My father grew up in a small village near Villandas. I bought the property with my husband in 1993 and after years of dedication and enthusiasm we transformed what was partly in ruins into a welcoming country cottage with a large patio. We restored the Pison and turned it into a Casa de Aldea.
In 2004 I took my children to England for two years. They went to Summerhill School where Jason was a teacher. That is where we met and we came back to Spain in 2006.
I fell in love with English gardens and when we returned we started to plant a small garden… and couldn’t stop. What was once a field is now a flower and vegetable garden. I love to see how the little trees we planted have grown and how the flowers attract bees, butterflies and birds. The vegetable garden provides us with food.
I have just restored an old barn to create an intimate and romantic lodging with touches of luxury. It also has a light-filled room with views of the mountains and its own garden. I have put a lot of time and love into the design of the space and the quality of the materials. Now that I am sitting looking at the mountains I feel it was worthwhile.
Carmen
Accomodation · reviews
I was a teacher at Summerhill when Carmen came through the door. I fell in love so that when she decided she wanted to move back to Spain I had no choice but to go with her.
Carmen’s gardens add something special to Villandas and, although I am no gardener, I like helping her with the project. When I am not digging or cutting I dedicate my time to walking over the hills, painting in the woods and translating Asturian and Galician poetry into English. In the summer I work as a guide on the Camino de Santiago.
When I was teaching it always seemed wrong to study literature: you have to read it, live it and speak about it. Shakespeare in the Mountains gives us the opportunity to read with others, walk through the countryside and have long chatty dinners where we talk over our ideas.
We are privileged to live in this lovely place and feel an obligation to open it up to the world.
We take in volunteers from around the world who stay in our own house and join us for talks, food, ideas, hopes, projects and the project of living in the country, in exchange for a few hours a day working on Carmen’s property.
Jason
courses · BLOG SHAKESPEARE IN THE MOUNTAINS