Hidden Valley: Finding freedom in Spain's deep country (Paperback) - Paul Richardson Book

The story of the real 'good life' of an off-grid existence in rural SpainPaul Richardson fled the city to live on the land in a rough-and-tumble village on the edge of Europe.Immersing himself in the culture of his remote Spanish community, he learned the traditional arts of animal husbandry and vegetable growing, wine-making and home distilling, and made bread from the rye he sowed on the stone-walled terraces of his twelve-acre farm. In prose that shimmers with wit and sensuality, the author charts his personal route-map along a road less travelled - from urban pressures to rural tranquility, and from insecurity to fulfilment.Along the way he pays tribute to the influences that have shaped his progress - from The Good Life to Henry David Thoreau, from the 1970s pioneers to self-sufficiency to his farming neighbours in the far-flung region of Extremadura. In Richardson's hands, off-grid living both becomes an act of rebellion and a heartening proof that a simpler, better life is possi