Languedoc-Roussillon, Gard, Branoux-les-Taillades, France

his is a rare opportunity. The château is a thriving tourism enterprise with high quality gites and yoga retreats and great potential to develop a wedding/events business., study centre etc.

This is uniquely paired with an elegant and spacious home. It offers the real possibility for a complete lifestyle change. Alternatively, it would provide a spectacular base in one of the most unspoiled but accessible areas of France for a large family or for a business.

The château is spectacular and boasts a history that can be traced back at least 400 years. It is built of golden stone from the surrounding hills and set around a charming central courtyard. In the 1890s the château was bought by a high-ranking French diplomat who renovated and updated it adding a beautiful 'Parisian' façade and designing the park with its stately plane trees which sweep down to the river.

Arriving at the property across a little bridge over the river Gardon, you enter through iron gates and approach the château via a long gravel drive lined with lavender. This opens out into a wide, gravelled area accessing the stone paved central courtyard in which there is a pretty carved stone basin into which a spring runs. From here the park and gardens stretch down to the river laid out with lawns and established trees over a hundred years old.

The main entrance doors in the beautiful 19th Century façade face the gardens and the river. You enter via sweeping stone steps into an impressive entrance hall (18m2) with iron-balustraded stone staircase climbing to the upper floor. To the right of the hall, double doors open into the main reception room (40m2) with high, moulded ceiling and a carved marble fireplace. Tall casement windows offer views over the gardens to the river.

Adjacent to this is the newly-renovated kitchen (32m2) which is high and bright with warm, exposed stone making up one wall. Large windows look into the courtyard, along the lavender lined drive and to the pool. The extensive kitchen units are hand-built ‘British Standard’ units by 'Plain English.' The 11 metres of worktop has been handmade from polished, reconstituted stone. The kitchen is fitted with extensive top of the range appliances making this ideal for serious catering or simply for someone who loves to cook. A wood-burning stove gives the room a real ‘heart of the house’ feel.

From the kitchen, a second staircase climbs to a cosy mezzanine living area. Beyond this runs the corridor with access to four bedrooms (14m2) (9m2) (9m2) (17m2). A door at one end of the corridor opens onto the landing from which the main staircase descends. Across the landing is a family bathroom with Italian-style walk-in shower and the master bedroom (21m2) which has its own en-suite bathroom. All bedrooms offer magnificent views towards the river and are newly refurbished.

Returning to the entrance hall, opposite the doors to the main living room are matching double doors leading to a private guest accommodation which could also be used as a 6th gite. This comprises a second living area (28m2) with a small, fully-equipped kitchen (8m2) and two bedrooms (14m2). (20m2). Both bedrooms include ensuites with Italian-style walk-in showers and one opens onto a private terracotta-tiled courtyard which includes steps to an outside door offering independent access to this guest apartment.

Adjacent to the guest apartment is the largest of the five gites. ‘Les Pins’ (120m2) boasts a big open-plan living and dining area with a wood-burner set into an inglenook fireplace, fully-equipped kitchen, 4 bedrooms and 2 shower rooms with walk-in showers. Outside you find a large porch and a gravelled terrace for outside dining. Views extend across the gardens to the river.

The main house including the guest apartment, and Les Pins are all fully centrally heated.

Above Les Pins, at the southern end of the house is the beautiful roofed terrace (340m2) with balustrade and open views to the hillside, gardens and river on three sides. This terrace makes a fantastic wedding or events venue.

Leading off this, in the top of the ‘U’ of the original ancient courtyard and with its own independent access front and rear lies Les Citronniers (gite, 63m2). This comprises a large living room with American kitchen and wood–burner, double bedroom, bathroom and a mezzanine with three single beds.

Behind Les Pins on the ground floor is the large studio or gym (73m2) with steam room and sauna. This area also includes a shower room, two toilets with wash-hand basins and an extra kitchen. The studio/gym has wide windows looking out onto a rear courtyard. Adjacent is an additional room (12m2) currently used as storage.

The south-westerly arm of the building comprises three further gites; Les Tilleuls (60m2). Les Chataigniers (45m2) and Les Acacias (48m2), each with independent access. These attractive gites each have two bedrooms, living rooms with fully-equipped American kitchens and private, outside terraces. Les Tilleuls and Les Chataigniers also have wood-burning stoves.

The Chateau is part centrally heated (owners accommodation, guest apartment and Les Pins) and insulated, mains water and drainage are connected. There is high speed internet.

The château is set in six acres of land (2.4 hectares) with a swimming pool, lawns, flower beds and paddocks. surrounded by an arena of wooded hillside. For centuries it was run as a sweet chestnut farm and many of these old trees remain. A stand of centennial plane trees leads to the river Gardon where there is a sunny river beach and an 80m stretch for wild swimming.. The river is at a substantially lower level than the Château which is well above the flood zone.

The fabulous 11 x 5m swimming pool is situated in the sunniest part of the grounds and includes smaller pools and a spa. It is currently refilled every year by mountain spring water from the source which runs through the property. UVC light is used to purify the water and reduce the input of chemicals to a minimum.

This valuable and reliable water source is also used for watering the gardens. There is also large vegetable garden, polytunnel and hen house. The current owners also keep two friendly donkeys who are stabled in a separate ‘Barn’.

This is a natural paradise with a huge range of wildlife. As well as otters, beavers; badgers and genets, there hundreds of species of birds and clouds of multi-coloured butterflies, some 72 varieties!

The Château is currently run as a very successful business offering family holidays, weddings and yoga retreats. The website and figures are available on request. It would also provide a substantial and impressive home or a base for a business.