Pitching up in Portugal

The winter was fast approaching, the evenings drawing in. Time to consider an autumnal retreat to warmer climes with a round or four of golf added for good measure. Depart for Birmingham Airport at 0400. Two and a half hours after take off the aircraft doors open and the balmy afternoon temperatures of Faro float in. Collect a car, and consult the oracle. Carvoeiro is about 40 miles of good road due west where there is accommodation quite nearby.

There are organisations that have fame or notoriety. The Cosa Nostra, Round Table, Fabians, Rotarians, and many others. Then there is “the Bond” or to append a full title, the Holiday Property Bond, of which we are members. Within the Bond we have the organisation, from the office at Newmarket (is it manned by persons who are vertically challenged and are fond of horses?), to those front runners, the pioneers, out in the field at the point of contact with “the Bond” members.

Consider the elements that constitute a themed, or any, holiday!

Organisation will be sound, following well trodden paths, those variables that can be eliminated or controlled have been addressed, all that can be preempted has been done. The weather is the most significant variable, followed by airline scheduling, both factors which can bolt out of control and thwart the best made plans. But that didn’t happen.

We were to meet James Lay (our James of the Bond) and his wife Joan at Quinta do Rosal, a small estate of villas and town houses in which the Bond has secured Tenancies. On arrival there is a diminutive, most helpful Portugese lady who advises you of the facilities and provides the keys and direction to your accommodation.

Quiet close to reception is a very good restaurant staffed by local people, who are both pleasant and attentive.

We have been furnished with a list of our fellow travellers, from Cornwall, Wales, Shropshire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, the Home Counties and our own Gloucestershire, all having at least two things in common: the Bond, and golf.

On the first evening James and Joan, at the restaurant, unfolded plans for the week. We were given the pairings for the following day’s golf at the nearby Pinto course, owned, as were the other three courses, by Pestana Hotels and Resorts. The week-long programme was revealed and detailed planning for the following day was explained. Breakfast at a respectable time and a vehicular convoy to the golf courses. To get twelve cars to unfamiliar venues seems simple enough, just follow one another, fine, except when interrupted by crossroads, traffic lights and junctions. James, calling on his considerable local experience, knew where the convoy would pause, to gather the stragglers. All arrived safely.

So the members arrived. The weather was fine and the games commenced. The golf courses of the Iberian Peninsular are pounded all year long and get little respite from feet and tyres. It is not surprising that some show signs of wear and tear at this time of the year. Pinto was in good condition but Alto and Silves left something to be desired.

On the other hand Gramacho was in fine shape, a spectacular course amid rolling hills with some interesting animal sculptures placed around. James, with his now customary efficiency, had all the starts in hand and had arranged buggies and trolleys for those who wanted them. Take his advice on using buggies as some of the courses have long and often hilly treks from green to tee.

In the evenings of the four golfing days we all repaired to the Quinta do Rosal Restaurant for a post mortem on the golf and an inclusive meal. James announced the highs and lows, rather more of the latter we thought, and explained that, despite countback on the back nine card, the winners could not be determined without recourse to the Duckworth Lewis method. This revealed that Billy Diegan had scored 44 points on the first day. Images of Mexican hats, donkeys and pistols flashed before the eyes until it was revealed that Billy plays off four! That is very good golf on an unfamiliar course. Deservedly Billy went on to post the best scores of the whole week. There were winners and non winners but we all received a handsome, beribboned, HPB Algarve medal for our efforts. A nice touch.

There were but two golf-free days and on the first of those we visited the nearby tiny coastal villages of Benagil and Marinho. Access to the coves of this Atlantic coast is along very narrow, winding roads but the journey is well worth it. We journeyed west to Carvoeiro, a pleasant town with plenty of good restaurants, but found Portimão a somewhat depressing place, with a fine waterfront but little else to commend it. That same evening all the members were invited to the home of James and Joan for drinks followed by an excellent, inexpensive, meal in the nearby “O Litoral” restaurant. The Lay residence, an impressive three-storey villa, is but a few miles from Quinto do Rosal, set in quite “English” surroundings with fine views across the Portugese countryside.

The second free day saw us heading into the hills, the hinterland, to Monchique and Silves. The latter has a fine castle built between the 8th and 13th centuries, restored to its present state in the 1940s. Straddling the Arade River the town has been the scene of conflict with, and occupation by, the Moors. A word of caution. In the UK we are used to strict observance of Health and Safety edicts; in Portugal they seem less concerned. Silves castle has 1.2m-wide wall walk (allure), just beneath the level of the battlements which traverse the whole castle.

The views are spectacular but the provision of guard rails ranges from sporadic to non-existent. A trip could result in a 20-foot fall into the bailey. I venture that the castle would not be allowed to be opened to the public were it in the UK.

It was a fine HPB golf Theme Week with clear skies except for a shower or two on the penultimate day. One cannot speak too highly of the efforts of James and Joan; the organisation was exemplary. A most convivial, eclectic, mix of people, comfortable in each other’s company, and speaking the language of golf.