BUILD Q2 2019

BUILD Q2 2019 28 RP180055 amily-run firm, Galician Country Homes, specialises in the sales of rustic, rural and coastal houses through- out Galicia, northwest Spain. The northwest of Spain, and more specifically Galicia, is a paradise for those who love peace; a different lifestyle, and who are able to live authentically in rural communities. Life is Galicia is definitely a way of life closer to its natural origins when our European predecessors lived in stone houses. Many people now flock to this region with the dream of owning and restoring an old traditional property, and this is something that Galician Country Homes excels in. The company was founded by Englishman Mark Adkinson, who has been living in Spain now for more than 47 years and consid- ers himself to be completely Galego (Galician). He and his wife, Rosi, restored their own dream Galician property, which is what triggered the creation of the company. Both live and work in rural Galicia and are in direct contact with the people and its culture, giving them the advantage of being able to match their clients to the ideal property. “You have the opportunity to have a guide, somebody who will help you find your future home, a friendly expert to help to control the restoration of your houses and certainly a friend in the future,” Mark explains. Mark didn’t want to set up just another estate agency in Galicia, he wanted to work differently, with trust and with honour. “Our objective is to offer a natural, healthy, happy lifestyle to our clients, for them to find the property that really is their dream house,” he continues. “For this reason we select our houses offering rustic houses in beautiful areas of Galicia and help with the restoration. As far as we know, we are the only people who sell rural houses that live in one having done all the restoration themselves, for this reason we know what our clients have to face. And we can help them.” It is not just a property you are investing in when you use Galician Country Homes, you are also investing in Galicia and its lifestyle. “Investing in Galicia today is investing in a healthier future, life quality, tranquillity and welfare.,” mark embellishes. “Galicia is booming - the climate has changed in recent years to the point that Galicia no longer experiences the winters that it once had, and summers are warm without being too hot now. In Galicia, it sometimes seems that time stops: lying in a field Galician Dream We speak to Mark Adkinson, owner of Galicia Country Homes, and winner of the Best Family-Owned Residential Estate Agency – Spain Award. F of green grass or in the shade of a huge chestnut tree, next to a trout river, watching the falling leaves, washed away by the gentle current.” The life style can be gauged by the fact that we have well over 1.000 people over 100 years of age in Galicia and many over 105 years of age. Mark is very well known in Galicia for the battle that he is putting up in favour of the Galician ecology as the President of AEMS (Rivers with Life Galicia) an association that won the National Ecology Prize for its defence of the Spanish rivers and their flora and fauna. “It doesn’t matter whether your project is a ‘pazo’ (stately home), a small fisherman’s house, a rural bed and breakfast, a pilgrim’s hostel on the Camino de Santiago, or simply a country house to let your imagination run wild in. Whether it’s for your holidays or to start a new life in Galicia – here at Galician Country Home, we can find it for you.”