Pondgirl & Pondboy's prospective home in the Ebro Valley.

14th August 2006

It looks like we will be able to finalise the paperwork and sign the contracts before the end of September. This is fantastic news and puts us right back on shedule to get some serious work done before the end of the spring.

The Mill and its Olive Groves

This November we decided to have a look around the Ebro Valley in southern Catalunya to see where we would like to start looking for a new home. We wanted to see what the local villages were like as well as the countryside, so we could come back on another visit to start looking for a potential house to buy
As luck would have it, we stumbled on this ruined flour Mill on the edge of a barranc (river) near the village of Mas de Barberans. The Mill is on the edge of the barranc and directly in front of the els Ports national park. Tortosa is about 12 minutes drive away.

The main building has two floors each of approximately 125 square metres as well as an attached lambing shed which has a floor area of 82 square metres. The property has around 25 acres of land. The ground behind the house is flat although it does rise up a slope at the rear border and with limestone terraces and has over 930 mature olive trees growing on it as well as some carob trees and a few almond trees near the Mill.

The Mill is in a state of disrepair and will need a lot of work to make into a livable home, however we have made an offer and are hoping to hear from the owners in early January.

The main roof timbers are still solid and a lot of the first floor looks salvageable although there are some area's which will need replacing. The stairs are solid as are the main walls and lintels. There is however a huge amount of work to be done before it could be lived in.