Country house with pool and land

A Stone Farmhouse in the Woods, and a Driveway Worth Writing Home About

Four bedrooms – 19th-century stone farmhouse – Approx. 2.8 hectares – Gated private driveway – 11 x 5m heated pool – Woodland, pasture and formal gardens.

Pass through the gates and meander along your own long private driveway, through beautiful woodland, with nothing to disturb you but the odd startled pheasant. By the time the house appears, you will already have decided to buy it. A better approach is hard to imagine, and we have tried.

At the end of the drive sits an absolutely charming 19th-century stone farmhouse, presented in immaculate condition and quietly confident of its own good looks. The setting is nothing short of idyllic: pastures, mature woodland and formal gardens, all beautifully maintained and ready to be enjoyed rather than tackled. Horses? Absolutely, should you wish. The land is ideally suited to them, and they would doubtless be delighted.

The House

Inside, the split-level living space is wonderfully versatile and flows with an easy, open-plan generosity. At its heart sits a 16kw log burning stove, which is less a heating system and more a way of life. On a winter’s evening, it will have you cancelling plans you haven’t yet made.

The interiors are stylish and tastefully decorated throughout, with period character allowed to speak for itself and not shouted over. The brand new Schmidt kitchen, recently installed at considerable expense (the current owners have made the investment so that you don’t have to), is a beautiful thing, and quite capable of making even beans on toast feel like an occasion.

From both the kitchen and the sitting room, doors open onto a raised balcony, where morning coffee and evening apéros are elevated, quite literally, to an art form. We struggle to think of a better spot to watch the day begin or end, and we have genuinely looked.

Four bedrooms provide ample space for family, friends, and those guests who, having seen the view, mysteriously forget their return flights.

Eating Outdoors, Properly

Alongside the house, a large travertine-lined covered terrace is made for al fresco dining, whatever the weather is up to. Long lunches that become long afternoons are, we find, the natural order of things here.

The Pool and Summer Quarters

Beyond the house, the garden unveils its pièce de résistance: a splendid 11 x 5 metre swimming pool, with heat pump for a swimming season that begins early and ends reluctantly. It is surrounded by a vast travertine sun terrace, with room for loungers, parasols, and a degree of sprawling that would be frowned upon elsewhere.

Close by, the summer kitchen with its own covered terrace keeps the cook in the conversation, the chilled rosé within reach, and the main kitchen mercifully out of the equation. It is, in short, a complete summer in one corner of the garden.

The Practical Bits (Done Rather Well)

A house this handsome deserves to be sensible too, and it is:

• Pompe à chaleur heating and double glazing throughout, for comfort in every season
• Solar panels, because the sun is here anyway, and might as well earn its keep
• Wine cave, which speaks for itself and does so eloquently
• Wood store, generously proportioned to keep that 16kw stove well fed
• Greenhouse, for tomatoes of a quality that will make you unbearable at dinner parties
• The smartest workshop you’ve seen, easily converted to a home office, for those who need to look busy, or indeed be so
• Large barn with parking, storage and room for everything else, including whatever you have not yet bought but will

The Setting and the Surroundings

All of this sits in the most idyllic of settings, peaceful, private and green, yet far from remote. The bastide town of Monpazier is just 16 minutes away, Biron a mere 9, while Monflanquin and Villeréal are each around 21 minutes. Local amenities are close by, so the essentials (and the baguettes) are never far away.

In Summary

It is not often we can say this, but this house pretty much has it all. The hard work has been done, the details considered and the investment made. All that remains is the unpacking, and, we suspect, the opening of something chilled on that balcony.