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NOT JUST ANOTHER WEEKEND AWAY...

Immersive Field, Stable, and Vineyard Celebrations.

Tailor-made getaways across Spain & Portugal for fieldsport enthusiasts, equestrians, and country lifestyle lovers.

No sticky nightclub floors or morning after regrets….

We will organise a getaway or celebration that is totally your cup of Earl Grey.

Options include:

The Field: Driven partridge, ducks, traditional monterías for deer, wild boar, and mouflon, and also clay layouts.
The Saddle: Guided estate hacks, traditional Iberian equitation. Visits to world-class equestrian displays.
The Countryside Feasts: Tables booked at the type of restaurants you love – featuring menus packed with partridge, hare, and wild venison. (Dependent on the season).
The Views & Veloce: Soaring over fields in a hot air balloon at sunrise, or in contrast, you can tear up the track with high-octane go-karting

If you choose we can help you plan your getaway around a rural fair or agricultural show.

Family wine estates and tastings are almost obligatory.

And of course we are going to help you choose accommodation that has got that traditional Wow factor.

You know your group.

you understand the sort of getaway that will feel right.

We take the weight of responsibility from you and plan exactly what you are looking for.

Your out-of-the-ordinary itinerary could include......

SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER

Wine Harvest and Post Harvest

Alentejo Portugal

Andalucía Spain

It can be great to visit some of the smaller wine estates during the wine harvest.

However, once the intensity of the grape harvest has passed in October, producers can have more time to talk, and there’s still plenty happening in the cellars.

The wine estates have plenty to offer year round – but are a must see during this season.

OCTOBER TO MARCH

Main Hunting Season

Partridge - until March

Monterías - this includes deer, wild boar and mouflon - until middle of February

As you will already know the hunting season is generally an autumn / winter programme. Some of the partridge shoots can go a little further into the spring.

You can consider how flexible your group is able to be with dates in order to tie in with this season.

If this is just not practical for your required timeframe – there are plenty of other ways to experience rural life – with a spot of adrenaline if you wish.

And of course clay pigeon shooting – of various types as well as range shooting is available year round.

September To JULY

EQUESTRIAN EXPERIENCES

Across Andalucía and Portugal, we can shape a journey around the way you like to ride. Or special equestrian events to visit.

Lessons on well-schooled Andalusian horses can be organised most of the year.

Longer countryside rides for experienced riders are also possible most of the year – except in the extreme summer heat.

In Jerez, you can watch the horses and riders of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, at work.

A visit to an open day on a farm, with the toros bravos, offers another side of horsemanship; the skilled horses and riders involved in working cattle on the land.

There are a number of equestrian shows throughout the year that we would recommend – and example would be the International show for the purebred Andalusian horse – In Seville – in November.

El Rocío on the Doñana park south of Seville is worth visiting any time between September and July if you are a horse lover – it’s a town designed around the horse rather than the car.

In late June, the Saca de las Yeguas brings mares and foals from the Doñana marshes through El Rocío on their way to Almonte, an extraordinary sight.

Year round

Bellota Jamon Experiences in The Sierra de Aracena

Meet producers and discover the world behind one of Spain’s most celebrated foods.

In the winter months there are fairs celebrating this incredible product. There are museums and farms showcasing the traditional production

You may think that this specific product should not warrant a whole section here.

We know you won’t regret including a visit to one of the Jamon towns – with a tour and tasting. It’s a great addition to any country lovers weekend in the Spanish Sierra.

Year round

Take to the skies or the track

Add a little competition with go-karting or clay pigeon shooting.

If you would like to make a hot air balloon flight a central part of your celebration – we have a contact who offer the most spectacular flights over the Alqueva lake. They are able to cater for larger groups.

We will make sure there is something for everyone to look forward to.

SEPTEMBER TO MAY

Some of the best kept secrets....

