Chloe Scott looks at the rustic retreats that are attracting intrepid Britons to rural Spain.
When Craig Edwards left Bristol University five years ago he never imagined he would end up transforming trogladyte caves in rural Spain into modern apartments. But that’s exactly where he has found himself three and a half years after moving to Galera, a small village 150km north-east of Granada, to set up a restaurant with a friend.
The 27-year-old says it was ‘hit and miss’ at first as the pair didn’t know the area. Fluent in spanish, Edwards soon settled into village life and the restaurant took off. Edward’s success prompted his parents to follow him to Spain. Edwards says his engineer fathersoon spotted development potential in the local cave houses or casas cuevas. ‘They used to be people’s homes,’ he says. ‘A lot were empty and out-of-date as locals had left for work in Madrid and Barcelona.’
It was the beginning of a family business Spanish inland Properties renovating casas cuevas and selling them on. And Britons love them. Besides their rustic charm, the Flintstone-like structures naturally keep a moderate temperature of 18°C year round, making them well suited to the harsh Spanish climate.
‘Ninety-nine percent of our customers are British,’ says Edwards, who warns potential cave dwellers to move fast. ‘Casas cuevas are only found over a 100km radius so there will be few left for sale in five years’.
But how do the Spanish feel abou the influx of outsiders? There is no nimbyism, according to Edwards, and many sell the dilapidated caves to accumulate a retirement nest egg. ‘The community had shrunk from 6,000 to 1,000, so they welcome the new lease of life,’ he says. ‘And there is more demand for services agan so it’s encouraging the young to stay young.’
The Edwards are pleased they chose countryside over coastline. ‘There is congestion and you pay over the odds in the Costas,’ says Edwards.
