Los Melonares, Spain
Los Melonares is located 45 minutes North of Seville in the beautiful Spanish province of Andalucia, famous as the home of Flamenco, Sherry and the Andalucian breed of horses. Los Melonares is owned by the Madariaga family, who are a well established Sevillano family, passionate about their hunting and shooting. In fact, the late Valentin Madariaga was presented with the Weatherby Award for outstanding hunting achievements.
The estate covers 2,000 hectares of wonderful undulating land, which is covered with evergreen oaks, broom bushes, wild lavender, thyme and olive trees, together with grazing and a couple of lakes. An ideal environment for driving red leg partridge.
The shooting takes place with guns standing in the valleys and the drives are varied with very good quality birds being presented over the guns. There is something for everyone, with high birds for the more accomplished shots, and some less challenging birds for others.
It is very much a family run operation, with the wonderfully enthusiastic Pachi Madariaga who hosts most of the groups, with a mix of her special charm and incredible sense of humour.
The lodge at Los Melonares has very well appointed bedrooms, all of which are en-suite with either baths or showers, some both. There is a wonderful library/salon, where drinks and canapes are served before dinner, which is taken in the lovely dining room. After dinner, guests may return to the library for after dinner drinks or enjoy a game of snooker and billiards in the organ room. The lodge houses the incredible trophy collection of the late Valentin Madariaga and is a sight to behold in itself.
Each meal is freshly prepared in the kitchen by the family chef and like the best of Spanish food, is made up of fabulously fresh local ingredients which are cooked simply, producing some absolutely delicious dishes.
All allergy and intolerances can be catered for with prior notice. Lunch is often taken Al Fresco in the field, as is elevenses on shoot days.
The estate welcomes non-shooting guests, who are very welcome to join the guns in the field or there are guided tours of Seville that can be arranged (but not included in the prices quoted). Seville is the capital of Andalucia, and is steeped in both Moorish and Christian Spanish history with the amazing Alcazar and its gardens together with the wonderful Cathedral and Barrio de Santa Cruz, which is the old town of Seville. It makes for a brilliant day trip, and there are plenty of great tapas bars, where lunch can be taken.
