4 Bedroom Cottage in Seville Province

This is a 16th-century house made of the local tufa, a yellow, sandy stone (though the walls are rough plastered as the stone is very crumbly). It is built in the Andalucian style - massively thick walls to keep the heat out, all-white walls and terracotta floors. Downstairs there is a large comfortable living room and a large kitchen/eating area. There is a TV, video and DVD (no Sky, I'm afraid), music centre. Both rooms give out onto the large, open, tiled courtyard (which has a huge blind that can be drawn over the entire roof - vital in Summer!). Upstairs there are four double bedrooms, three with double beds and one with twins plus two bathrooms (actually one has a shower rather than a bath). Outside there is a garden - about 200 sq m - with a tiled patio and a full-sized football table. The garden is coming on – the last owner used to grow asparagus, but our fruit trees and vine are slowly growing ....

The house is a holiday home for us too so you will find lots of things like reading and guide books. There's a dishwasher and a washing machine – very easy and there are clear instructions in situ. Drying is in the open air and there's a retractable line. The kitchen range is gas (bottled) and electric and the water inside is all electric. If it's cold (only really December/January) there are electric fires in each bedroom and downstairs, a very efficient butane heater plus a wood burner (with lots of wood in the courtyard).

Lots of bars and restaurants in the town, there is the whole of Andalucía on your doorstep and Osuna is an excellent base for touring. Apart from Seville and Cordoba there's Ronda, Antequera, Cadiz, the wonderful national parks of Sierra del Norte de Sevilla, the stunning landscape of El Torcal, birdwatching.....

Osuna retains its sixteenth century aspect, just walking through its streets is a pleasure. It is dominated by the Colegiata on the hill alongside the Monasterio and the Universidad Viejo but it is full of restaurants and bars as well. Lots of churches to see, if that attracts, plus Roman and pre-Roman ruins (including a necropolis) on the heights above the town by the old tufa quarries. There's a sometimes active bull-ring, markets and lots of friendly Andalucians (you won't hear any English voices except your own). Further afield there's golf in Antequera, the costa del Sol beaches (about 1 hour or so away)