Dar Hajra is hidden away in a stand of pine forest above the undiscovered ‘white village’ of Montecorto, 15 kilometres to west of Ronda. From the house’s rocky perch you’re treated to a wrap-around view of the peaks of the Grazalema National Park. You reach the house via a track which arcs up through the forest to a mountain spring. From here a path flanked by rosemary, lavendar, honeysuckle and mint climbs up to the house’s main entrance.

It looks deceptively traditional from the outside. Once you pass through the door you’ll probably gasp ‘wow!’ This is a house where fantasy came first in the design brief.

The mountainside has been wrapped into the fabric of the building and the rock adds a stunning decorative element – Dar Hajra means House of the Rocks in Arabic. A pyramidal atrium is the visual axis around which the open-plan living area turns: sunlight floods in during the day and you look up to starry skies at night. Each window of the house brings in a different part of the stunning view southwards, including those of the study.

There’s a huge collection of books including copies of all my own guide books. There are hundreds of CDs which span flamenco, blues, jazz, classical, world and folk music, a big selection of DVDs, and a desktop iMac and fast wifi connection.