Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Navarrenx, France

Simply gorgeous stone built country property, which was built in the 18th Century, situated in a quiet countryside setting close to Navarrenx.

Retaining many of its original features, the property comprises of a main house of 135m2 and a guest cottage of 173m2.

Situated in a tranquil location in the heart of the beautiful Bearnaise countryside, this wonderful property is ideal for anyone searching for a luxurious family home or holiday home. There is also the option of generating an income by renting out the guest cottage to holidaymakers, either as a gite or as a B&B business.

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 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, 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 of a landing, large bedroom, family bathroom and a separate WC.

Second floor: 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, dining room and a magnificent open fireplace. Behind this room is a separate kitchen with a dining area, utility room, 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 2 levels.

A larger wooden staircase in the main room leads up to a landing on the first floor, which features 3 bedrooms, a shower room and a separate WC. 2 of the bedrooms have doors out to a balcony. There is also access from the first floor to an 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 water sports on the "gave" (river), as well as numerous cultural and sporting activities 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 Bearn" 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, with several hypermarkets, a hospital, 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.

MAIN HOUSE (135m2)

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

First floor: landing (13m2); large bedroom (23m2); bathroom (6m2); WC.

Second floor: sitting room/library/study/office area (19m2 total; 4m2 Loi Carrez); adjoining bedroom (24m2 total; 7m2 Loi Carrez). NB: most of the upper floor rooms have sloping ceilings.

GUEST COTTAGE (173m2)

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

Mezzanine: bedroom (15m2).

First floor: balcony; landing (7m2) with a door out to an external wooden staircase, which goes down to the paved terrace; 2 bedrooms (9, 12m2), both with access to the balcony ; 3rd bedroom (24m2 total; 9m2 Loi Carrez); shower room (7m2); 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.

GROUNDS

The property is set in mature gardens and grounds of 6,650m2 (1.6 acres) with a wooden outbuilding of 50m2, wood-store, children's playhouse and plenty of room for installing a swimming pool, summer kitchen, 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.

POTENTIAL

Located halfway between ski resorts in the Pyrenees and beach resorts on the Cote Basque, this superb country property is absolutely perfect for a character 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 B&B 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 great for 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.

REFERENCE: 247082