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The Beginning
A Song, a Rectory and Feelings I Couldn’t Ignore
A personal account by Hazel Allington, co-owner
Nine years ago, a song kept joyfully playing in my mind — the REM chorus “It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine.” It was joyful, intense and persistent, and I wondered — how on earth could you feel fine in such circumstances? I also frequently felt a persistent sense that difficult times lay ahead — something significant was coming, and we would need to navigate it wisely. I kept it mostly to myself, inwardly working out what we were supposed to do and where we were supposed to be.
At the time, Andrew was serving as Associate Rector of Burnsall Parish in the Yorkshire Dales — a riverside Georgian rectory in one of the most beautiful parts of England. We had renovated it and furnished it with beautiful antiques. We felt genuinely fortunate to live there. Then, for personal and family reasons, Andrew took early retirement from the Church of England, and we found ourselves wondering what came next.
After leaving the parish we moved to Knaresborough — a beautiful riverside town in North Yorkshire with a historic castle, dramatic gorge and a character all of its own. We had a rental property there and it gave us breathing space to work out what came next. Grace made friends, learned to ride her bike, and we enjoyed the riverside walks and the charm of the town. One place that stayed with us was St Robert’s Cave — a medieval hermit’s dwelling carved into the rockface beside the river, where a man chose to live simply and quietly, apart from the noise of the world. It inspired us both in different ways. I am part hermit by nature — most content working on projects, creating, and following my own rhythms in beautiful, peaceful surroundings with plenty of space. But the sense that we were supposed to be somewhere else, doing something, never left me.
THE MOVE TO SPAIN
One-Way Tickets, Eight Suitcases and Ten Nights Booked in a Hotel
What came next was Spain.
The word “Marbella” appeared in my mind — persistently, until I paid attention. I had to look it up on a map. My research led me to a Piers Morgan documentary about Marbella — corruption, gangsters and a reputation that didn’t exactly paint it as an ideal destination for a family with a young child. It gave me pause. But something kept drawing me forward.
Neither of us spoke Spanish. Neither of us knew much about southern Spain. Some people thought we were mad. Honestly, stepping into that much unknown, we sometimes wondered ourselves. But we said yes anyway. We had six weeks to significantly downsize — releasing most of our personal belongings, including the antiques we had recently bought to furnish the Georgian rectory. A lesson in detachment, as it turned out. We crammed what we could into our VW campervan — Andrew would drive that over later — packed eight suitcases, loaded three bikes, and flew to Málaga on one-way tickets with our young daughter Grace and only ten days booked in a hotel.
We settled first in San Pedro de Alcántara, part of the Marbella municipality, and what a discovery it was. With its charming pedestrian boulevard dotted with contemporary sculptures, bustling cafés and cycle tracks along the seafront, it had a wonderfully family-friendly feel and felt quite different from the Marbella of the documentaries. The town has since seen significant investment, with a major coastal regeneration project reimagining its beaches and promenade — but even then, it felt like a place that had found its rhythm.
It was only once we were there that we discovered there was far more to the area than the Piers Morgan documentary had suggested. Through a new friend we met at Grace’s international Montessori school, and drawn by the idea of developing a project and a more rural life, we discovered the town and countryside around Coín — historic, spacious, unhurried and thirty minutes from everything.
FINDING FRUITFUL HILLS
We Called It a Nightmare.
Then We Bought It.
After a long search, and avoiding a few potential costly property disasters along the way, we found ourselves returning to a hillside cortijo between Coín and Alhaurín el Grande that had been waiting for the right people to bring it to life. We had actually viewed it over a year before and walked away — our exact words were that it was a nightmare of a project, far more than we were willing to take on. But with our rental accommodation coming to an end and the pressure on to find somewhere, the property came back to me — landing in my mind persistently and refusing to leave until I paid attention. Andrew was firmly against revisiting. Absolutely not, he said. In the end he agreed to go back — just to humour me, in his words. But as soon as he stepped on site, something shifted. He could see the potential. We made an offer, and in February 2020 it was ours.
One week later, Spain entered its first lockdown.
With nowhere to go and everything to do, we got to work — each in our own way, co-creating the space that Cortijo Fruitful Hills is known for and loved. Andrew immersed himself in the land, gardens and built environment with remarkable energy and determination — countless trips to the garden centre and other local suppliers, plus incorporating permaculture principles, such as having furrows dug along the contours of the hillside to retain rainfall, and covering much of the land with horse manure from a local stables brought in by the skipload — turning the land into a sponge and building the rich, fertile soil that gives the estate its distinctive, vibrant character today, with with wildflowers, colour and texture at every turn. Andrew also discovered and developed an impressive skill working with the natural stone found all over the property, creating features that have become some of the most remarked-upon aspects of the estate — guests still comment on them today.
GUADALHORCE VALLEY · ANDALUCÍA
Nothing Quite Prepares You for Andalucia• Campo Life
Campo life in Andalucía has a steep and humbling learning curve, with many challenges that naturally come with developing such a project and living in a foreign country. It is also a world rich in tradition and community pride. Both Coín and Alhaurín el Grande sit in the Guadalhorce Valley — a fertile, productive landscape with deep agricultural roots, known for its citrus groves, olive oil and diverse produce.
The area has a strong equestrian culture woven into everyday life — horses, riders and carriages are a natural part of the landscape here. And throughout the year, there is a vibrant calendar of local events to discover.
Alhaurín el Grande’s May Fair transforms the historic centre for five days of music, celebration and Andalusian tradition, and includes a popular romería — a pilgrimage on horseback and by carriage that is one of the most atmospheric sights you’ll ever witness.
Coín has its own Romería de la Fuensanta, and the wider Guadalhorce Valley hosts a variety of popular events and festivals that bring the whole area to life across the seasons.
International expats and local Spanish families, some here for generations, rub shoulders in ways that are endlessly surprising, occasionally baffling and frequently wonderful. We celebrated small victories. We still do.
CORTIJO FRUITFUL HILLS TODAY
A Living, Growing Oasis
Slowly, something remarkable has taken shape here. Another song arrived in my mind during those early months — “Grow me a garden that’s bursting full of life.” It still stirs me.
Even now, driving up through the gates, we are met with a vibrant, green, living oasis that stands apart from the surrounding landscape. For most of the year it is lush, layered and full of life. We take a deep breath every time we arrive at Cortijo Fruitful Hills.
We have welcomed wonderful guests from around the world, and the reviews we receive encourage and inspire us. Having each travelled ourselves, we know how important it is to find somewhere that genuinely delivers on its promise — beauty and quality that matches what drew you there in the first place, not a disappointment waiting behind good photographs.
That standard matters deeply to us. We are committed to honestly presenting what we offer, consistently delivering on it, and always striving to do better.
Andrew, as property manager, is the primary point of contact for guests — welcoming, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in making every stay special. If something falls short, he takes it seriously and does his best to put it right. It matters to us that every guest leaves having had the experience they came for — and wants to tell their friends about it. We are happy that guests have chosen to return.
— Hazel Allington, co-owner
Meet Our Team
Dedicated Professionals Committed to Your Comfort
Andrew Allington
Co-owner, Property Manager, Developer, Landscape Designer
Hazel Allington
Co-owner, Creative, Developer,
Online Presence
Giovanna
Housekeeper
Experts & Services – helping things to run smoothly
Licensed Rural Tourist Accommodation · Vivienda Turística de Alojamiento Rural
Málaga Province, Andalucía, Spain. Tourism Licence: VTAR/MA/04653