This house in La Cañada has the feel of sprawling country estate, yet its right in the middle of the urbanisation, just 10 minutes easy walk from the metro and less to a selection of restaurants and cafes. Supermarkets nearby, and even the British College of Valencia is a similar ten minute stroll.

It is on a large corner plot (over 2000m2), with lots of little areas including a pool of course, a fronton/squash/futbol court, an outdoor eating area, fruit trees and vegetable beds, and even a traditional valencian barraca (well, garden shed with a pointy roof and picture of the virgin outside anyway).

The house is just as interesting. The first part was built in 1945 and this original section is an almost separate apartment today. It has three bedrooms, open living area-kitchen and a full bathroom of course. Completely separate entrance on to a different street. It could as easily be used as a guest area for friends, or a semi-independent living area for teenagers, in-laws or other similarly challenging members of the family. The possibility of generating it for some extra income is possible too, with medium-term rentals.

The way to man’s heart is through his stomach, and the way to the heart of this house from the guest area is through the pantry (think I just about got away with that). The main part of the house was built more recently, and a large living and dining area, a separate kitchen (but easy to open out) and an office downstairs. From the living area to the pool is just a few steps, and on the way you pass though a sunroom, perfect for winter mornings when its not quite warm enough to eat in the garden.

Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms (one master). There are also a couple of terraces and a laundry room on this level. An open fire downstairs can heat provides plenty of heat, but there are AC units throughout too. And as in the traditional style of these houses, a spiral staircase leads to a small tower room. To be used as storage, as an office, as a lookout tower to keep watch for the bloody in-laws arriving, whatever you need.