Lots of rural charm in the country

Lynn and John live in Silveira, a hamlet on the northern banks of the River Tejo, with their beautiful cat Jagger. As well as their own house, they have two cottages they let as holiday rentals for the perfect, away-from-it-all retreat. Hopefully the photographs of the area do justice to the rural charm of this area. You can find more details and book your own trip to this beautiful part of Portugal on the Owners Direct website, property reference P6367.

Kayt and Zohra flew over from the UK to join us for a long weekend and Lynn and John were faultless hosts, taking us all for walks and trips locally; we met other villagers as they were out working in the sunshine, we spotted a Short-toed Eagle and a tiny snake, we walked through olive trees and past rushing streams, we admired the village bread ovens and covered well, we stood on a high crag above the river watching the Griffon Vultures circle below us. In the evenings we shared the cooking, drank Portuguese red wine and brandy, caught up on all the news and gossip and enjoyed plenty of laughing.

We had a day trip to Marvao, a walled hill town with charming houses and a warren of a castle perched at one end, a magnificent spot with panoramic views over fields and villages to every side. The day also provided another fantastic Portuguese café experience; Zohra and Kayt had to be dragged out of the cake shop salivating after purchasing only a small selection of the delicious, sweet Portuguese cakes.