Detailed description

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If your dream is to find a gorgeous hilltop hideaway overlooking the Pyrénées, where you can entertain friends and family in style, look no further than this charming country house in the Béarn!

Set in nearly three hectares of land with meadows and forest, this excellent property has a main house of about 230m², a self-contained gîte/guest apartment of about 50m², a fantastic south-facing terrace and amazing panoramic views of the Pyrénées. 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 gîte/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 gîte/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 will keep you 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, where you can dine alfresco whilst enjoyng magnificent views of the Pyrénées!

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 gîte/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 gîte/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 gîte has a small conservatory, a sitting room/dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a shower room and a separate WC. (NB: the gîte 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...

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

If you have children, the school bus will pick them up 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 Béarn" 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 Pyrénées
- 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 gîte/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 GÎTE/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 Pyrénées
- a pond
- a large barn (approx. 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 gîte/guest apartment, which is perfect for accommodating tourists for self-catering holidays or B&B. The gîte 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 gîte/guest apartment.

Both the Béarn 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 gîte as soon as you move in. You could also temporarily move into the gîte 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 gîte accommodation, there is a huge demand for Bed & Breakfast accommodation throughout the area, so you could use the gîte 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 Pyrénées - 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 Béarnaise 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 Béarn in South-West France. It is not far from the Atlantic coast, the Pyrénées, 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, 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, Candanchú (Spain)...
Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

Attractions: Golf de Salies-de-Béarn, Thermal Spas, Casino, Base de Loisirs d’Orthez-Biron, Aqua Béarn, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Parc'Ours, Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya, Grottes de Bétharram, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Route d'Artagnan bridleway…
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Information about risks to which this property is exposed is available on the Géorisques website : https://www.georisques.gouv.fr