YOU simply never know which celebrity you're likely to rub shoulders with when you go walkabout on the Algarve.

Portugal's prime tourist region is home to a host of A-list celebrities - and within an hour of touching down at Faro airport I'd been given a seemingly endless run-down of who lives where.

Madonna, footballer Paul Scholes and Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello all have their very own private places in the sun here, while Sir Cliff Richard boasts his own vineyard and winery just outside Albufeira.

There are many reasons why the Algarve attracts a glittering mass of big-name residents.

For a start, the region averages 3,000 hours of sunshine a year and remains unspoiled by the high-rises and over-developments that mar much of the Costa Del Concrete coastline of neigh-bouring Spain.

Then there is the exotic wildlife - and bird life in particular - with pine groves along the coast that are hugely popular with British twitchers on the trail of flamingos and azure-winged magpies.

Then there's the golf. If you really want to rub shoulders with celebrities, your chances will be vastly enhanced if you swing a club at one of the thoroughbred courses on Portugal's Atlantic coast.

From its beginnings as a golf destination in the mid-1960s, the Algarve has developed slowly but surely and golfers can now put their skills to the test at almost 30 courses with the knowledge that another 20 are in the pipeline.

And the subtle development has been facilitated by a quantum leap in the area's communications network. For example, the A22 motorway has cut journey times from Faro by more than one-third.

Back in the 1970s, it would have taken almost four hours to cover the 120km westwards from the airport to the golfing resort of Parque da Floresta, nestling in the Costa Vincentina Nature Reserve in the shadow of the Monchique mountains.

Parque da Floresta boasts one of the Algarve's most challenging 18-hole courses and offers tennis and bowling facilities with horse riding arranged at the neighbouring nature reserve.

There are 500 properties on the development - one of seven operated by the Vigia group in the Western Algarve - and around 85 per cent are UK-owned.

The Algarve attracts almost 12 million tourists each year and a couple of years ago was voted the best place in the world to buy an overseas property by viewers of Channel 4's A Place in the Sun show.

The Algarve boasts a selection of water parks, while deep-sea game fishing has become a well-established favourite with a fleet of Florida-style "fighting chair" boats operating out of the port of Lagos.

Lagos itself dates back to well before Roman times, but today it boasts a modern marina. It was from the town's ancient harbour that Vasco da Gama set out in 1499 on his epic voyage of discovery to Brazil.

Today the harbour is home to a full-size replica of Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, which regularly plies its way to Portugal's Atlantic flower-filled outpost of Madeira.

A number of ancient buildings remain as a testament to the historic importance of Lagos - notably its historic fort and slave market.

The ghosts of the slave trade are long gone and today the site offers the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful al fresco meal in the rooftop Estrella do Mar restaurant where I indulged on sea-fresh gambas and turbot.

Don Sebastião on the Rua 25 de Abril is another speciality fish restaurant offering an unforgettable range of red snapper, bream and sea bass straight from the ocean - as well as an unrivalled Port cellar.

If you want the ambience to continue into the small hours, you couldn't find a better place to round off a memorable night than Stevie Ray's Blues Jazz Bar on the Rua Senhora da Graça.

And you know something? I didn't see one celebrity!

For more information on Portugal, call 0207-367-0925, or log on to www.visit portugal.com.

For further information about buying property in the Algarve contact Vigia: www.vigia group.com; Oceanico: www.oceanico developments.

com; Rio Laranja: www. valedoliveiras.

.com.