ALBOX

In the Almanzora valley between the larger towns of Huercal Overa and Baza, Albox is a thriving medium-sized town of 10,000 inhabitants with views for miles of green plains and mountains. The town, which sits among the striking mountain ranges of the Sierra de Los Filabres and the Sierra de Las Estancias, has become popular with British and Irish buyers, offering very reasonably priced property and a sizeable English-speaking community, beautiful countryside yet just a 40-minute drive from the coastal resorts of Mojacar, Vera and Garrucha.

On Tuesdays, the town’s pretty market square is the scene of Albox’s market, a colourful event which spills down into the (usually) dry river bed. Albox is also home to Europe’s biggest observatory, a tribute to the endlessly clear skies.

If you have ambitions of buying a ruin for next to nothing and turning it into your perfect home, this is a great place to look as you can find plenty of big country houses in need of total renovation from 35,000 euros. 80,000 euros will buy you a fully-restored townhouse in the village itself and if you go up to the 225,000 euro range you can buy a large four-bedroom new villa near the popular tennis club. A large six-room farmhouse just outside Albox with thousands of square metres of land and views across the valley would cost about 300,000 euros.

Why not travel a little further along the coast to Murcia where you can find some amazingly prices properties from as little as 118,000€ at the famous Polaris World