Properties there are expensive though. The cost per square metre is the same as prime property in Barcelona at about £3,500 or more, despite its inaccessibility. It is a four-hour drive to Barcelona, Madrid or San Sebastian. At peak times you can find yourself in a mountain traffic jam seven miles long both ways. According to Mark Stucklin from Spanish Property Insight, prices in the resort are inflated. “But this is where Madrid’s pijos (posh set) come and everybody wants to be here. In addition, the skiing is very serious,” he says. One-bedroom apartments in the Baqueira resort start at about £95,000.

The ski resorts in the east of the Catalan Pyrenees have the advantage of being close to Barcelona and Gerona. Vallter 2000 is a small resort in the Ripolles, probably not a place to go for a week, but with enough skiing to keep most visitors happy for at least a weekend. However, buying property in the resort is not an option: part of its charm is that it has not been at all built up. You would have to go for a property down the mountain in Setcases, La Roca or Camprodon. Prices are not cheap, with one-bed apartments starting at £90,000, going up to £165,000 for three bedrooms. A four-bedroom house with garden will set you back about £290,000, according to Dani Rodriguez from local agency Finques Camprodon.

Another option if you’re seeking a skiing property in Spain is the Iberian mountain range that runs parallel to the Mediterranean coast, where you will find Javalambre and Valdelinares in Teruel. These resorts are one and a half hours away from Valencia airport. Costa del Azahar is less than two hours away by car and the region offers beautiful countryside.

Eric and Jan Wright, keen skiers and walkers, moved to the region seven years ago, buying an old flour mill three miles outside the village of Cabra de Mora. “We had lived on the coast for several years before we came here,” says Jan. “It just became too crowded. Luckily we’d had the foresight to buy this place eight years before we actually made the move.”

They paid £7,000 15 years ago for the old mill, which they have renovated and turned into a three-bedroom house. Jan doesn’t know what it would be worth now. “But if location counts for everything, it’s worth a bomb,” she says. “The mountains here are glorious. I got so fed up with cacti and dust on the coast. I missed cowslips. Also it is perfect for our business.” Eric and Jan run walking holidays. “A lot of the people who want to walk are retired. The terrain on the coast was just a bit too rugged for them.”

Properties are more expensive than when Eric and Jan bought but Teruel is still one of the cheapest regions in Spain. You can pick up small town and country properties that need substantial work from £14,000. For between £35,000 and £70,000 you will find a good choice of properties that need some work and anything above £70,000 should be completely habitable, according to Raquel Jarque from Mundo Rural Teruel. “There is lots of interest from Brits,” she says. “They are mainly looking for properties in small towns or the countryside.”

Although Spain is not the most obvious choice for a skiing property, it has a lot to offer, both in terms of locations and prices. And if you get bored of the slopes, many of the resorts are close to the sea so you can pack your bikini and your salopettes. Not bad for a winter holiday.

• Spanish Property Insight, 00 34 687 721 131, www.spanishpropertyinsight.com ; Mundo Rural Teruel, 00 34 978 608 878, www.mundoruralteruel.com; Property Net Spain, 00 34 958 760 366, www.property-net-spain.com

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