Great photo, where is it? I thought you was kidding us about the sun

I don't like winter in either place. Dropping below 10C can feel like freezing if you don't have an adequate CH system.

In recent times I have gravelled over a bit more garden every year, until there isn't very much left.
It not only makes life much easier, but gives me much more free time to get out and about and appreciate what is possibly the most diverse country in Europe, but only in Spring or Autumn when it is comfortable to travel, well outside the peak periods of the tourist seasons and the extremes of the climate.

You can get a brilliant water based personal lubricant for that mate.




As an aside, I 100% agree, I love living in Dartmoor and its a truly beautiful place to be but I miss the dry atmosphere that Spain gave me, regardless of the amount of rain it gets or the odd biblical storm it experiences its still a significantly dryer climate than the UK.... let alone the bloody South West.

That's logical. Concrete over the whole thing tho as gravel is a pain and collects all the organic debris. If you don't like gardening, that's the way to go.

Me, I enjoy growing things. This year I'm experimenting with grafting trees, and I am turning composting into an art form. The garden has more and more flowers and we keep trying new vegetables and so on.

OK, that made me smile.

So did the phrase 'Biblical Storm'. I have to admit there were times last year when building an ark seemed like the logical step, but then last winter really was rainy.

Not so sure about the dryness of Spain these past couple of winters, not S Andalucia anyway.... but without stats to back me up I still reckon for me itÅ› the % likelihood on any given day of the 365 available that you have a good chance of seeing the sun for some of it.

As for geraniums, right now I think ours would be grateful to have a few days without their feet drowning

As a(nother) off topic aside, I was quoted for a replacement fuel tank float thingy yesterday (the gauge has stopped working)... I never expect cheap, but €264 for the part alone???????

Oh, and back kind of on what had become topic, OH & I have found a way to garden without arguing..... have a plot each

Parts of Spain are definitely not short on rainfall.

Manchester is known as Englands rainy city, yet Galicia in N.W.Spain gets more than double the rain of Manchester annually.

Having said that I think I would prefer living in Galicia to Manchester just about any day of the year.

Or even the third circle of hell.

If we don't have any rain for a week or two, everything starts to wilt. It really is dry here, and the sandy soil, ok, effectively sand, goes down for metres.

That guarantees rapid drainage and massive root growth.

Reading these forums, about this time every year, loads there seem to asking how to combat dampness, flaking walls etc. Someone suggesting putting bowls of salt all over the place, then drying it out in the oven, all sounds a bit Heath Robinson!

Kidding? You're not alone in thinking that. No, I tell it like it is. I tempted fate this morning mind! It was lovely when I wrote, but just been out on the cliffs, and it had clouded over and with the wind chill, it's the coldest I have felt all winter. But I still had a decent walk, I don't give in that easily!
True, I could never move to Spain without C/H and A/C (missus wouldn't let me!) can't see how some can "enjoy" their retirement all wrapped up and freezing indoors, electric blankets, hot water bottles etc. Still give it another 4-5 months and we'll have all questions about A/C!

Pick a sensible region in Spain to live, create a zone around the house that keeps it cool (pergolas etc) run the house sensibly only ventilating at night and you will minimise the need for a/c.

As for winter, we do pretty well with just a woodburner. So far we haven't had to even use the electric blanket.

Also, except on days when it is chucking it down, I'm still outside for a lot of the day doing stuff in the garden.

That's just mental. Bowls of salt? Think how much energy you'd blow drying the stuff, better to buy a dehumidifyer.

Dampness is always going to be a problem because the houses don't have DPMs in the walls. On really wet winters, damp will always be a problem when the humidity is high, but in a more typical winter like this one, we have very few problems.

Our area is pretty dry. Even at this time of year we need to water if there's no rain, as the plants will start to wilt after much more than a week, especially when the wind is up.

I have been in some spanish houses and smelt the damp. Have smelt it on a lot of peoples clothes too. Infact the warm houses I have been in are few, even with wood burners they seemed cold.

Well, I could certainly say the same about some UK houses too.

Spanish houses don't have damp proof membranes. Any such house with no DPM will smell damp if not ventilated well.

In a cold part of Spain that problem will be magnified.

Oh god! Its gonna turn into a pissing contest innit?