overlooks the sitting room and which has a single bed in it.

The Sitting Room has its own shower room, loo, bidet and basin. The Sitting Room leads through the “Library” bedroom, with its single bed and built-in cupboard, to one of the Mill’s great bedrooms, the “Cork Oak” room. The Library has a large collection of ‘holiday reading’ – tuck in!

The “Cork Oak” bedroom

This high-ceilinged room has an Arts & Crafts style king-sized double bed, dressing table and two large built-in cupboards. It has its own en-suite shower room, bidet and loo, and its own doorway and path to the Upper East Side terrace.

The “Chestnut” bedroom

This room, on the main Hall floor, looks out over woodland. It has a comfortable King-sized double bed, two built-in wardrobes one of which we use as an airing cupboard, and an en-suite shower room, bidet and loo. Outside the room is the door to the Upper East Side terrace, the Main Hall, and the stairs to the Holm Oak bedroom.

The “Holm Oak” bedroom

This, another of the house’s great bedrooms, looks out over the valley. It has a four poster king- sized double bed, dressing table, and extensive built-in cupboards and drawers. There is an en-suite shower room, bidet and loo. Outside the room is a small sitting area, the door to the Lower East Side terrace and the stairs to the Mill Wheel bedroom.

The “Mill Wheel” bedroom

This room at the lower end of the house looks out over the pétanque pitch to woodland and the usually dry stream. It has a king-sized double bed, its own sitting area and a high-ceilinged side room given over to built-in shelving and a clothes-hanging area. This side room was where the mill wheel once hung. There is also a bathroom with bath, shower, bidet and a ‘loo with a view’ – it is next to a low window and has one of the prettiest views in a house with many!