Country house with pool and garage

Charming 1800s Stone Farmhouse with Salt Water Pool, Lot-et-Garonne

Three bedrooms – 1,851 m² gardens – 10 x 5m pool – Half an hour from Agen.  If this isn’t the French dream on a tight budget, we frankly have no idea what is.

Tucked away in a peaceful hamlet, yet close to local amenities, this pretty stone country house has been quietly improving since 1800 and shows no sign of stopping. Three bedrooms, a swimming pool and gardens that would make a Provençal postcard jealous: all of which, we should add, can be yours without selling a kidney.

Inside : The period features arrive in abundance, and thankfully nobody has “modernised” them out of existence. The cosy sitting room is the heart of the house, with an open stone fireplace made for long evenings with a decent red, a beamed ceiling and wonderful ancient terracotta floor tiles that have been gently worn in by two centuries of French feet.

The rustic country kitchen, with its exposed stonework, is the sort of room where simple ingredients become dinner parties and dinner parties become legends.

A second sitting room, also beamed, comes with a pellet burner for those cooler months (and for anyone who simply likes being warm). French doors open onto a covered pergola, entwined with wisteria, where lunch will frequently turn into dinner. Double glazing keeps the cold out, and a practical bathroom completes the picture, because even the most romantic house needs a sensible place to brush your teeth.

Outside : This is where the magic really happens.

The established gardens extend to 1,851 m² and are home to a splendid cypress tree, mature planting, and a garden pond, ideal for contemplation or for quietly judging the neighbours’ efforts. A garage block and workshop provide plenty of space for cars, tools, projects and the inevitable “I’ll sort that out one day” pile.

And then there is the pool. A generous 10 x 5 metre salt water pool, gloriously fabulous and entirely free of the eye-watering chlorine of lesser pools, makes long, lazy summers a certainty rather than a hope.

Location : Set in an idyllic position, the property lies just thirty minutes from the thriving small city of Agen, with its fast TGV link to Paris. Sunday markets and village life on your doorstep, the capital within easy reach when you need a dose of culture, and a glass of something cold waiting when you return.

Viewing is highly recommended, before someone else’s French dream becomes theirs.