Nestling between the hills and the sea, the Barrocal area is the Algarve's best kept "secret". Lush foliage of almond, fig, carob and pomegranate trees and the purest air to be found anywhere in southern Portugal.

The local town is São Brás de Alportel, centre of the cork industry and home too of many of the region's traditional arts and crafts. Unscathed by mass tourism, you can still enjoy a three course meal with wine and coffee for under £5 a head. In particular there is Frango Louis serving BBQ chicken with hot piri-piri sauce which TV "Countdown" host Richard Whitely claims is both the best and cheapest you can eat on the Algarve.

Just five minutes drive away is Quinta Das Pedras, a whitewash stone farmhouse now fully modernised situated in the midst of scented orange groves. It still has its ancient bakehouse and in the dining room one of the best preserved examples of a traditional Portuguese vaulted tiled ceiling.

There are some fourteen 18-hole golf courses within 20 miles of Pedras together with a number of 9-hole and putting facilities. To find out more about golfing facilities near Quinta Das Pedras click here.