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Property
15 Rooms
•
633 m²
Marsolan
975.000 €
8 Bedrooms
Land 9977 m² (about 107253 ft²)
Swimming pool
Terrace
This property sits in a remarkable position, with sweeping views across the horizon as far as Lectoure, where the inimitable form of its cathedral can be seen etched onto the hillside. This is a view of which one never tires, and one which is equally as magnificent at night-time, as the lights of Lectoure sparkle in the distance. On some days, the view to the south encompasses the Pyrenees as the snow-capped ridges of the mountains emerge from the clouds to contrast with the deep-blue Gascon sky. The grounds are stunning, with the swimming-pool at the far end drinking in the view. The lawns are manicured, and the landscaping around the pool and the property both elegant and picturesque, with its wrought iron gateways, meandering pathways, and various shrubs, mature trees, and plants. But above all there is the view - and we return to it time and time again. This is a property-location one could seek a whole life time yet never find. We enter through wrought-iron gates situated at the far end of a small rural hamlet, where there is one other neighbouring property. Our owners who live abroad for much of the year were appreciate of the fact that the house was not entirely isolated, knowing that in the event of a storm or a fallen tree, there would be someone to help in this tiny hamlet on the outskirts of Lectoure. Yet there is privacy too, as the grand gates closes, there is a sense of solitude, face to face with nature and the rolling country hills that fall-away from the pool area to the farmland below, where in the summer months there is a tapestry of wheat, corn and sunflower in the region. Where the view matters, there is not another house in sight. On the other side of the gates lies a magnificent domain comprising two houses both equal in measure and in standing - hard then for the owners to choose which house to occupy as a main residence, and which to hand over to lucky guests. We begin our visit to the first house, the one closest to the entrance of the garden. Once a barn, this impressive space has been entirely restored by the current owners to create a light and bright contemporary home. We enter a grand reception room, with a fireplace and wood-burning stove, with a contemporary kitchen in the far corner. There are two flights of stairs, at opposing ends of the room, which lend a symmetry to the room. The immense doorway to this old Gascon barn has been transformed into a picture window from which the light floods into the room. There is a cloakroom/WC in a discreet corner of the room, and a couple of steps up to a small lobby; a sunlit room with French doors to the terrace outside. This space would make a very nice study and leads through to a downstairs bedroom and en-suite. The first floor of the property opens up onto a large landing/mezzanine, which is spacious enough to be used as a television or informal family room. The walls are white stone and the ceilings high beneath the trusses and the beams of the oak timbers. From the mezzanine there is access to a double south-facing bedroom, overlooking the front of the property to the driveway, two family bathrooms (one with a shower, one with a tub) and an immense master-bedroom at the far end at the end of an inner hallway closest to the second flight of stairs. On the mezzanine landing a small staircase leads to a bedroom at the top. This double room, shares the family bathroom below. The first floor is as light and bright as the ground-floor, with its south-facing room, wooden floors, high ceiling and white stone walls. The second property, or original Gascon farmhouse, has retained much of the character one would expect, along with a more traditional layout, with its long bisecting hallway, original fireplaces, ancient ''tomettes'' (or terracotta) floors. Although there is an official ''front door'' we enter into a large country-style kitchen, with fitted cupboards in pale olive-green, which cast a warm and friendly hue to the room. There is a large black stove,