Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau, France

Elegant and beautifully restored maison de maitre in the lovely Pau countryside, dating back to the mid 17th century, with adjoining gite with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and to the Pyrenees beyond.

The property comprises a stone manor house of 210m2, an adjoining gite of 230m2, suitable for accommodating large groups/B&B, and two barns.

The buildings are set around a courtyard and form a U-shape. The three-storey manor house is used by the owners, but could also be rented out as a gite for large groups.

The ground floor comprises an entrance hall, a sitting room with a wood-burning stove and a kitchen/dining room.

Next to the kitchen is a small utility room/boiler room, which has a lockable door into the adjoining gite.

There are five bedrooms on the upper floors.

The first floor has three bedrooms, a family bathroom and a separate WC on the first floor; the second floor has a mezzanine study/library area, a bedroom with small dressing room, a guest bedroom and a shower room with a WC.

Adjoining the manor house is the superb five-bedroom gite, which used to be a barn.

Recently re-styled and redecorated by the current owners, the gite can now be used as a self-contained gite for up to 15 people or can accommodate B&B guests for shorter stays.

In addition, a beautiful open-plan kitchen has been added on the ground floor, where there is also room for groups to gather together for meals, celebrations and activities, such as yoga, wellness, art, cooking or wine-tasting.

The ground floor of the gite comprises a vast open-plan room (110m2) with a huge open fireplace, a brand-new kitchen area, a sitting area, a dining area and a games area.

Adjoining this room is a delightful covered terrace (75m2).

The terrace is equipped with a barbecue and is the perfect spot for guests to enjoy alfresco breakfasts, long lazy lunches and romantic moonlit suppers.

The first floor of the gite has a separate entrance for two of the B&B rooms, where the garden slopes up behind the building. A small terrace has been created for these guests to use.

All five of the bedrooms are spacious and sunny - and each bedroom has its own en suite shower room with a WC.

The property also has a henhouse, a small barn and a large barn, which has been partially converted.

Part of the small barn (90m2 + 90m2) can be used for covered parking. The large barn (140m2 + 140m2) has a huge storage room and a utility room/summer kitchen on the ground floor.

Upstairs, there is a completely open-plan room, which could be used for additional living space, but authorisation would be required for a change of use (already foreseen in principal by the local plan).

Outside, the wooded grounds of of over 2 acres extend beyond the buildings to the west, east and north.

At the far end of the grounds is a lovely swimming pool with a paved sun terrace - and next to the pool is a gorgeous arbour, which provides shade .

There is also a boules piste and two ponds fed by a spring.

Complete privacy is guaranteed by woodlands which enclose the grounds - and the panoramic views of the countryside and mountains are a delight.

This gorgeous property is located in the delightful Vallee d'Ossau, not far from the Pyrenean ski resorts at Eaux-Bonnes (30 - 40 minutes), Gourette, Artouste and Val d'Azun.

As well as skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing during the winter months, the resorts also have many mountain activities for visitors during the summer months.

For those who prefer watersports and the sea, the famous beach resorts on the Cote Basque, such as Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz, are about 90 minutes away.

There are also several swimming lakes with "beaches" near the property, along with exciting white-water rafting and canoeing on the area's many rivers.

THE MANOR HOUSE (210m2)

Ground floor: - an entrance hall (10m2) - a sitting room (29m2) with a wood-burning stove - a kitchen/dining room (29m2) - a small utility room/boiler room with a lockable door into the adjoining gite

First floor: - three bedrooms (17m2, 15m2, 13m2) - a family bathroom (11m2) with corner bath & walk-in shower - a WC

Second floor: - a mezzanine study/library area - a bedroom with a small dressing room (26m2) - a guest bedroom/office (17m2) - a shower room with WC (4m2)

THE ADJOINING GITE (230m2)

Ground floor: - a huge covered terrace (75m2) with a barbecue - a vast open-plan reception room (110m2) with an open fireplace, a kitchen area, a sitting area and a dining area

First floor: - a terrace (30m2) - two bedrooms (17m2, 17m2), each with en suite shower room and access to the terrace - three further bedrooms (19m2, 19m2, 17m2), each with an en suite shower room

THE OUTBUILDINGS - a henhouse - a large two-storey barn (140m2 + 140m2) - a small two-storey barn (90m2 + 90m2)

The large barn.

Ground floor: utility room/summer kitchen + huge storage room

First floor: open-plan room, which could be transformed into additional living space (authorisation required, but already foreseen in principal by the local plan)

The smallbarn.

Ground floor: covered parking + two storage rooms + animal stalls

First floor: open gallery

THE WOODLAND GROUNDS - grounds and woodland of 2 acres (8,365m2) - a swimming pool (10mx 5m) with a paved sun terrace - an arbour - a boules piste - two ponds fed by a spring - numerous fruit trees and nut trees: apples, pears, figs, kiwis, plums,hazelnuts.

This wonderful property has living space of about 440m2 (manor house + gite), making it ideal for a spacious family home or a luxurious holiday home. and with ten bedrooms to choose from, you will have plenty of room to accommodate your friends and family when they come to visit you. The property is perfectly located for anyone who works in Pau, Lourdes or Tarbes - and both

Total Energie's HQ and the International School of Bearn in Pau are just 35 minutes away.

If you work from home or need an office/consulting room for business, you might like to create office space in one of the barns, which would allow you to have a private entrance (authorisation required).

Should you wish to offer gite and B&B accommodation to holidaymakers, you can open up for business straight away, since much of the furniture in the gite will be included in the sale. You can rent out the whole gite to groups of up to 15 people. and you also have the possibility of using it for Bed & Breakfast accommodation, as each of the five bedrooms has its own en suite shower room.

In addition, two of the five bedrooms are directly accessible from the grounds, making them completely independent.

It should also be possible to create more gites in the outbuildings, if desired.

You might like to host activities and workshops for your holidaymakers, such as yoga and wellness retreats,cycling and walking tours, visits to cheesemakers and vineyards, artistic and cultural masterclasses.

When the weather is perfect, the activities and workshops could take place outside in the beautiful grounds. Should you wish to host larger events and celebrations, you will need to register as an "Etablissement recevant du public" (ERP) and conform to certain regulations.

This would, however, allow you to offer a variety of different events, courses, conferences and seminars to a larger number of guests - and you could even erect a marquee in the grounds for wedding ceremonies and receptions.

SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Double glazing throughout (apart from the front door of the gite)

Cable internet connection

Mains water Spring Septic tank Gas supply (in-ground tank) Heating. Manor house: gas central heating+ wood-burning stove Gite: gas central heating + electric radiators + open fireplace

THE LOCAL AREA

This beautifulmanor house is located in the highly sought-after Vallee d'Ossau, which is named after the Ossau river (Gave d'Ossau). The valley extends to the Spanish border, where you can ski at Eaux-Bonnes/Gourette (30 - 40 minutes), or you can catch a small open-sided train at Artouste to travel high into the mountains.

For those who prefer beach-based activities, the Atlantic coast is about 90 minutes away, where you can picnic, swim and surf at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor.

As well as mountain and beach-based activities, the beautiful Bearn is very popular with tourists all year round who love hiking, mountain-biking, white-water rafting, fishing.

The area also produces has many gastronomic delicacies which you can sample at the many farmers' markets throughout the Bearn and Basque Country, such as locally produced Jurancon and Irouleguy wines and tasty Bayonne ham cured in salt from Salies-de-Bearn.

The Vallee d'Ossau also produces the world-famous Ossau-Iraty brebis - a cheese made using ewes' milk. It is normally eaten with delicious black cherry jam made from cherries grown in Itxassou in the Basque Country.

You will find a good choice of supermarkets, restaurants and bars in villages about 10 minutes away from the property, along with local primary schools.

For a wider choice of shops, amenities and excellent secondary schools, the city of Pau is 25 - 30 minutes away. The International School of Bearn and Total Energies HQ are about 35 minutes away.

There are regular buses to Pau, Lourdes and the Pyrenees from nearby villages, as well as trains from the larger towns.

Airports: Tarbes-Lourdes, Pau, Biarritz

Train: Pau, Lourdes

Coach: Pau, Lourdes, Tarbes

Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

Ski: Eaux-Bonnes, Gourette, Val-d'Azun, Issarbe, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Somport, Formigal (Spain).

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

Attractions: leisure lakes with watersports, Aqua Bearn, Le Petite Train d'Artouste, Parc'Ours, Grotte de la Verna, Grottes de Betharram, golf (Billere & Artiguelouve), thermal spas, GR walking routes and the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle pilgrim route.

REFERENCE: 257529