Hola! Nine months ago, we were handed the keys to a forgotten piece of land in the heart of Andalusia, Spain — and everything changed.
Just under six acres of wild, completely overgrown terrain. A small farmhouse abandoned for over 20 years. And a family from the UK with a dream, a motorhome, and absolutely no idea what they were letting themselves in for.
This is our story. Nine months of transformation, hard work, unexpected discoveries, and moments that reminded us exactly why we chose this unconventional, beautiful, debt-free life.
🏡 Our First Visit — Finding a Forgotten Treasure
When Callum and I first visited the cortijo with the estate agent, just the two of us, we couldn’t even see the house from the track. Everything was buried under brambles, weeds, and two decades of wild growth.
We managed to push our way to the front door and stepped inside, not really knowing what to expect.
What we found stopped us in our tracks.
Original Spanish tiles. Marble worktops. Marble steps. Beneath all the dust and neglect, there was just so much beauty. It was like finding a forgotten treasure — the perfect shell waiting to be brought back to life. We left that first visit buzzing, and later that same day, we put in an offer.
It was accepted.
After months of waiting, paperwork, and the kind of bureaucratic patience you only develop when you really, truly want something — in October 2024, we finally got the keys to our dream.
🌿 Clearing the Land — Before We Could Even Begin
Before we could do anything, we had to make the property accessible. The track was so overgrown that even getting the motorhome down to the house was impossible.
We spent days cutting back overgrowth, trimming trees, and slowly reclaiming the path. But when we finally drove the motorhome all the way down to the farmhouse for the first time — it felt like we had officially arrived. Not just visiting the dream, but starting to live it.
Not long after, we brought Hayden and Amaya to see the farm for the very first time. The land was still wild. The house was still dusty. But they didn’t see any of that. They saw adventure, space, and possibility.
Watching their little faces light up, we knew. We’d made the right choice.
🪑 Salvaging the Past — Keeping a Piece of History
Inside the house, most of the furniture had to go. After 20+ years of sitting empty, it simply wasn’t salvageable. But we did manage to save a few beautiful pieces — a solid chest of drawers with a marble top that now sits in our kitchen, and an old table that we’re thinking might become a potting table one day. A second life doing something useful on the land.
It felt important to keep something from before. These pieces remind us of where this place has come from — and what we’re building it into.
🫒 Restoring the Olive Grove — Regeneration in Action
When we arrived, the abandoned olive grove was barely recognisable. The trees had gone unpruned for decades, choked by neglect and years of wild growth pressing in from every side.
With a lot of clearing, a lot of pruning, and a lot of patience — we started to see signs of life. And now, just nine months later, the grove is thriving. The trees are covered in olives, and we’re hoping for our first harvest later this year.
Even if it’s a small one, it’ll be a huge moment. The land giving something back. Proof that land regeneration is possible with time and care.
🪨 DIY River Rock Kitchen — Earthy, Handmade & Entirely Ours
One of our favourite early projects in the house was the kitchen — or at least, beginning to make our mark on it. We wanted something earthy, something unique, something that felt connected to this place.
So we made our own river rock tiles from stones we collected right here, from the landscape around us.
It took time. It took patience. It took a lot of grout. But it turned out to be one of our favourite features of the whole house so far — handmade, rooted in the land, and entirely ours.
⚡ Going Off-Grid — Power, Solar & Summer Game-Changers
In the early months, we were doing off-grid living properly — Bluetti power boxes, fold-out solar panels, battery-powered lights, a fireplace on cold winter evenings, and a backup generator for when we really needed it.
One of our biggest early surprises was discovering the house was still connected to mains water. After bracing ourselves for buckets and tanks, turning on a tap and seeing clean water come out felt like an absolute gift.
More recently, things have levelled up significantly. We now have a full off-grid solar system installed — which feels like an absolute luxury compared to where we started. And the biggest game-changer for summer? Air conditioning. Running entirely off our solar setup. On 40-degree Andalusian days, that is genuinely life-changing.
