Autumn is spreading slowly southwards across Europe. In southern Spain and Portugal, as the landscapes take on gilded colour, their splendid historic architecture is picked out by soft, low-angled sunlight. Make advantage of the more mellow weather, and the gentler off-season pace - there is no other season quite like it. And for golfers, this is the perfect time to head out onto some of the world’s most spectacular courses.

Celebrating Sir Henry
This year marks the centenary of the birth of Sir Henry Cotton (1907?87), one of the outstanding figures of 20th-century golf. An affable charmer and famously dapper dresser, with a taste for fine living, he was the winner of the British Open in 1934, 1937 and 1948, captain of the British Ryder Cup Team, and author of numerous popular golfing books. Henry Cotton was also a leading course architect, and one of the founding figures of golf in Portugal's Algarve: he designed the first golf course there - Penina, near Lagos, fashioned out of rice paddies. It opened in 1966. He also designed the original Vale de Lobo Course (now called the Ocean Course) at Almancil, to the west of Faro; Benamor, near Tavira, the first course to open to the east of Faro; and finally Alto Golf, back near Penina. A great fan of the Algarve, Henry Cotton set in motion a trend that has now produced more than 20 superb golf courses along this 100km stretch of strikingly beautiful coastline.
www.top100golfcourses.co.uk
www.portugalgolfe.com

The Villa Book has a number of excellent properties well-placed to enjoy these courses (recalling Henry Cotton's dictum: ‘The best is always good enough for me’). They include Quinta da Caiada (sleeps 6) and Casa das Laranjeiras (sleeps 6), both near Loulé and the famous courses of Vilamoura. Quinta Meia Paia (sleeps 8), Mulberry Tree (sleeps 10) and Quinta da Marinha (sleeps 15) are near Lagos, within easy reach of the Palmares golf course, as well as Penina and Alto. Quinta Silves (sleeps 12), near Silves, has a couple of courses close by. There are other celebrated golf courses in central Portugal. Quinta Sobral (sleeps 18), north of Lisbon, is 15km from the Campo Real course, and within striking distance of the celebrated Praia d'El Rey Golf and Country Club, Óbidos.

Relax in Andalucía
The dry Mediterranean climate of southern Spain makes Andalucia another perfect year-round golfing location. There are now more than 85 courses in the region, and they include some of Europe’s most prized, including Valderrama, Sotogrande and San Roque (Old and New), near Gibraltar, and Las Brisas near Marbella. But, for relaxation, you may prefer to try a more ancient indulgence: thermal baths. One of the great fascinations of Andalucía is its Moorish influences - the resonant echoes of the seven centuries when Muslim-Arab culture dominated, until the fall of Granada in 1492. You'll find this in the food, the music and dance, in the place names (Al- etc), in the village architecture, and of course in the great monuments of Granada and Seville. Andalucía has also inherited the tradition of hammams or baños Arabes ('Arab baths'); there is one in Seville, for example (Aire de Sevilla). You can enjoy similar therapeutic pleasures at various traditional spa centres, or 'balnearios', across the region, such as the Balneario de Lanjarón (40km south of Granada) in the Alpujarras, source of the famous Lanjarón mineral water. And many modern hotels in Andalucía boast extensive spa facilities to underpin their year-round trade.
www.top100golfcourses.co.uk
www.andalucia.com/golf
www.andalucia.com/spa/home.htm
www.airedesevilla.com
www.balneariodelanjaron.com

The Villa Book has 10 properties in Andalucía, ranging in style from Moorish to ultra-modern. Finca Estepona (sleeps 8), Los Cristales (sleeps 10) and Finca Gaucin (sleeps 14-16) are well placed for some of the best golf courses in the south. The dramatically located Mansion Otivar (sleeps 20-24) lies inland from Almunécar, 55km from Granada, and a similar distance by road from Lanjarón.

Rafa's Mallorca
It’s been another extraordinary year for Spain’s charismatic 21-year-old tennis champion Rafael ('Rafa') Nadal. Master of the clay court, he won the French Open championship for the third year in succession. But he still ranks No.2 in the world behind Switzerland's Roger Federer, the master of hard courts and grass. In May this year, they went to head to head in an extraordinary exhibition match, on a court built specially for the event: one half was clay, and the other half was grass. Nadal won - just - by two sets to one (7-5, 4-6, 7-6). This 'Battle of the Surfaces' took place in Palma de Mallorca, capital of the island of Mallorca (Majorca). Why? Because Mallorca (the town of Manacor, to be precise) is Nadal’s birthplace - and he remains deeply attached to it. It is easy to see why: Mallorca has much to offer, especially in autumn, when the pressures of the summer season have subsided. The same goes for its sister Balearic islands, Menorca and Ibiza – all islands well worth exploring, with excellent walking country and plenty of unspoilt charm, as well as remarkable vestiges of their many thousands of years of history. You can play golf here as well: Mallorca has the highly-rated Son Vida club at Palma, and the spectacularly located Clube de Golf Alcanada (on the northern tip). Or play some tennis: who knows, there may be something in the air.
www.illesbalears.es

The Villa Book has 26 properties in Mallorca, and 27 in Ibiza, as well as one in Menorca. The exceptional El Sueño (sleeps 8-9) in Mallorca is in the north-east of the island, fairly close to Manacor. The Menorca villa, Castell (sleeps 8), has direct access to the sea; as does Cala Mastella (sleeps 12) in Ibiza, which also has its own yacht. The Jungle (sleeps 9) in Ibiza is also a very special place. But if you really want to get away from it all in Ibiza, how about renting a private island: Paradise Island (sleeps 14), in the Bay of San Miguel.

Trujillo: Old World, New World
To the north of Andalucía is Extremadura, a land of dramatic ruggedness - and famous among gastronomes for its exquisite ham from pigs that feed in autumn on acorns in wooded pastures. Close to its heart lies the small town of Trujillo. The name may be a familiar: there are at least five Trujillos in the Americas, for Trujillo was the birthplace of several of the most famous conquistadors. This includes Francisco Pizarro, whose army of just 185 men bizarrely destroyed the Inca empire of Peru in the 1530s. About 50km to the east, as the crow flies, is another familiar name: Guadalupe. The evocative Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe was one of Spain’s most important pilgrimage sites for hundreds of years, following the discovery of a miraculous statue of the Madonna in the River Guadalupe in the late 13th century. The conquistadors paid homage here before setting off across the Atlantic, and credited the Madonna with their successes - hence her ongoing cult in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. Trujillo - described by Lonely Planet as 'one of the most perfect little towns in Spain' - is the ideal place to immerse yourself in this extraordinary story, and in a fascinating region that is too often overlooked. An ideal place for body and soul.
www.spain.info

The Villa Book has a beautiful property called Villa Trujillo, set in its own garden in the old aristocratic part of the town, with views out over the surrounding countryside.