Cortijo de la Morra

General Description

Cortijo de la Morra is a former farmhouse that has been extensively renovated over a 10 year period. It is located approximately 3 km outside the village of Campo Cámara in the region of Granada, it is just a few kilometres from the Jaén border and the nearest town is Pozo Alcón, just 15 km away, which is in the Jaén region. The property can be reached via a 3 km track from the village that is mostly tarmacked with the final 1 km being mostly flat and graded aggregate. The property has 360⁰ views that are far reaching and unobstructed, the only buildings visible are another farmhouse, a villa slightly further away and several old ruins. The surrounding 'Campo' is a mixture of Almond groves, Olive groves, and Pine forest. The views are stunning!

Cortijo de la Morra is off grid in terms of its electric supply but it does have mains water. The electric supply comes via a fully automated 5.5 kwh solar supply with a fully automated back-up diesel generator. The solar system is absolutely brilliant and can easily handle all the daily needs in Summer, including fridge, freezer, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, TV's, computers, routers etc., during Winter some planning is required for minimising high wattage use on cloudy days, but it is more than capable and has never caused any issue for us. 

Heating is via wood-burners, which is our preferred method of heating regardless of whether other fuel sources are available or not, there are a total of 3 wood-burners inside the house which are more than capable of heating the rooms that 'need' to be heated. Hot water is supplied via an LPG fired boiler, the LPG bottles are outside but manifolded inside the house so that if one bottle runs out it can instantly switched to another bottle by means of a valve inside the house, so no need to go outside in the rain or dark to finish your hot shower! The LPG bottles also supply the double range cooker, hobs and wok-burner, there is also a supply to the larder if an LPG fridge was preferred to the current electric one.

Overall the house has been finished to a very high standard. All the tiling for the walls and floors, alongside the fixtures and fittings have all been lovingly chosen to fit in with the style and use of each room, whilst retaining the overall traditional Spanish farmhouse feel but with a contemporary look. Quite clearly you can see so much thought has gone into the workings of the house and everything is laid out for ease. It is an ‘upside down’ house, so the living areas are upstairs to make the most of the superb views and most of the bedrooms are downstairs. Due to the nature of the house being on split levels, the ground floor remains much cooler in the Summer and therefore making it easier to sleep through those hot nights, and vice versa the ground floor remains warmer in the Winter, keeping a little bit more warmth in the bedrooms.

All exterior windows and doors are made from Iroko, an African hardwood by the local master carpenter. The interior doors, again are all wooden, made from pine.

The property has a septic tank for black-water and a separate soak-away for grey-water.
 

Kitchen / Diner - 9.7m x 3.6m 

Access to the Kitchen is via a set of double width solid hardwood doors at the rear of the house at ground level. When walking into the kitchen, many peoples first response is ‘Wow’, as they take in some of the original stonework in the walls, the natural slate tiled floor and the wooden ceiling beams that break up the very high ceilings throughout the first floor. This room is extremely large making it a very roomy kitchen and diner. It has fully fitted Oak kitchen units with superb locally made granite work tops and a range style oven and hob. The sink is a double Belfast sink complete with Grohe single mixer tap. All units have tiled splashbacks. All cupboards are large sizes, giving a lot of storage space. The Kitchen / Diner ceiling has 4 Velux windows to keep the North facing room light. The garage roof terrace can be accessed from the Kitchen / Diner through a single internal door and exterior shutter. The dining area of the kitchen is big enough for a 6-8 seater dining table. 

There is a 6 kw wood-burner in the dining area with integral oven, great for slow cooking stews & baked potatoes.

Pantry / Utility Room - 2.4m x 3.6m

The room at the end of the kitchen is the Utility room, with a fitted larder, washing machine and full size fridge. These units all match the units in the kitchen. There is a unit to house a small upright chest freezer. There is also a valved gas fitting for an LPG fridge to be fitted if required.


Lounge - 9m x 3.6m

In the lounge the views of the valley are one of the main features, the windows and patio doors are strategically placed to show these off. This room also has the wooden ceiling beams, making it extremely light and airy. For the winter months, the other main feature is the 360 16 kw wood-burner, which sits towards the end of the room, in the middle of the floor. This fire has a large heating capacity and once lit, soon heats the room, even at this size. The floor has natural terracotta tiles.

The lounge currently has 3 single armchairs and a 3 seater sofa, it is a large room that comfortably seats 6 people. There is a TV aerial point in this room and has an external aerial for Spanish TV.

From the lounge there is access through a set of French doors to the garage roof terrace, a fantastic place to entertain with stunning views down the valley and beyond.

Also from the lounge there is access to the upstairs bedroom and en-suite, which doubles up as the family & guests toilet as it is separated from the bedroom by a hallway and secondary door.

 

Upstairs Bedroom - 4.7m x 3.9m 

Once again the wooden ceiling beams continue with some original stone work in one of the walls. This is a large sized bedroom with the feature being the extremely large bi-folding doors at the end of the room, showing views down the hillside and across the valley at the end of the house. 

The reason for the one upstairs bedroom was so that the entire upstairs would be disabled friendly, whilst it was perfectly suitable for wheelchair users at the time of renovation, subsequent work has rendered it a little bit more difficult but it could very easily be overcome or rectified.