🍇 Surprise Abundance — What the Land Was Hiding
We always knew there were grape vines growing up the side of the house — they were one of the first things we noticed when we arrived. But what we didn’t expect was just how many grapes they would produce. Every visit back, there seemed to be more clusters bursting with life.
And as we’ve continued to clear the land, we keep finding more surprises hidden just beyond reach. Fig trees. Pomegranate trees. Lemons. Oranges.
This land was abandoned for over 20 years. But it never stopped growing.
We’re learning to do the same — growing into this space and discovering it one layer at a time.
🔭 What’s Still to Come
Even after nine months, we’re still just getting started — and that’s one of the things we love most about this journey.
Here’s what’s on the horizon for Renacer McGlynn:
- More land to clear, including reaching fruit trees that are still out of range
- Bridges across the terrain to access the far reaches of the land
- Rendering the house inside and out
- A peaceful seating area on the mountain terrace (that view — honestly, no words)
- An outdoor shower for those warm summer days
- Water capture systems to help care for the land through the dry season
- More space for Hayden and Amaya to play, explore, and just be
Every visit brings new progress. Every project gets us one step closer to the off-grid homestead we imagined when we first found this place.
✈️ Life Between the Land — Roots and Wings
Because of the Schengen 90-day rule, we’re not able to stay on the farm full-time just yet. So in between our renovation stints, we travel — exploring new places, learning as we go, and embracing the freedom that this lifestyle gives us.
It’s one of the reasons we chose this path: to build a life that gives us both roots and wings.
We’ve also recently launched a second YouTube channel — McGlynns on the Move — where we’ll be sharing how we make it all work, from budgeting and logistics to life on the road as a family. There’s not much on there yet, but it’s growing, and we’d love to have you with us from the very beginning.
💛 Thank You
Nine months ago, we walked onto a forgotten piece of land with a dream, a motorhome, and not much else.
Since then, we’ve uncovered hidden beauty, brought life back to old trees, started shaping a home, and begun building a lifestyle we used to only talk about. Leaving behind family and friends in the UK has been — without question — the hardest part of all of this. It hasn’t been easy, and there’s still a long way to go.
But every single step feels worth it.
And none of it would feel the same without this community. To every single person who has subscribed, commented, encouraged us, or shared this journey with us — thank you. Genuinely, deeply, thank you.
We are just getting started.
🎬 Video Chapters
- 00:00 — Introduction: A Forgotten Farm in Andalusia
- 00:53 — Why We Chose This Life
- 01:27 — Our First Visit to the Farmhouse
- 02:14 — Making It Official: Offer & Keys
- 02:35 — Clearing Access to the Property
- 02:59 — Bringing the Kids to the Farm
- 03:22 — Salvaging the Past: Old Furniture & Character
- 03:54 — Restoring the Olive Grove
- 04:24 — DIY River Rock Kitchen Makeover
- 04:48 — Moving In: Making It Feel Like Home
- 05:24 — Living Off-Grid in the Early Months
- 05:48 — Discovering We Had Mains Water
- 06:00 — Installing Our Off-Grid Solar System
- 06:09 — Game-Changer: Air Conditioning Off the Grid
- 06:24 — Surprise Abundance: Grapes & Hidden Fruit Trees
- 06:56 — What’s Still to Come: Our Next Plans
- 07:49 — Life Between Renovations: Travel & Freedom
- 08:26 — From Dream to Dirt: Final Thoughts
- 08:57 — Thank You for Supporting Us ❤️
📺 Watch the Full Video
👉 Watch the full 9-month transformation on YouTube
📲 Follow Along
- 🌿 Instagram: @renacer_mcglynn
- 📘 Facebook: Follow us here
- 🛠️ YouTube: Renacer McGlynn Channel
¡Hasta la próxima! 🌻