For years they dreamed of selling up and moving to a place they considered a glorious secret: the eastern Algarve London
Over late-night glasses of wine, they plotted and planned how they would pack up their treasures (the three children – Felix,Milo and Riley) and leave, never to return. But busy jobs, children's schooling and the stress of life got in the way. Hallie worked in fashion PR, while Tim ran a logistics business.
That was until one day early in 2008 when Tim, then 43, suffered a mild heart attack that stopped the family in its tracks. Within six months, the jobs were gone, friends had waved them off and they were in theAlgarve
Three years later, they speak Portuguese fluently, their children are in local schools and they have a secluded, 10-bedroom country-house hotel called Fazenda Nova.
Fazenda Nova is 25 minutes by car from Faro airport, and a short drive from Tavira, a town that many Portuguese consider their country's prettiest, dating from the bronze age.
With a magpie eye for flea market knick-knacks and idiosyncratic antique furniture from around the world, the couple have imbued a highly polished modernist interior with their story. Old letterpresses are filled with quirky keyrings and brightly coloured tins wink from the shelves. There are toy robots and glass bottles and old shoes stays, all adding character to the polished concrete and reclaimed wood.
Some of their chairs and consoles were Portuguese pieces exported toBrazil
Upstairs in the library are old copies of The Face, Arena and Smash Hits – British cult magazines founded in the 1980s by Nick Logan – Hallie's dad and business partner. Hallie first came to theAlgarve
The couple created Fazenda Nova by taking what they saw as the best of old and new: combining original features and traditionalAlgarve London
The seasonal produce that is served in their restaurant, "A Cozinha", is supplemented by the harvest from their 10 hectares of olive groves, carob, fig and pomegranate orchards and a herb garden.
A 200-year-old bread oven has been restored to working order and is now producing loaves under the watchful eye of local women who know how it should be done.
Nine of the rooms have private gardens or terraces. There's a penthouse suite and two apartments with small kitchens. The infinity pool has views of the surrounding countryside and pod-style hammocks swing under the shade of olive trees.
Tim and Hallie have several favourite places just a short drive away, which they pointed out to me on a map: pretty 18th-century cobblestoned towns, bustling fishing ports and a system of barrier islands – the Ria Formosa – that stretches for 60 miles.
Tim directed me to what he considers his secret haven: the tinyisland of Armona Praia
Hallie led me to the place at the top of her list: a flea market, held on the first Sunday of every month beside the beach in the town ofFuseta
Célia Pedroso, a Portuguese food writer and friend, took me to the fish and vegetable market in the port town ofOlhão
On Armona, Célia showed me a trick she learned as a child: digging in the sand with your heels at low tide and collecting dozens of cadelinhas, tiny sweet clams that she later cooked with garlic, coriander and olive oil.
That night, beneath a clear sky, with no light pollution to spoil our view of the endless stars, we sipped at glasses of crisp, slightly gassy vinho verde, and I began plotting my own escape to this secret coast.
Over late-night glasses of wine, they plotted and planned how they would pack up their treasures (the three children – Felix,
That was until one day early in 2008 when Tim, then 43, suffered a mild heart attack that stopped the family in its tracks. Within six months, the jobs were gone, friends had waved them off and they were in the
Three years later, they speak Portuguese fluently, their children are in local schools and they have a secluded, 10-bedroom country-house hotel called Fazenda Nova.
Fazenda Nova is 25 minutes by car from Faro airport, and a short drive from Tavira, a town that many Portuguese consider their country's prettiest, dating from the bronze age.
With a magpie eye for flea market knick-knacks and idiosyncratic antique furniture from around the world, the couple have imbued a highly polished modernist interior with their story. Old letterpresses are filled with quirky keyrings and brightly coloured tins wink from the shelves. There are toy robots and glass bottles and old shoes stays, all adding character to the polished concrete and reclaimed wood.
Some of their chairs and consoles were Portuguese pieces exported to
Upstairs in the library are old copies of The Face, Arena and Smash Hits – British cult magazines founded in the 1980s by Nick Logan – Hallie's dad and business partner. Hallie first came to the
The couple created Fazenda Nova by taking what they saw as the best of old and new: combining original features and traditional
The seasonal produce that is served in their restaurant, "A Cozinha", is supplemented by the harvest from their 10 hectares of olive groves, carob, fig and pomegranate orchards and a herb garden.
A 200-year-old bread oven has been restored to working order and is now producing loaves under the watchful eye of local women who know how it should be done.
Nine of the rooms have private gardens or terraces. There's a penthouse suite and two apartments with small kitchens. The infinity pool has views of the surrounding countryside and pod-style hammocks swing under the shade of olive trees.
Tim and Hallie have several favourite places just a short drive away, which they pointed out to me on a map: pretty 18th-century cobblestoned towns, bustling fishing ports and a system of barrier islands – the Ria Formosa – that stretches for 60 miles.
Tim directed me to what he considers his secret haven: the tiny
Hallie led me to the place at the top of her list: a flea market, held on the first Sunday of every month beside the beach in the town of
Célia Pedroso, a Portuguese food writer and friend, took me to the fish and vegetable market in the port town of
On Armona, Célia showed me a trick she learned as a child: digging in the sand with your heels at low tide and collecting dozens of cadelinhas, tiny sweet clams that she later cooked with garlic, coriander and olive oil.
That night, beneath a clear sky, with no light pollution to spoil our view of the endless stars, we sipped at glasses of crisp, slightly gassy vinho verde, and I began plotting my own escape to this secret coast.
