Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France

Built at the beginning of the 20th century, this charming Basque farmhouse is situated in an amazing hillside location in the foothills of the Pyrénées. This super property in great condition is ideal for anybody searching for a welcoming family home or a spacious holiday home which is ready to move into straight away.

In addition, there is a delightful two-bedroom gîte set away from the farmhouse, which is very popular with tourists visiting the area and is generating a year-round income from regular holiday bookings.

You might also like to consider offering Bed and Breakfast to pilgrims who are following the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle pilgrim route into Spain, which passes through the local village (the walkers would need collecting by car). There is also a new European bridleway - the "Route d'Artagnan" - which passes through a neighbouring valley. A hilltop route joins the two valleys, making it possible for horse-riders to easily reach the farmhouse, where they can stay overnight with their horses!

The property is accessed via a country lane which snakes up into the foothills of the Pyrénées. The property is hidden from view by an ancient barn, which borders the lane NB: this barn does not belong to the property - it is a small holiday home occupied by the owners for a couple of weeks a year.

As you drive past the barn, you will see the farmhouse in front of you and a group of outbuildings, including the gîte, beyond the main building. The property's lovely wooded grounds of 11,832m², extend beyond the outbuildings and down the hillside below the farmhouse and would be ideal for keeping horses, donkeys, goats, chickens... Suspended above the hillside is a splendid decked dining terrace, which has amazing views of the valley and the surrounding mountains. There is also a paved dining terrace behind the farmhouse, which is shaded by mature plane trees.

The front door of the farmhouse opens into a large open-plan main room of about 45m² with a cosy sitting area with a fireplace and log-burner, a dining area and a kitchen area. Adjoining the kitchen area is a pantry/utility room and a separate WC.

Beyond the main room is a magnificent conservatory of about 50m² with doors out to the paved dining terrace and to the decked dining terrace. The conservatory has a formal dining area next to the kitchen, a sitting area and a spa area with a large hot tub, which is to be included in the sale. Sliding picture windows open out to the suspended decked terrace, which is the ideal spot to enjoy sunny breakfasts, long lazy lunches and romantic moonlit suppers!

From the main room, a wooden staircase leads up to the first floor of the farmhouse, which comprises three bedrooms, a family shower room and a separate WC. A fourth bedroom is situated on a mezzanine level above the first floor. This bedroom has a dressing area, storage space and sloping ceilings.

The two-bedroom gîte forms part of the outbuildings beyond the farmhouse. There is a private dining terrace at the front of the gîte and the front door opens into an open-plan main room with a wood-burning stove, a sitting area, a dining area and a kitchen. There is also a shower room and a separate WC.

A wooden staircase in the main room leads up to a mezzanine level with two adjoining loft-style bedrooms with sloping ceilings.

The outbuildings are either side of the gîte and comprise an open-sided barn used for covered parking and lockable garage on one side and two more lockable garages and a small open barn for animals on the other side.

Most of the delightful wooded grounds are sloping, but the flat land adjoining the buildings might be suitable for installing a small above-ground swimming pool, a summer kitchen, a children's play area, a boules piste...

The property is close to the town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Basse-Navarre province of the French Basque Country. The coastal resorts of Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz are about 70 minutes away to the west; the main ski resorts are about 60 minutes away to the east; Spain is just minutes away and is easily accessible from the local village.

The inland Basque Country is a true delight - rolling hills and open fields dotted with pretty white farmhouses with red or green shutters. The fields are often grazed by sheep, which are milked twice a day - and the milk is then used to make cheese called "brebis". Other famous local delicacies are Bayonne ham, red piments (chilli peppers), Gâteau Basque and dark cherry jam to eat with the brebis cheese!

THE FARMHOUSE (173m²)

Ground floor:
- a suspended south-east-facing decked dining terrace (23m²) with amazing views
- a shady south-east facing dining terrace
- an open-plan sitting room/dining room/kitchen (53m²) with a log-burner and access to the conservatory
- an adjacent pantry/utility room
- a huge conservatory (50m²) with a hot tub, a wood-burning stove, a sitting area, a formal dining area and sliding picture windows out to the decked dining terrace
- a WC

First floor:
- three bedrooms
- a shower room
- a WC

Mezzanine floor:
- a spacious loft-style bedroom with storage space and sloping ceilings


THE GÎTE (60m²)

Ground floor:
- a private terrace
- an open-plan sitting room/dining room/kitchen with a wood-burning stove (44m²)
- a shower room
- a WC

Mezzanine floor:
- two loft-style bedrooms with sloping ceilings


THE GROUNDS AND THE OUTBUILDINGS

- extensive hillside grounds and woodland of 11,832m², ideal for horses, donkeys, goats...
- an open-sided barn used for covered parking
- three lockable garages
- small open barn for animals


THE POTENTIAL!

This traditional, detached Basque farmhouse is absolutely ideal to use as a family home or as a holiday home. There is also a two-bedroom gîte, which is booked out for most of the year. Both the farmhouse and the gîte are ideal for renting out to holidaymakers - or even to rent out long-term as investment properties.

Alternatively, you might like to use bedrooms in the farmhouse or gîte for welcoming Bed and Breakfast guests - and with so many tourists visiting this area all year round, the business potential is huge, especially during the summer months, the skiing season and for Christmas and New Year.

You might also like to consider accommodating pilgrims following the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle pilgrim route into Spain (they would need to be collected from the local village)... or even horse riders - and their horses! - following the European bridleway, the "Route d'Artagnan", which passes close by in the Spanish Pyrénées

If you are tempted to provide more than just breakfast to your overnight guests, you could consider offering hearty suppers, pub lunches, afternoon teas... You could even provide luxurious picnic lunches for departing guests and packed full of scrummy Basque delicacies!


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Telephone + cable internet connection
Double glazing
Hot tub
Heating: heat pump + electric radiators + wood-burning stoves
Mains water
Septic tank


THE LOCAL AREA

Close to Atlantic beach resorts, Pyrénées ski resorts and to Spain, St-Jean-Pied-de-Port is an extremely popular place both to live and to visit for sightseeing and holidays. The town has many amenities, which include a swimming pool, a cinema, excellent schools, buses to St-Palais and trains to Bayonne on the coast. As well as food and craft fairs throughout the high season, the town has a large outdoor market every Monday morning, along with a smaller market for local crafts and gastronomic specialities every Thursday.

St-Jean-Pied-de-Port is famous as the gathering point for pilgrims following the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, both for those about to start the pilgrimage and for those who are arriving from other areas of France or Europe. The town is the final resting place before pilgrims start to climb the steep hills of the Pyrénées towards the Spanish border. The "Pied-de-Port" part of the town’s name means the "foot of the pass", which refers to the "Roncevaux Pass" where pilgrims finally cross over into Spain.

Airports: Biarritz, Pau, Tarbes-Lourdes
Train: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Bayonne
Coach: Biarritz, Bayonne, Pau
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...
Ski: Iraty, Issarbe, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Artouste, Gourette, Val-d’Azun, Somport, Candanchú (Spain)...

Attractions: Le Train de La Rhune, Grottes de Sare, Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte, Aqua Béarn, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Parc'Ours, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Route d'Artagnan...