A chorus of cockerels - Anna Nicholas

Life in rural Mallorca continues to hold its magic for Anna and her family.

When not juggling work deadlines, chatting with Johnny the toad or managing her ever-growing menagerie, Anna sets off to explore the lesser-known areas of the island.

On her cultural and historic voyage of discovery, she visits fig, olive and snail farms, a textile mill, a sobrassada sausage factory and learns of Mallorca's rich literary legacy. In-between marathon training inthe Tramuntana mountains - a UNESCO world heritage site - sheis spooked when delving into the myths and Moorish legends that still seem to haunt the surrounding hills, as she examines the ancient remains of ice houses and huts of charcoal burners and hears tales of terrifying brigands thatruled the area in the seventeenth century. And she even finds time to hike the Camino de Santiago along the way