Hallway - 1m x 2.9m

The hallway runs between the upstairs bedroom and the lounge / kitchen and also leads to the family bathroom / en-suite.

Family Bathroom / Upstairs Bedroom En-Suite - 2.7m x 3.0m

The family bathroom is fully tiled in travertine and has a stone basin on a purpose built travertine unit. The bathroom is fitted with a traditional bronze shower inside a very generous 1m² walk-in shower with a glass door. Also fitted is a traditional low level cistern toilet with wood seat & cover.

Stairs / Downstairs Hallway - 3.6m x 1.7m

The stairs run from the lounge down to the lower ground floor level and into a hallway that leads to two more bedrooms and a third bedroom / office. This hallway has a beautiful traditional tiled floor, it also has a good sized storage cupboard under the stairs. The hallway is the entrance to the house from the front and has double width solid hardwood doors.

2nd Bedroom - 4m x 3.6m

The 2nd bedroom is on the ground floor at the front of the house, it has a window that faces South and has fantastic views. It has its own en-suite shower room separated by a lovely stone wall.

2nd Bedroom En-Suite - 1.75m x 3.6m

The en-suite is half tiled in a more contemporary tile, it has a beautiful glass basin stand and basin, and the shower area is a massive 1.75m x 2.0m, and has a contemporary chrome shower & mixer.

Main Bedroom - 3.6m x 6.8m

The main bedroom is very unique, it is on ground level but the back of the room is underground, this means it is well insulated and tends to have much less temperature variation across the seasons, best of all it never gets above 25⁰ celsius in the Summer, so sleeping is comfortable. The room has a traditional Moorish style tiled floor and it also has a beautiful original plaster fireplace with a wood-burner inset. The main bedroom has a beautiful walk-in wardrobe fitted with hangers and shelves.

Walk-In Wardrobe - 3.6m x 1.6m

Fitted with clothes rails and shelving.

Main Bedroom En-Suite - 3.6m x 2.5m

This stunning en-suite is half tiled with traditional tiles, it has a very large shower with glass door and chrome traditional shower. Just to top things off there is a half slipper roll top bath with views out of the window.

4th Bedroom / Office - 3.6m x 3.0m

The fourth bedroom is currently used as a bedroom / office, it has both telephone and internet connections. It has a stunning traditional terracotta tiled floor and a South facing window. From the office the storeroom can be reached.

Storeroom - 4.7m x 3.9m

The storeroom has the water boiler, gas connection manifold and the solar equipment, including inverter, charge controller and remote generator starter. It is a generous size and would make an excellent workshop. It has its own double width solid hardwood doors leading directly outside. It has a porcelain tiled floor.

All walls in the house are plastered with the traditional 'Yeso' and all are painted White.

Outside

Garage - 4.5m x 8.2m

The garage is attached to the house at ground level on the front of the house and has a set of solid hardwood bi-folding doors and hardwood window. It has an Almond burner fitted with flue exiting at roof level. The floor is concrete. The walls are rendered.

The garage is a very generous size and we have in the past had an Audi A6 Avant kept in there with lots of room around it for storage, shelves etc. Currently it is just used for storage of garden tables, chairs, garden tools, lawnmower, and wood storage.

Terraces

We have three terraces in total, East Facing, North Facing and South/West Facing.

South/West Facing - 4.5m x 8.2m

The South/West Facing terrace is the garage roof, it has a stone wall surround for safety and is tiled in porcelain tiles. It is accessed via its own stairs directly from outside, or it can be accessed from a door from the Kitchen at the back of the house, or the French doors that come from the Lounge at the front of the house. The views from the terrace are amazing and it's the perfect place to sit and relax or entertain, until it gets too hot!

North Facing - 4.0m x 12.7m

The North facing terrace is at the back of the house at ground level and is in front of the Kitchen door entrance. It is a gravelled area with raised beds for herbs. It is enclosed by a small stone wall and gates, this is an ideal area to sit when the Sun is too hot, it spends more time in the shade and is more comfortable to sit in during the hotter months. Being enclosed means it is ideal if you have dogs as they cannot roam.

East Facing - 4.2m x 4.9m

The East facing terrace is a smaller area that has patio style slabs with a stone look, it is entirely enclosed on three sides which means it is fully shaded all day, a fantastic place to entertain in August when it's 45⁰ in the shade!

Other Notes

There is an outside tap, CCTV, septic tank and washing line.

There is a 1-1.2m rendered block wall surrounding the property, with a small section of forest fencing, this encloses the property to a manageable size, looking after the 'Campo' is best left to the experts, the local  sheep and goats, they are much better at it than a lawnmower and strimmer! The wall also keeps the local sheep and goats out, but it isn't much use for foxes, so do expect to have foxes in the garden, don't leave your croc's on the doorstep, they love stealing them!

We have tried to make access around the property as easy as possible, it is on a hillside so it's definitely not flat, but steps have been used where necessary to make access easier.

There is a flat parking and turning area which is suitable for probably 6-8 vehicles, so plenty of space. Access to the property is through a locked metal gate.

There is a lean-to block and render built shed on to the East wall of the house, this houses the Solar batteries, Generator, and the LPG bottles, access to this lean-to is via double wood doors. The lean-to has exhaust extraction to the outside for the generator and forced ventilation via a solar powered extractor fan. It also has an eye wash station and fire extinguisher for safety.