Rural and hunting fairs off the tourist trail

Country fairs and rural gatherings

Late April to early May — Ovibeja, Beja, Portugal: A major agricultural fair with livestock, regional food and wine, equestrian displays and live music.
Late September — San Silvestre de Guzmán, Huelva: A country sports fair with hunting equipment, falconry, local food and crafts.
Early October — Jerez, Cádiz: A fair devoted to hunting, country sports and the natural environment.
Early October — Zafra, Extremadura: A historic livestock and agricultural fair with animal shows, auctions, regional produce and a lively social atmosphere.
Late October — Mértola, Portugal: A hunting and countryside fair with local food, rural traditions, wildlife and regional producers.
Late November — Estremoz, Portugal: A fair focused on hunting, fishing and outdoor activities, held alongside a celebration of Alentejo food and culture.

WHERE YOU WILL STAY

Spain and Portugal have some remarkable places to stay. Former convents, castles and palaces are among our favourite choices for a special occasion.

We also love small country stays where the welcome is personal, the food is home-cooked and there’s a log fire to gather around in winter.

Other groups prefer the privacy and freedom of a whole house to themselves.

Once we know the size of your group and what matters to you, we’ll suggest places that feel right for the celebration.

Some shooting estates offer accommodation. We will offer impartial advice around whether this is the right fit.

The hunting season is short. What if our celebration dates don’t line up with the winter season?

If you are able to align your dates with the official game season (autumn/winter), the reward is spectacular. Winter days here are often crisp, bright, and filled with a remarkably strong sun.

The landscape remains vibrant because the native oaks are evergreen, and the country air is rich with the scent of wild rosemary and lavender.

If your dates fall outside the hunting season, you can still fully immerse yourselves in traditional country life. This beautiful landscape opens up through alternative country pursuits:

Estate Sport: Immaculate clay shooting layouts that can be enjoyed year-round.
The Iberian Table: Countryside feasts featuring seasonal game. Many of our preferred estate restaurants harvest and freeze local game at the season’s peak, ensuring venison, hare, or partridge remain on the menu.
Heritage Tours: Exclusive visits to world-class jamón ibérico and private wine estates.
Country Culture: Seasonal agricultural and game fairs that showcase the very best of local heritage.

As country-loving people ourselves, we understand the immersion you are looking for.

Your Questions Answered

How do we handle flights?

We are outfitter and estate coordinators rather than standard travel agents, so we approach flights practically based on your group’s budget and requirements:

Commercial Flights (Ryanair / BA): We recommend groups book these directly. Budget airlines are straightforward to book yourself, while mid-tier transit involving connections introduces transfer risks that are best managed directly by the passengers. We will gladly advise on the best routes and arrival times into airports like Seville or Lisbon.
Private Charters: For groups wishing to fly private, we work closely with trusted charter companies and will seamlessly manage the entire booking and coordination process for you.

What happens if a flight is cancelled or delayed?

Because flight disruptions can impact a tightly scheduled estate weekend, we strongly recommend all groups take out comprehensive travel insurance at the time of booking. For UK-based clients, we can connect you with specialized rural insurance brokers who understand country pursuits and estate travel. Having proper coverage ensures that if an airline cancels a flight, your financial investment and estate booking are fully protected.

Can a mixed group genuinely work if only half of us shoot or ride?

Yes, but it requires a bit of honest compromise and strategic planning. Traditional hunting estates can be remote, which doesn’t pair well with a guest who wants a city tour or a spa day. This is precisely why we are here. Once we know your group’s split, we will guide you toward estates and fincas that strike the perfect balance—situated close enough to cultural hubs to keep non-sporting guests thrilled, without compromising the quality of the field or stable days for the rest.

Can we bring our own guns, or do you provide gun hire?

We accommodate both preferences depending on the estate you choose. While some of our partner estates offer high-quality guns for hire, others do not. This is an important factor we will discuss with you during the early planning stages of your trip to ensure we select the perfect venue for your group.

Bringing Your Own Guns: It is straightforward to travel with firearms by air as sporting baggage, but it does require specific international permits and customs paperwork. You are entirely welcome to navigate this process yourself. Alternatively, we can connect you with our trusted local contact who can manage the administration and permit processing for a standard administrative charge.
Opting for Gun Hire: If you prefer to avoid airport firearms logistics completely, we will focus your itinerary on estates that provide premium gun hire directly on-site.

Bringing Your Journey to Life

1. The Complimentary Exploration Call

We begin with a brief, 20-minute video or phone consultation to understand the vision for your group.

There is no need to have a definitive plan in place just yet.

On this casual call, we will discuss your group’s size, your interests, and what you want the weekend to feel like.

While traditional game shooting follows a distinct seasonal window, the Iberian countryside is spectacular year-round.

We will help you explore the timeline and options that fit your group’s schedule and intended investment, no matter the month.

2. Designing Your Bespoke Itinerary

Once we establish the vision, we dive into the exclusive planning phase. We make direct inquiries across our private network of estate owners, keepers, and traditional venues to construct a tailored itinerary. Depending on the season you choose, your custom blueprint will center around three distinct pillars:

Bespoke Fieldsports: From traditional winter monterías and partridge shoots to year-round deer stalking and high-end clay shooting.
Iberian Lifestyle & Gastronomy: Breathtaking horse riding trails through cork forests, spectacular hot air balloon flights, traditional jamón tastings, and private estate chefs.
Flawless Logistics & Licensing: Full coordination of local sporting permits, insurance, firearm logistics, and options for on-site hosting and translation.

To begin this deep research phase and lock in private estate availability, we require a standard commitment deposit. This deposit is 100% deductible from the final cost of your journey when you book with us.

3. Seamless Coordination & Hosting

After you approve the custom itinerary, you can leave the heavy lifting to us. We secure the permits, finalize the properties, and coordinate the entire schedule so everything is seamless before you even board the plane.

When your group arrives in the Iberian sunshine, you simply step into the slow lane. Depending entirely on our current travel schedule and regional availability, we always love to join our groups on-site whenever possible for personal hosting, translation, and local introductions. Should our commitments keep us elsewhere, our trusted, hand-picked local team will be on hand to look after you and ensure total peace of mind throughout your stay.

Investment & Travel Planning

A Journey Tailored to Your Investment
Because every group is entirely unique, we do not believe in one-size-fits-all packages.

Whether your vision demands an exclusive weekend reservation on a private finca with a dedicated chef, or on the other hand…

A rustic, traditional country sporting weekend centered around a hand picked truism rural and local village hospitality….

We design each itinerary to sit comfortably within your group’s intended price range.

The options for experiencing different types of country sport are vairied.

Over our years in the Iberian countryside, we have built relationships across the entire spectrum of rural life—meaning we know exactly where the true value lies.

We are partners in life as well as in this business. When we look back at our childhoods and compare our lives before we met, it is fascinating to see how rural life in two entirely different countries can be so deeply similar, yet so beautifully distinct. This shared curiosity, and our lifelong love for the countryside, is the very heartbeat of Slow Lane Spain.

We are Heather and Manuel and we look forward to welcoming you.

Heather

My childhood on a farm along the Welsh borders was shaped by the rhythm of rural life; muddy wellies, the comforting smell of saddle soap, and loading up horses on freezing winter mornings. I remember my dad towing our battered Land Rover and the trusty Ifor Williams trailer, and those often cold days in the field before the long hack home, sometimes alone, sometimes navigating miles across country as the winter light faded.

To me, the true luxury of country life is the precious privilege of repeating the experiences of generations before us, and passing that deep connection down. My own children grew up with ponies and a slightly newer version of that same trailer. Even though their hobbies have evolved, a childhood rooted in the soil shapes how you see the world.

As partner in a rural tourism business and farm back in Wales, the countryside is more than a backdrop to me. Being able to help fellow fieldsport, equestrian, and country life enthusiasts experience these timeless traditions here in the breathtaking landscapes of Spain and Portugal is an absolute privilege. I can’t wait to open the gates for you.

