Property: My first home

Interview by Sharon Martin

Oliver Tobias

Castellar de la Frontera, Spain

1973: worth £17,000

2000: worth £74,000

"It was in 1973 and I was returning from a long trip. I have never been much of a hippy but I'd always wanted to see the Sahara desert and the Berbers. So, as soon as I had a gap in my work schedule, I travelled across Morocco in a Jeep. I got my first flat tyre on a main
road at La Linea near Gibraltar.

"Coincidently, my friend Lorenzo was passing by and invited me to stay with his mother, the Duchess of Lerma. Once I'd settled in, he took me on a trip to the mountains and showed me this castle on a hill called
Castellar de la Frontera. It was absolutely fantastic, with its own courtyard, a well and spectacular views across the straits to Africa.

"I was so enchanted that I bought a little corner of it there and then for the princely sum of £17,000. It was a most unusual property in that it was half Moorish - dating from about the 12th century - and half gothic. It had seven bedrooms, and a very old guard kept his
horse in one of them. There were kestrels breeding in one of the towers. If you had bought the whole castle, it would have been like buying a village.

"But it turned out to be a white elephant, and my dreams did not live up to the reality. Due to work commitments, I was hardly ever there and, when I did manage to visit, I was too exhausted to enjoy it. Also, as an ancient monument, it needed a lot of time and money spent on restoration, which I couldn't set aside.

"About five years ago I decided that I had had enough and sold it to the local community. I believe they wanted to turn it into a museum. It taught me a valuable lesson and I don't suggest that anyone should buy a holiday home unless they can have maximum access to enjoy it."

Oliver Tobias is starring as King Roderic in the musical `La Cava', at the Piccadilly Theatre (020 7369 1754)

Local guide

An agent from the Cadiz province estimates that the property would be worth in the region of £74,000. The area is not ideal for tourists as access is limited and there are few tourist attractions. However, views from the tower are spectacular and the building itself is very
beautiful. "It is now government-owned but, if it were to come on the market, I think it could easily make 20 million pesetas. It is large and historic."