“Mum and Dad are out there working on it now.”
Retired window cleaner Philip, 68, and his estate agent daughter Poppy, 43, went out in July 2021 looking for a holiday home in Andalusia to enjoy with his wife, and Poppy’s mother, Heather. The father and daughter from Norwich wanted somewhere 45 minutes inland and Danni Menzies took them on a tour. At the time of writing, Philip and Heather are out renovating the house so we caught up with Poppy for the lowdown.
“Yes, we ended up buying property three, which ironically was a house I had seen online and sent to the researchers,” says Poppy. “We loved Archidona, the town and we really liked the outside space at the property. It’s got an amazing terrace.”
The three-bedroom property cost €40k and the sale completed in November 2021. It’s an hour from Malaga airport, 45 minutes from the coast. The Moorish town of Archidona is close to Antequera, and not far from Granada city.
“If mum had actually seen the house she would have said it would be too much work,” laughs Poppy, who has renovated several properties herself and is currently working on one in Norwich, where her parents live. “It had no bathroom, no hot water, and the walls needed patching up. It was certainly a project!”
Philip and Heather went out again in March 2022 and started working on the property and it’s clear from these pictures that it’s shaping up beautifully. Philip has stretched his DIY skills to putting in a shower room, a new hot water tank and has redone all the walls and laid new tiles on the terrace, and there’s even space for a little G&T preparation corner.
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Poppy’s been busy too. “I’ve been out four or five times this year, I love just going over for a short trip. I’m enjoying it more than I thought. We’ve had lots of barbecues on the terrace – sunset views of the ‘Sleeping Indian Mountain’ are just amazing. I spend 98 per cent of the time on that terrace!”
Doing all the work themselves, they’ve only spent around €6,000 on the house. “We are hoping to finish it by the end of this year,” she adds. A lot of their exploration of the area has related to practical stuff so far. “We’ve discovered a great car boot sale at Torremolinos where we have bought some bits for the house and there have been trips looking for tiles and beds.”
For the colder months, they’ve installed a wood burner. “Mum and Dad will probably go out there when it’s cooler, whilst I might go with friends or my partner when it’s peak season.”
She says she loved the experience of filming. “It was very hot indeed there in July – all that standing around makes you aware of the heat. But it was fun with Danni and we had a lovely meal out with the camera crew and sound team on the last day. Jean-Pierre [the producer] has since visited us out there.”
