This is a beautifully presented finca in a fabulous location that is private and tranquil and, although it is less than 1km from the train, this is the AVE the high-speed link from Alicante to Madrid that travels at over 300kms per hour and is hardly noticeable for the six seconds it takes to travel past.

With over 16,000m2 of land including over 200 olive trees that are looked after by a local farmer you are guaranteed peace and privacy yet it does have neighbours so you are not remote and it is only a five-minute drive into Sax on asphalt roads other than 500 metres of flat track. 

The interior is perfectly distributed with a long lounge/diner that has a feature log burning fireplace and Air Conditioning as the finca benefits from mains electricity and there is also mains water. The kitchen is Spanish Style, in other words "smallish" but perfectly formed and there is a walk-in pantry that is being used as a utility room. You have to bear in mind that when living in Spain the majority of the cooking is done outside and this property features an indoor BBQ and an outdoor one.

There are three double bedrooms although the smallest is more suited to a single or an office, there is 50MB internet available, and the Master Bedroom is lovely with the bonus of an en-suite bathroom. The guest bathroom off the long hallway is a fully fitted one.

The terrace is massive, the full length of the property and there is an opportunity to extend the property using the terrace but, and it´s a big but, I would not imagine there would be a need to do that as there is a very large, long casita that is bone dry and has water and electricity and would make the most stunning guest house.

Attached to the property is a garage with an up-and-over door.

The land is beautiful and the views are spectacular. The swimming pool is 5x4 and was originally a water deposit before mains water was available. There is over 120 m2 of space available to apply for planning permission to put in a bigger and purpose-made swimming pool as well as stables for horses etc.

Why Sax?

There are no traffic lights, it has a 13th-century castle and there are no traffic wardens and the streets are full of restaurants, bars and cafes. What? That isn´t enough?

Sax is so popular because it is far enough inland to be “inland” and a traditional Spanish town yet it is only 30 minutes to Alicante Airport and 35 minutes to the beach and the nearest beach allows dogs.

Access is via the A31 Dual Carriageway Alicante to Madrid road which runs just outside of the town. Sax is superbly served by public transport and there are regular trains and buses to Alicante so you can go to the beach and not have to take your car, and now we are only eight minutes away from the AVE station at Villena. The AVE is the high-speed train from Alicante to Madrid which has only four stops and inexplicably we have one of them. After boarding you will be in Madrid in 2hrs 9mins for as little as 9€ or, there are other promotions from 23€.

Let us stick with the town of Sax for now rather than escaping to the beach or the capital city of Spain. Sax is dominated by its 13th-century castle known as the Headlight and Guardian of The Border a landscape of history and rock. When driving back home to Sax after daylight the sight of the castle, fully lit in a variety of colour, and seemingly floating in the air, it is one of the most welcoming sights I have ever experienced.

Commercially, Sax was only affected in a minor way by the economic crash as it is the home of three national and international businesses selling “persianas y toldos”, window blinds and sun canopies and a shoe industry that means if you recently bought a pair of shoes in a department store in the UK, for example, the chances are they could have been made in Sax or nearby Elda.

Recently we have seen the opening of a Consum supermarket, the equivalent of a Waitrose or Marks & Spencer Food Hall whilst there has been a Hiperber and Mas y Mas, both excellent supermarkets for as long as I can remember, and if that isn´t enough there is a Carrefour (Think Tesco) eight minutes’ drive away within a shopping mall complex that has two cinemas one of which is showing films in English with Spanish subtitles.

Sax is served wonderfully well with schools, our son was eight when we moved here and reluctantly, we put him into a state school, he always went to a private school in Manchester, and within six months he was fluent in two languages and following five years in a secondary school went on to study Pharmacy at Complutense in Madrid one of Spain´s most famous and prestigious universities.

Crime rate; Sax has full employment and subsequently a very low crime rate. It is a small town where everyone knows each other and a Spanish family would normally feel shamed if a member was in trouble with the police. Their modern values are the ones we experienced growing up in the UK 50-60 years ago.

I parked rather stupidly recently on the Hight Street (Gran Via) even by Spanish standards I was naughty as I popped into the bank. I received a phone call within 90 seconds from the Local Police who called me a “dickhead”, well the Spanish equivalent, no ticket no fine just a little humiliation.

For health, Sax and Spain, in general, are far superior to the UK. In the town, we have a brand-new Health Centre with eight doctors, two nurses, diabetes clinics and a 24/7 Emergency Walk/In Centre. Ten minutes away in Elda is the remarkable award-winning University Hospital El Virgen De Salud where the surgeons are second to none and the food is atrocious, well it can’t all be good!! Newly opened is the Fibromyalgia Centre offering support and therapies for those suffering from acute pain.

There are now four Language Schools in the town and the town hall ran a scheme for language swapping that was very popular and there are always Spanish people who want to learn English and you can arrange to meet up with them over a coffee or a beer and swap languages. Learning Spanish is a lot less difficult than it may seem and there are new ways of learning that concentrate on Spanish conversation.

There are restaurants and bars aplenty with prices that are at first beyond belief and a three or four-course lunch of good quality can easily be found for 12€ or less. For a special occasion, there is La Torreta but also there are great option such as La Braseria, Camila and La Senda. Coffee and toast for breakfast will cost no more than 2,50€ and the coffee is possibly the best in Europe.

We have a Walking Group, two Golfing Societies, Ladies Who Lunch and lots more Social Activities to enjoy. Sax, it´s a great place to live and we are into our 20th year and would never return to the UK.