Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Navarrenx, France

Built in the 18th century and retaining many of its original features, this gorgeous country property comprises a main house of 135m² and a guest cottage of 173m². Situated in a tranquil location in the heart of the beautiful Béarnaise countryside, this wonderful property is ideal for anyone searching for a luxurious family home or holiday home. You also have the option of generating an income by renting out the guest cottage to holidaymakers, either as a gîte or for B&B.

The main house and the guest cottage are set either side of a paved terrace, which overlooks delightful mature gardens of 6,650m². A little river on one side of the grounds is crossed by a romantic wooden bridge à la Monet - and there is a wooden outbuilding of about 50m² at the far end of the land, along with a children's playhouse.

From the terrace, the front door of the main house opens into a huge open-plan main room with a sitting area, a dining room and a kitchen area. The room has a lovely open fireplace and a working bread oven!

From the main room, a corridor leads round to a bedroom, which has super views of the garden. A shower room with an Italian-style shower and a separate WC are also accessible from the corridor.

From the main room, a beautiful wooden staircase leads up to the first floor, which comprises a landing, a large bedroom, a family bathroom and a separate WC.

The second floor comprises a bedroom and a landing, which can be used as a small sitting room/library/study area.

A lovely arched front door opens into the main room of the guest cottage. The room has a sitting area, a dining room and a magnificent open fireplace. Behind this room is a separate kitchen with a dining area, a utility room, a bedroom and a bathroom with a WC.

A small staircase next to the ground-floor bathroom leads up to a bedroom with sleeping areas on two levels.

A larger wooden staircase in the main room leads up to a landing on the first floor. The first floor comprises three bedrooms, a shower room and a separate WC. Two of the bedrooms have doors out to a balcony. There is also access from the first floor to unconverted loft space (26m²), which could be transformed into more accommodation, if desired.

From the landing, a door opens out to an external wooden staircase, which leads down to the terrace and grounds.

The pretty bastide town of Navarrenx nearby is very popular with visitors all year round. There are exciting watersports on the "gave" (river), as well as numerous cultural and sporting activities for you to get involved in throughout the year. The town also has a great choice of lively bars and restaurants, shops and boutiques - and there is even a bilingual school (French/English). The "International School of Béarn" in Pau, which teaches the English curriculum, is just 40 minutes away from the property.

The Medieval market town of Oloron-Ste-Marie is also easily accessible, where you will find several hypermarkets, a hospital, a theatre and a twice-weekly farmers’ market. Pyrenean ski resorts are just over an hour away to the south - and the surfing and family beaches on the Atlantic coast are about an hour away to the west.

THE MAIN HOUSE (135m²)

Ground floor:
- a huge open-plan main room (45m²) with a sitting area, a dining room, a kitchen area, an open fireplace and a working bread oven
- a bedroom (27m²) with access to the garden
- a shower room (4m²) with an Italian-style shower
- a WC
- a utility/boiler room (5m²) accessible from outside

First floor:
- a landing (13m²)
- a large bedroom (23m²)
- a bathroom (6m²)
- a WC

Second floor:
- a sitting room/library/study/office area (19m² total; 4m² Loi Carrez)
- an adjoining bedroom (24m² total; 7m² Loi Carrez)

NB: most of the upper floor rooms have sloping ceilings


THE GUEST COTTAGE (173m²)

Ground floor:
- a spacious open-plan sitting room/dining room (59m²) with an open fireplace
- a kitchen with a dining area (13m²)
- a utility room (7m²)
- a bedroom (14m²) with access to the garden
- a bathroom with a WC (9m²)

Mezzanine:
- a bedroom (15m²)

First floor:
- a balcony
- a landing (7m²) with a door out to an external wooden staircase, which goes down to the paved terrace
- two bedrooms (9m², 12m²), both with access to the balcony
- a third bedroom (24m² total; 9m² Loi Carrez)
- a shower room (7m²)
- a WC
- access to loft space (26m² total floor area), which could provide more living space

NB: most of the upper floor rooms have sloping ceilings


THE GROUNDS

The property is set in mature gardens and grounds of 6,650m² (1.6 acres) with a wooden outbuilding of 50m², a woodstore, a children's playhouse and plenty of room for installing a swimming pool, a summer kitchen, a children's play area... The land is are crossed by a little river - and there is a lovely Monet-style wooden bridge to take you from one side to the other!

A paved terrace between the main house and the guest cottage is the perfect spot for sunny breakfasts, long lazy lunches and romantic moonlit suppers...


THE POTENTIAL!

Located halfway between ski resorts in the Pyrénées and beach resorts on the Côte Basque, this superb country property is absolutely perfect for a characterful family home or a marvellous holiday home... and you will have plenty of room in the separate guest cottage to accommodate your friends and family whenever they come to visit!

The property is within easy commuting distance of Pau (45 minutes), Mourenx (20 minutes), Orthez (20 minutes) and Oloron-Ste-Marie (30 minutes) - and for anyone who works from home, one of the ground-floor bedrooms could be used as an office or consulting room.

The guest cottage is ideal for renting out to holidaymakers or for accommodating Bed and Breakfast guests... or even pilgrims walking the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, which passes close by. The trans-European horse-riding trail - the Route d'Artagnan - is also not far away, so you may like to offer overnight stays to horse riders... and their horses!

Tourists visit this lovely area all year round - and many of them hope to find upmarket accommodation for both long stays and short stays. During the quieter months of the year, you might like to offer activity holidays to your guests, such as yoga and wellness retreats or masterclasses in painting, photography, music, gastronomy, Jurançon wine-tasting...

The installation of a swimming pool would definitely increase demand, as would the offer of evening meals. You could even consider providing picnic hampers for your guests' day trips... especially if the hampers are full of tasty Béarnaise and Basque delicacies!


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Telephone + ADSL + cable internet available
Heating: gas central heating (main house), recent electric radiators (guest cottage), open fireplaces in both houses
Hot water: gas boilers
Mains water
Septic tank (requires updating)
Pond + river


THE LOCAL AREA

This superb property is located in the beautiful Béarn in South-West France. It is not far from the Pyrénées, the Atlantic coast, Pau, Lourdes and the Basque Country - and the vibrant cities of Bordeaux, Toulouse, San-Sebastián and Bilbao are all within easy reach.

Popular with tourists all year round for hiking, mountain-biking, white-water rafting and fishing, the Béarn also has numerous ski resorts just over an hour away to the south with downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow-shoeing. For those who prefer beach-based activities, the Atlantic coast is an hour away to the west, where you can surf, swim and picnic at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

If your interests are gastronomic, there are numerous bars and restaurants in the delightful riverside town of Navarrenx. You can also enjoy exploring the many farmers' markets throughout the Béarn and nearby Basque Country where you can sample locally produced Jurançon wines, tasty Bayonne ham and fabulous Brebis, which is a cheese made using milk from sheep and eaten with black cherry jam from Itxassou!

Airports: Pau, Biarritz, Tarbes-Lourdes
Train: Orthez, Pau, Oloron-Ste-Marie
Coach: Pau, Orthez, Bayonne
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

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

Attractions: Aqua Béarn, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte, Grottes de Bétharram, Parc’Ours, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Route d'Artagnan…