For several years we have owned a small village house in a small sleepy village in a picturesque valley around an hour south of Valencia and inland another half hour. We use the house as a base for the odd holiday (out of Africa) and for short breaks spent walking in the hills, enjoying the wonderful country side and adding to the list of birds and animals which can be encountered in the valley, and of course the weather and great local food make a stay so much more enjoyable especially at the end of a long winter. This year we decided to offer our clients the opportunity to enjoy the Valley and get an early or late season wildlife/birding fix staying at our house.

We would like to invite you to stay for short breaks hosted by Tony, who will meet you at the airport from your flight and drop you back at the end. During your informal stay we will take you for walks in the surrounding country side and will keep you topped up with great local food usually enjoying breakfast at home, lunches and dinners will be taken depending on where or what we have planned, but at least a few meals will be enjoyed in the local restaurants. For two (or more if you wish) days we will be joined by Jules Sykes, our man in Spain, who is an accomplished birding guide with an intimate knowledge of the birdlife in the region. During our days out we shall mostly focus on bird spotting (you don’t have to be a twitcher), but will also look for other species of fauna & flora although flower identification is not Jules or my strong point and any help would be appreciated. You will visit the important wetlands of the Oliva/Pego Marshes, exploring the Val de Gallinera where the house is situated and on the hills above Alcoy. These areas can give a good mix of typical Spanish birds with resident species including lots of herons & egrets, Griffon Vultures, Golden Eagles, Moustached & Cetti's Warblers, Kentish Plover, Audouin's & Western Yellow legged Gulls, Kingfisher, Purple Gallinule, Hoopoes, Spotless Starlings, and Serins. However depending on time of year species seen include Balearic & Cory's Shearwater, Squacco, Purple, & Night Herons, Little Bittern, Marbled Duck, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Osprey, various wader species, Sandwich & Whiskered Terns, Nightingale, Bee-eaters, Bluethroat, Water Pipit, Red necked Nightjar, Savi's Warbler among others.

A short break is very simply arranged as the area boasts two of the most accessible airports in Europe with Alicante & Valencia, and in-expensive flights can be found with a little searching on the internet. Being a very popular area for tourism in general there is plenty for the non-birdwatching members of the family/group to occupy their time. If you prefer you are welcome to go it alone and visit the house at any time of the year, we can still arrange for Jules to guide you for a day or two if you wish or simply aim you at the key areas to visit.

Depending on length of stay and what you would like to do during your visit we would suggest an average 3 nights with airport collections/transport, meals (Breakfast & Lunch & Dinner with Drinks extra) and with two days guiding with Jules to be around £500pp, additional costs would be international flights available as low as £60. The house is available to rent for your sole use at £500 per week high season, £350 low season.

High season - June, July, August

Low season - January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December

Feel free to call and speak to Clare or Tony who will be happy to give you more information.