Beautifully restored stone farmhouse set in the countryside but only 15/20 minutes drive to the historic towns of Braga and Guimarães. The farm makes its own red and white wine and there are fruit trees surrounding the property.
The accommodation consists of the entire ground floor of the farmhouse and is very spacious and tastefully decorated. All mod cons in the kitchen.
The owners with their 3 children live on the first floor ( but you'll have the place to yourselves from March 2013-14 when we're having an away year) and have their own entrance. They buy in wine, bread and cheese for guests' arrival.
The sitting room was the original stone wine house and its double doors open onto a wisteria covered pergola with table and chairs. Next to this is a barbecue area.
There is Wi-fi if guests want to bring their laptops, ipads etc.
The gardens are extensive and walled in. Guests are welcome to wander through the vines and fruit trees.
Behind the house there are many woodland walks
Food: There are lots of excellent restaurants in the area and the sitting room has an information file for guests, pointing out the price range of the various restaurants, BBQ take aways and giving directions how to get there.
There are hundreds of fruit trees on the farm - oranges, lemons, clementines, plums, kiwis, peaches etc - guests can help themselves, use the juicer in the kitchen to make fresh orange or lemon juice. Please note the citrus fruits and kiwis are at their best between December and March !
Eat well, walk lots, swim, visit historic towns: The owners of the farm have an up to date information file for guests and in the sitting room there is a DVD of the places of interest near the house
There are lots of walks around, swimming pools and playgrounds in Taipas ( 5-10 mins away). Lots of water sports at Geres national park, 40 mins away. A new fun swimming complex with slides into the water at Guimarães, 20 mins away.
There is an excellent adventure park, Diverlanhoso, for teenagers, 30 mins away.
Lots of places to visit such as Braga and Guimarães ( hisoric towns), Porto, the Douro valley, Viana do Castelo ( seaside) and Esposende ( seaside ).
The area abounds in monasteries ( Tibães), cathedrals ( Braga ), churches, parks and gardens.
For those interested in history there is Citania de Briteiros which is a Celtic settlement, 10 mins away.
There are restaurants and cafes in Longos, Taipas and of course Braga and Guimaraes.
Portugal itself has excellent wines- the reds from the Douro and the Alentejo are sold in the local supermarkets and are definitely worth trying ( and enjoying ).
Vinho verde ( can be red or white ) is very regional - most people who are new to the area love the white and are not too keen on the red. The locals drink the red out of bowls ( 'malgas') !
We have a dog, cat and friendly geese and ducks.
Every month of the year we have some sort of fruit ready for eating - plums in July, kiwis, oranges and lemons from November until April, chestnuts, apples and pears in September/October. We can never eat everything so guests are encouraged to eat as much fruit as they can !
