This star gazing yoga windmill proves there's more to the Algarve than beaches and golf!
The Algarve enjoys a well deserved reputation as a paradise for beach bunnies and wannabe pro golfers, but there is more to Portugal's south coast than meets the eye. Chris White, Founding Director of boutique real estate agency Ideal Homes Portugal, has come across some exciting and unusual properties during his years of operating in Portugal, but the star gazing yoga windmill in São Marcos da Serra has to be the most unique.
He comments,
"The Algarve is known to many for its beaches and first rate golf courses, but it has a huge range of lesser known attractions. It's a brilliant area for star gazing once you move away from the large resorts, as the skies are so clear thanks to the lack of light pollution. It's also a wonderfully peaceful place when you head up into the hills and mountains, making it ideal as a yoga retreat. The light in the Algarve also makes it a popular destination with painters, photographers and other artists."
With these special attractions in mind, the team at Ideal Homes Portugal was pleasantly surprised to find a property that featured all of these opportunities in one place, but that is precisely what they discovered in Jerome Gay's windmill and two attached miller cottages.
Jerome's property is nestled in the hills of Sao Marcos da Serra, where he obtained a grant from the local council to turn it into a star gazing retreat, as part of a drive to show that there is more to the Algarve that sand and sea. The windmill features a raised gallery that provides stunning panoramic views, as well as retaining quirky original features such as the millstone, which is now a table in the main living area.
Jerome has overseen the renovation of the windmill and the two linked cottages and has been delighted with the potential of the property. The area is ideal for those who love horse riding or mountain biking and would make a wonderful setting for a yoga centre thus creating an exciting opportunity for someone with vision. The site is priced at €159,000.
As if star gazing, horse riding, mountain biking and yoga weren't enough, the windmill also has a lake next door, making it a charming spot for canoeing and other water-based activities. The three dwellings each have one bed, one bath, a kitchen and a living area, though the large mezzanines in the cottages mean that they could flex to sleep four or five people in a dormitory style arrangement.
This unusual property certainly has the makings of one of the most interesting tourist destinations in the Algarve, once the individual with the vision to take it forward 
snaps it up. Drawing tourists away from the coast and into the 'real' Portugal is part of an initiative to show that the country is about more than just golf courses and beaches.
It is a land of stunning mountain scenery, rich vegetation and sparkling inland lakes. The people are peaceful and friendly. The air is clear, scented with orange blossom and tinged with the distant tinkle of goat bells, which make for a wonderful soundtrack to life beyond the beach. This is the Algarve as Portugal's population has known it for centuries and which so many tourists are entirely oblivious to. Perhaps this unique property will be the means through which the 'hidden Algarve' is finally revealed?
For further details call Ideal Homes Portugal on 0800 133 7644 or +351 289 513 434, email enquiries@idealhomesportugal.com or visit www.idealhomesportugal.com.
