Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Laruns, France

Built in 1850, this stylish country property is currently divided into two self-contained houses - one with four bedrooms, the other with three bedrooms. NB: interior doorways between the two houses still exist, so only minimal works would be required to restore the property to its original layout with seven bedrooms.

Situated in a tranquil village in the foothills of the Pyrénées, this wonderful property is ideal for anyone searching for a comfortable family home or holiday home with seven or eight bedrooms. You also have the option of generating an income by renting out half the house as either a 4-bedroom gîte or a 3-bedroom gîte - or up to 5 bedrooms in the whole house to B&B guests. The property is also perfect for anyone who works from home.

From the road, a private drive leads up to the front of the house and to a private parking area for several cars. Both the 4-bedroom house and the 3-bedroom house have private entrances, which are accessible from the parking area. The 3-bedroom house also has a private entrance at the back of the property. Please note that the 4-bedroom house adjoins the barn of a neighbouring property but is separated from it by a high hedge. The house is not overlooked by neighbouring properties.

The front door of the 4-bedroom house opens into a large open-plan main room with a sitting area, a dining area and a kitchen area. The room has a lovely open fireplace and French doors opening out to the front garden and barbecue area. Adjoining this room is a utility room and a WC.

A wooden staircase at the back of the main room leads up to the first and second floors. The first floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom; the second floor has two bedrooms and a shower room.

From the parking area, the front door of the 3-bedroom house opens into a workshop/utility room, which could easily be transformed into a self-contained B&B bedroom with an en suite shower room, therefore creating an eighth bedroom for the property.

A wooden staircase leads up to a landing on the first floor, which has a door out to a small covered balcony. A couple of stone steps at the side of the balcony lead down into the gardens at the back of the property.

From the landing, doors open into a light and airy main room with a sitting area with a wood-burning stove, a dining area and a kitchen area. Also on this floor is a bedroom (currently used as an office), a bathroom and a storage room.

The second floor comprises two bedrooms and a shower room. Please note that the second-floor rooms in both houses have sloping ceilings.

The property is set in delightful hillside gardens of 1,302m² with a stream crossed by a bridge, an outbuilding of 25m² and several areas for dining alfresco...

Situated in the Vallée d'Ossau in the Béarn and 5 minutes away from a small town with a good choice of shops and amenities, there are always things to see and do in this delightful area...

For mountain lovers, there are several ski resorts 20 - 30 minutes away in the Pyrénées. If you prefer watersports, there are numerous lakes and rivers to explore, along with beach resorts on the Atlantic coast, which are perfect for surfers and for family days out.

THE 4-BEDROOM HOUSE (approx. 150m²; semi-detached with the barn of a neighbouring property)

Ground floor:
- a huge open-plan main room with a sitting area with a large open fireplace, a dining area and a kitchen area
- a utility room
- a WC

First floor:
- two bedrooms
- a bathroom

Second floor:
- two bedrooms
- a shower room

NB: the upper floor rooms have sloping ceilings


THE 3-BEDROOM HOUSE (approx. 110m²)

Ground floor:
- a spacious room used as a workshop/utility room but could be converted into a bedroom suite

First floor:
- a large open-plan main room with a sitting area with a wood-burning stove, a dining area and a kitchen area
- a bedroom
- a bathroom
- a storage room

Second floor:
- two bedrooms
- a shower room

NB: most of the upper floor rooms have sloping ceilings


THE GARDENS

This lovely country house is set in a mature hillside garden of 1,302m² crossed by a stream. The 4-bedroom house has access to a garden with barbecue area at the front of the property; the 3-bedroom house has a door out to the garden at the back of the property.

There are outdoor dining areas at the front, side and the back of the property where you can enjoy sunny breakfasts, long lazy lunches and romantic moonlit suppers against a stunning backdrop of the Pyrénées!

To the side of the house, a bridge crosses the stream and leads to a small outbuilding of 25m² where you can store bicycles and garden equipment. Beyond the outbuilding is an additional piece of garden, which could be an ideal spot for installing a swimming pool, if desired (planning permission required), along with a summer kitchen, a children's play area, a boules piste...


THE POTENTIAL!

This charming country house has huge potential, most notably for the flexibility of its layout. By combining the 4-bedroom house and 3-bedroom house, the new owners could create one huge family home or holiday home of 262m² with seven or eight bedrooms, ensuring that you will have plenty of room to accommodate your friends and family whenever they come to visit. The property would also be ideal for an extended family where you can all live together... but in two self-contained houses!

The property is within easy commuting distance of Nay (30 minutes), Oloron-Ste-Marie (35 minutes), Pau (40 minutes) and Lourdes (60 minutes) - and for anyone who works from home, the ground-floor room in the 3-bedroom house would be ideal to use as an office or consulting room, especially since it has a private entrance.

The current owners live in the 3-bedroom house and rent out the 4-bedroom house as a gîte. It would, of course, be possible to use the 3-bedroom house as a gîte instead... or to rent out the whole 7-bedroom house as a "gîte de groupe" to accommodate groups of up to 15 people.

If you are hoping to offer B&B accommodation, you can use up to five of the seven bedrooms in the property or B&B guests. In addition, the ground-floor workshop/utility room in the 3-bedroom house is an ideal size for creating a luxurious B&B bedroom and en suite shower room, which would also benefit from having its own private entrance.

The installation of a swimming pool would definitely increase demand from B&B and gîte guests, 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 + cable internet available
Double glazing throughout
Electricity
Heating: open fireplace + wood-burning stove + energy-efficient electric convector heaters
Mains water
Mains drainage
Stream


LOCAL AREA

This lovely country house is located in the beautiful Béarn in South-West France, with easy access to the Pyrénées, the Atlantic coast, Pau and Lourdes. There is a village with a boulangerie, grocery shop and bar-bistros just 6 minutes away from the property - and the nearby town of Laruns (7 minutes) has a great choice of larger shops and amenities, as well as a weekly market every Saturday morning and evening markets during the summer.

The property is overlooks a village in the popular Vallée d’Ossau, which extends up to the Spanish border. The city of Pau is just 40 minutes away by car; TotalEnergies and the International School of Béarn are about 50 minutes away. There are regular buses to and from Pau from the village - and during the skiing season, the bus continues up to ski resorts in the Pyrénées...

... you can ski at nearby Eaux-Bonnes/Gourette and Artouste. Artouste also has a small open train, which takes you high up into the mountains. For walkers, the GR10 is accessible at Gourette - and it is possible to follow the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle from Arudy or Sévignacq-Meyracq, joining fellow pilgrims making their way to the Medieval market town of Oloron-Ste-Marie and then on into Spain.

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

Ski: Eaux-Bonnes, Gourette, Artouste, Issarbe, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Val-d’Azun...
Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

Attractions: Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Grottes de Bétharram, Aqua Béarn, Parc’Ours, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle…