Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Navarrenx, France

Gorgeous and spacious hilltop hideaway overlooking the Pyrenees, set in over 7 acres.

This charming country house in the Bearn is set in nearly three hectares of land with meadows and woodland, with a main house of about 230m2, a self-contained gite/guest apartment of about 50m2, a fantastic south-facing terrace and amazing panoramic views of the Pyrenees.

With the closest neighbour about 200 metres away, the house is completely private and a veritable haven of peace and tranquillity.

The property is approached along a private drive, which leads up to a parking area and to a garage, which is on the corner of the building between the gite/guest apartment and a gym/games room.

A door from the garage opens into the gym/games room, from where you can access both the ground floor and first floor of the main house, as well as the gite/guest apartment via a lockable door.

From the parking area, stone steps lead up to the front door of the main house, which opens into a sunny sitting room/dining room. There are French doors out to the garden on three sides of the room, making it feel light and airy - and during the cooler months, the Godin wood-burning stove and heat-retaining wall keep it warm and cosy.

Beyond the sitting room/dining room is a fabulous kitchen, which overlooks the garden - and adjacent to the kitchen, French doors open out to a south-facing terrace, perfect to dine alfresco whilst enjoyng magnificent views of the Pyrenees.

Opposite the kitchen is a utility room with a walk-in pantry and a door into the huge gym/games room (50m2), which has a staircase up to the first floor, a door into the adjoining garage and a lockable door into gite/guest apartment.

From the sitting room/dining room, a wooden staircase leads up to the west-facing wing of the first floor, which comprises a master bedroom with an adjacent dressing room (which could be converted into a shower room), a second bedroom and a shower room with a WC.

A corridor leads to a mezzanine area, which could be used as an office/library/games room. The mezzanine is also accessible via a staircase from the gym/games room on the ground floor.

Beyond the mezzanine area are the rooms in the south-facing wing: three bedrooms (the smallest of which could be converted into an additional bathroom), a shower room and a separate WC.

There is also a small private terrace at the far end of the building.

The gite/guest apartment is on the ground floor of the south-facing wing and is accessible via a path from the parking area, ensuring complete privacy for the main house.

The gite has a small conservatory, a sitting room/dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a shower room and a separate WC. (NB: the gite is also accessible via a lockable door in the gym/games room. )

Outside, the grounds of 29,480m2 include meadows and forest. In addition, part of it borders a small river, which is ideal if you hope to use the land for keeping horses, donkeys and other animals.

There is also an orchard planted with fruit trees of many different types, a pond, a large barn and ample space for a swimming pool, summer kitchen, children's play area, boules piste, treehouse for children in the forest etc.

NB: the B & A energy efficiency rating for this property (and the building materials used) is excellent: low electricity consumption + all firewood needed is from trees on the land (5m3/year).

The property is a 5-minute drive/10-minute cycle from villages with bar-bistros and small grocery shops.

The nearby towns of Navarrenx and Sauveterre-de-Bearn (10 - 15 minutes) both have a great choice of shops, boutiques and lively bars and restaurants, along with watersports on the "Gave" (river).

The school bus picks up school children from the end of the lane. There are many excellent schools in the area - and Navarrenx even has a bilingual school (French/English). The "International School of Bearn" in Pau, which teaches the English curriculum, is just 45 minutes away.

THE HOUSE (230m2) Ground floor: - a south-facing dining terrace with wonderful views of the Pyrenees - a sitting room/dining room (57m2) with a Godin wood-burning stove, French doors out to the garden and a staircase up to the first floor - a top-of-the-range kitchen with a Dekton worktop (11m2) - a utility room with an adjoining pantry and access to the gym/games room - a gym/games room (50m2) with a door into the garage, a lockable door into the gite/guest apartment and a staircase up to the first floor - a WC - a garage/workshop (44m2) First floor, west-facing wing: - a master bedroom (18m2) - an adjacent dressing room, which could be converted into a shower room (6m2) - a second bedroom (12m2) - a shower room with WC (4m2) - a mezzanine area/office area/games room (15m2) with access to the rooms in the south-facing wing and a staircase down to the gym/games room on the ground floor First floor, south-facing wing: - a small terrace - three bedrooms, the smallest of which could be converted into a shower room (25m2, 15m2, 10m2) - a shower room (10m2) - a separate WC NB: some rooms on the first floor have sloping ceilings