Manuel

The Iberian countryside has been my home. My father was deeply passionate about hunting, and I have had a gun in my hand since I was little more than a toddler. My childhood was split between traditional Seville, our family village in the beautiful Sierra de Aracena, and unforgettable holidays spent on a vast estate near the Portuguese border. My family and a group of friends rented the estate for the joy of hunting the land together.

It sounds like something from a bygone era, but these timeless experiences live on through a shared love of traditional country sports—and we love to share them with our guests today.

I still vividly remember winter evenings roasting wild pine cones over the great open fire in the estate’s main house, waiting for them to pop open and drop their warm, toasted pine nuts. Over the years, I have had the good fortune to hunt at many traditional fincas across Andalucía, a lifelong passion that has never waned

Growing up I spent a couple of summers learning English in rural Devon and Surrey, and later studied at the University of Wisconsin. Since the 1990s, I have run a business in Seville, with many of my clients having rural businesses. This blend of business and passion has given me a trusted network of local contacts across the countryside and I look forward to introducing you to them.

Where will your journey begin?

Fly into Seville, Faro, Lisbon or Málaga and we'll help you plan your journey from there.

Your Journey to a traditional Landscape

Give us a call or send a message. Your journey starts here.

Call on +44 7801 335118
Email contact@slowlanespain.com
WhatsApp +351 925 616 222

Waiting to be discovered....

The Insider Track on Iberian Country Style

Because the details matter.

Bringing Iberian Country Style Home

For true lovers of rural heritage, the connection to a journey doesn’t end when you board the plane home. The traditional country houses and fincas of Spain and Portugal are famous for their distinctive sporting aesthetic—defined by centuries-old traditions of exquisite taxidermy and beautifully mounted antler wall plaques.

If your group appreciates this classic country style, we can provide the ultimate insider track. Whether you are looking to source authentic, hand-crafted Spanish antler plaques to elevate your own home or shoot room, or you require expert guidance on the logistics of traditional taxidermy after a successful stalk, we connect you directly with the most respected local artisans and specialists in the region.

And keep in mind that we can point you in the right direction for country clothing, equestrian and country sport equipment stores and suppliers in case you fancy a shop of shopping to conclude your journey.

Beyond Group Travel – Bespoke Couples’ Escapes

While our primary focus is creating unforgettable itineraries for private groups and landmark celebrations, the gates of the Iberian countryside are equally open to couples.

If you and your partner are seeking a highly tailored, immersive country sport getaway, we can design an exclusive itinerary just for two. From a private, romantic hot air balloon flight over ancient cork forests to an intimate mountain stalk or a custom equestrian trail culminating in a private vineyard tasting, we ensure a couples’ escape feels deeply personal, authentic, and entirely set to your own pace.

Off the Beaten Track & Extended Journeys

Beyond the Horizon: The Unspoiled West

For those who wish to truly lose themselves in the rhythm of the Iberian peninsula, the rewards of a longer journey are profound. While many standard sporting offers focus heavily on the northern mountains, the deep cultural heritage and rugged beauty of the west are frequently overlooked.

There are corners of this landscape we would love to show you that only reveal themselves when you have the time to linger. This includes the wild, ancient mountains of Extremadura and the dramatic peaks of the Serra da Estrela just across the Portuguese border.

This region—stretching up toward the historic province of Salamanca—remains deeply, unapologetically traditional. Salamanca itself is often called the Oxford of Spain, famous for its magnificent golden-stone university and historic heart. Yet, its truest charm appears outside the summer tourist season. As the air cools, the city’s historic bars and restaurants fill with a stylish, sophisticated rural set who have driven into town from their family estates in the surrounding countryside. In Spain, the connection between the city and the great estates is seamless and vibrant—and it is a world we are waiting to introduce you to.

..

NOT JUST ANOTHER WEEKEND AWAY...

Immersive Field, Stable, and Vineyard Celebrations.

Tailor-made getaways across Spain & Portugal for fieldsport enthusiasts, equestrians, and country lifestyle lovers.

No sticky nightclub floors or morning after regrets….

We will organise a getaway or celebration that is totally your cup of Earl Grey.

You know your group.

you understand the sort of getaway that will feel right.