HAILWOOD LODGE A FINE PLACE FOR A GREAT HOLIDAY  DAVID HAILWOOD While I was at the Isle of Man 2002 TT, I was pleased to meet David Hailwood in the Hilton Hotel in Douglas, and had a good old chat with him, about his dad and what David was doing. He mentioned that he was based in Spain and that his mum Pauline was opening a centre in Spain for people who wanted to be "de-stressed" ! When I arrived home from the TT, I visited the Official Mike Hailwood website.... and noticed there were references to Hailwood Lodge............................ Intrigued, I clicked on the link and found that Pauline and David Hailwood had indeed purchased a farm property just outside Gaucin in the hills above Marbella.  As a person with a wife who needed a totally restful break from routine I printed off the website information and discussed the idea with my wife. It took very little persuasion to sort out our 2002 holiday. So we contacted Hailwood Lodge via the internet and booked in for the last two weeks in September. (Flights and Holiday Centre-01256-325032) and she organised our flights and car hire. We had a super flight from Heathrow to Malaga  CLICK ON ABOVE FOR DIRECTIONS TO LODGE  MALAGA AIRPORT  and took delivery of our hire car. Then the heavens opened and our drive up to Hailwood Lodge was diabolical, passing through toll booths on the newly opened motorway, then uphill over winding roads, thick fog and heavy rain. The wipers hardly kept the windscreen clear !! We climbed uphill into the mountains and passed huge windmills. We plunged down into a wide valley then began climbing again. We came to Gaucin and turned on to the Ronda road. (see directions) We now took a right turn on to a cart track which dropped downhill to the Lodge Gates entrance !!! We were VERY pleased to arrive at the Lodge and were welcomed with a superb evening meal.  ...................... After being shown round, we crashed out in our large and spacious bed, in our large and spacious bedroom.   When we awoke next morning, we saw why Pauline had chosen the farm. The scenery was unbelievable. We could see The Rock of Gibraltar and the North Coast of Africa, Algeciras, Gaucin and the Atlas Mountains.      GAUCIN  MIDDAY MEAL  GO TO PART TWO |