THE GITE/GUEST APARTMENT (50m2) - a conservatory - a sitting room/dining room (23m2) - a kitchen (10m2) - a bedroom (9.5m2) - a shower room (2.5m2) - a separate WC

THE GROUNDS - a private drive - a south-facing dining terrace with a pergola and delightful views of the Pyrenees - a pond - a large barn (approximately 200m2) - land of 29,480m2, which includes an orchard, an area of woodland/forest and access to a small river - ample flat land for a swimming pool (permission required), summer kitchen, children's play area, boules piste.

THE POTENTIAL. Ideal for a wonderful family home or a chic holiday home, this splendid country house is ready to move into straight away. In addition, the property already has a self-contained gite/guest apartment, which is perfect for accommodating tourists for self-catering holidays or B&B. The gite would also be perfect for a teenager/young adult to use as a bedroom suite - or for grandparents to use as a "granny flat", especially since all the rooms are on the ground floor. If you have children, the school bus will pick them up from the end of the lane. The nearby town of Navarrenx has a bilingual school (French/English) - and many of the area's excellent secondary schools offer specialist studies in theatre, music, dance, sports and even horse-riding.

If you commute to work, Orthez, Oloron-Ste-Marie, Bayonne and Pau are all easily accessible from the property. If you work from home, the ground-floor gym/games room would be ideal for an office, as would the gite/guest apartment. Both the Bearn and the Basque-Country are hugely popular with tourists all year round, so you should be able to start generating an income by renting out the gite as soon as you move in. You could also temporarily move into the gite yourselves during the summer months and skiing season, so that the main house could be rented out to larger groups of holidaymakers. The addition of a swimming pool would definitely be an added attraction (permission required). Along with gite accommodation, there is a huge demand for Bed & Breakfast accommodation throughout the area, so you could use the gite or one or more of the first-floor bedrooms for hosting B&B guests, especially if you create one or two more shower rooms (the first-floor dressing room and/or smallest bedroom). There is likely to be year-round business from walkers, cyclists and motorcyclists exploring the Pyrenees - and even from horse-riders following the trans-European "Route d'Artagnan" bridleway, which passes at the end of the lane. They will be especially delighted to find stylish B&B accommodation where horses are welcome. As well as providing delicious breakfasts for your overnight guests, you could also offer afternoon teas and evening meals on the superb south-facing terrace. and even gourmet picnic lunch hampers, which you could fill with mouthwatering Basque and Bearnaise delicacies. SERVICES & TECHNICAL Telephone + cable internet connection Double glazing DPE (energy efficiency rating): B & A Heating: reversible air conditioning + wood-burning stove (Godin, 17kW) + mud-brick heat-retaining wall in the main room Mains water Septic tank (works required) Pond

THE LOCAL AREA This wonderful country house is located in the beautiful Bearn in South-West France. It is not far from the Atlantic coast, the Pyrenees, Pau, Lourdes and the Basque Country - and the vibrant cities of Bordeaux, Toulouse, San-Sebastian and Bilbao are all within easy reach. Popular with tourists all year round for hiking, mountain-biking, white-water rafting and fishing, the Bearn also has numerous ski resorts just over an hour away to the south, where you can go downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow-shoeing. For those who prefer beach-based activities, the Atlantic coast is less than an hour away to the west, where you can swim, surf and picnic by the sea at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor. If your interests are gastronomic, there are pretty villages with bar-bistros just a 10-minute cycle ride away, along with numerous bars and restaurants in the super riverside town of Navarrenx.

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, Eaux-Bonnes, Gourette, Candanchu (Spain).

Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor.

Attractions: Golf de Salies-de-Bearn, Thermal Spas, Casino, Base de Loisirs d'Orthez-Biron, Aqua Bearn, Le Petite Train d'Artouste, Parc'Ours, Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya, Grottes de Betharram, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Route d'Artagnan bridleway.

REFERENCE: 251439