Portugal's Atlantic coast has beautiful beaches, traditional townscapes and authentic food - and it's only half the price of the Algarve. Jenny Knight reports

Lovers of the real Portugal - where people still use donkeys, and old ladies wear black dresses and knee-high stockings - are buying on the silver coast, but they are tormented by conflicting desires.

They want to double their money as the stretch of coast running north of Lisbon to just above Nazare becomes better known and more developed, but they desperately hope that the authentic Portuguese experience won't be destroyed at the same time.

In the high season of July and August, when temperatures rocket, the beaches are filled with sunbathing Portuguese, glistening like sardines packed in oil, but at other times you can walk for miles with the sound of the Atlantic breakers in your ears and hardly meet another person.