The area remains largely unspoiled and affordable, however. The Murcia region is popular with Spanish holidaymakers but until recently stayed undiscovered by foreign buyers.

Now several golf courses and low-rise housing developments are being built. A shortage of land for development between Mar Menor, Spain's largest inland sea, and the hills behind, is pushing up prices.

Much of the area is a national park, which prevents further building. Other factors include the growth of low-cost airlines to Murcia's San Javier airport, and the new coastal motorway, cutting the journey time from Alicante to an hour.

La Manga has three coastlines, the Mar Menor, the white sandy beaches along the La Manga strip and the rugged coastline around the Cabo de Palos, famous for scuba diving.

Aguilas

Traditional fishing villages can be found along the shores of Mar Menor, and inland among cotton fields, the business is farming, not tourism.

The seriously rich are buying homes at the l,400 acre La Manga Club, with its fantastic sports facilities, 25 minutes' drive from Murcia airport.

There are three 18 hole golf courses, seven football pitches (used for training by all the European football leagues), cricket grounds, pitch and putt and tennis and squash courts.

There are also 26 restaurants, an international school, a casino and the five-star Hyatt Regency Hotel.