A-Z LOCATION GUIDE TO SPAIN - BEGUR

Begur is beautiful

In a corner of Spain lies an area that is so beautiful it almost beggars belief. Those who have discovered it do their utmost to stay there. Those paying their first visit often wonder how it is that they did not discover the area sooner.
The Cap de Begur is a location that grabs you. It is striking. British people often take root there. They see no reason to stray elsewhere in Spain. Some British families come here year after year. Many first visited as children and now bring their own offspring to the town of Begur and the many picturesque villages nearby.

The Cap de Begur is international. Buy here and your neighbours will include people from all over the world. What’s more, everyone seems to get on fine.
An important factor that is not always the case in other regions of Spain.
Of course there has to be a downside to buying on any stretch of coastline and here, on the Costa Brava, it is the cost of purchase. This region is known as “the golden triangle”. Property here does not come cheap. Prices are twice what they are in warmer climes such as Andalucia.

To purchase this feature in full, for publication, contact verninspain@gmail.com 1500 words & 4 high res photos for 375 pounds.

IMAGES OF SPAIN - FOR SALE

To purchase unique photographs of people, places and life all over Spain, contact me. I have hundreds of images from right across the country. Landscapes, characters, cities, beaches, quirky photos of local events and rituals. All photographs for sale to members of the public or publishing editors. If you have a specific request for a photographs of something or somewhere in Spain, let me know via e-mail verninspain@gmail.com

A-Z LOCATION GUIDE TO SPAIN - ANTEQUERA

Antequera may not be the most famous location in Andalucía, but it could be the most centrally located. If drawing a line from Seville to Granada and another from Córdoba to Malaga, those lines will cross in Antequera.
Its privileged situation in Andalucía has made it one of the most important towns in the province.
With more than 800 square kilometres, this is the biggest municipality in the province of Malaga, bordering the province of Córdoba to the north and with the Mountains of Malaga to the south.
It is a place that has long been popular with British homebuyers. It may be less well known than somewhere like Ronda, but is has the advantage of being closer to the coast.
With the passage of time and seismic shifts, erosion has made this area into one of the most interesting and beautiful in all of Andalucía. Shell and marine-life fossils have been discovered in the valley, confirming that this area was covered in water millions of years ago. Today it is a place that divides opinion.

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To purchase the full article, 1500 words & 4 high res photos for 375 pounds, e-mail verninspain@gmail.com

WRITE IN, AND ABOUT, SPAIN

Want to write about Spain? Want to learn from an expert how best to construct a location guide? Would you like to write about attractions such as the Alhambra Palace in Granada?
This is not an ever so stuffy writing course. There are plenty of those on offer - often provided by people who barely know how to write their own name!
These are personal, relaxed and constructive lessons on travel writing. We offer live in accommodation for 1-4 persons.
I have produced many television travel shows. I have written travel features and location guides for numerous publications in the UK and Spain. Magazines such as "Spanish Homes", "Spain", "Viva Espana" and "Inland." I have also written for Fleet Street newspapers in the UK and for English language newspapers in Spain.
I have travelled all over Spain writing features on this vast and varied country.
On these courses, there will be no blackboards, no text books to buy, no lectures from someone who once wrote a book on living in Spain and is being paid a small fortune to talk to you for half an hour.
Instead we will travel together to locations and attractions within the dramatic province of Granada. We will discuss on site what we see, what aspects should be written about and in what style. Then you will return to your traditional Andalucian home and write. How much and how often you write is up to you. The temptations of the marvellous city of Granada are on your doorstep - free tapas and all that. The beaches of the Costa Tropical are only 20 minutes away and are not for the easily distracted.
If you want to learn how to write interesting, entertaining, enlightening copy that will be noticed, and possibly published, then come and learn from someone who has been there and done it.
Contact verninspain@gmail.com for more details and bookings

MEET STUART CONQUEST - BRITISH CHESS CHAMPION

Stuart at rest in beuatiful Haro and in competition

The first time I had lunch with Stuart Conquest I knew instantly that he played chess. It took him half an hour to pass the olive oil!
Seriously, if anyone knows how to make the right move it is Stuart. This summer in Torquay he will defend his title as British Chess Champion. It's been a busy year since he won the title in Liverpool in 2008. His crucial final play off game from last year can be seen via this you tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsNVKdneNpQ&feature=related
I first met Stuart in his home town of Haro, La Rioja in the summer of 2005. I asked him just what an International Chess Grandmaster was doing living in Spain?
He told me: "In 1997 I boarded the ferry to Bilbao. I was going to compete in a tournament in Andorra. On board I met a lovely Spanish girl who came from Haro. I wouldn’t miss a Chess tournament for a woman so when it was over I visited her there and I have hardly left the town since. Today Haro is home.
"The population is just 8000 and everyone seems to know each other. The Spanish lifestyle suits my relaxed nature and Chess is respected here as a serious sport. I never felt that was the case in the UK."
Stuart was born in Ilford, Essex but became well known as a child chess prodigy when still at school in the coastal town of Hastings. Spain is a country he has known since he was in his twenties and which he now travels across when competing in Chess tournaments.
"Chess is a great incentive for me to see more of Spain. Since I have lived here I have been seen much of the country and just love the place."

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*To purchase the 1500 word article on Stuart, before he defends his British title later in 2009, e-mail verninspain@gmail.com