Description:

The house is built of the soft pink brick of the region and is set in a beautiful landscaped 5 acre park with 40ft x 21ft pool and a seventeenth century pigeonnier. The pool is fully fenced and surrounded by ample wooden chairs and loungers. The chateau has recently been thoroughly and sympathetically restored with original features such as fireplaces, brick interior walls and beams preserved and exposed. The walls are nearly 3ft thick so that the house remails cool in the summer and cosy in the winter. It is furnished throughout with antiques and original works of art.

The ground floor consists of a large entrance hall which leads to a sitting room (20ft x 15ft) with 3 sofas splendid original fireplace and to a triple aspect room (40ft by 15ft) which has the kitchen at one end (part of which nestles in the base of a round tower) and the dining area with fireplace at the other end. French doors from the kitchen lead to a terrace at the back of the house with dining chairs and tables looking over the gardens. There is on this floor a bathroom with bathtub with claw feet, washbasin and wc.

A staircase from the entrance hall leads to the first floor where there is a formal salon (25ft x 25ft) which leads to a library (40ft x 15ft) which contains about 3,000 books. There is a WC in a tower room opening off the library. Both these rooms have original fireplaces. On this floor there are also two bedrooms. The master bedroom, which looks over the park and has a king-size bed, is accessed from the landing. The ensuite bathroom has a bathtub, wc, shower stall, washbasin and bidet . The second bedroom is accessed from the salon and looks over the village. It has a queen-sized bed and a single bed. The ensuite bathroom has a bathtub with overhead shower, washbasin and wc.

The top floor consists of a central attic space opening off the small landing where there are some children's toys, sofas and TV, video and DVD player . There are also more books and lots of video tapes.. Two bedrooms lead off this central space. The room to the rear overlooking the park has twin beds which can be converted into a king-size double and unsuite bathroom with shower, wahsbasin and wc. The room overlooking the village has a double bed and a single bed. The ensuite bathroom has a bathtub with overhead shower, wc and washbasin. The landing also gives access to a large room (about 40ft x 15ft) which contains 8 single beds. The ensuite bathroom has a shower, washbasin and wc. There is also a small single bedroom opening off the landing which overlooks the park. At top of stairs on this floor there is a safety gate and all accessible windows are barred.

There is a games room in an outbuilding which contains a full-size tennis table table, bar football and exercise bench.

Location Information:

The chateau is at the head of a valley surrounded by hills of about 1500ft. It is immediately adjacent to the little village of St Martin d'Oydes which has a post office, where bread can be bought, and a public hard tennis court. The small town of Le Fossat is about 8-10 minutes drive and this has a good range of basic shops. The towns of Pamiers, Saverdun and Lezat all have shops and supermarkets and are each 15-20 minutes drive away. There are regular markets in all these towns.

There are way-marked hiking trails in the surrounding hills and one starts from right in front of chateau

Client Comments:

Emily F New York "A magical place - a beautiful chateau steeped in history, a perfect swimming pool surrounded by fruit trees - pure relaxation and enjoyment. Thank you so much we were very sad to leave."
Adrian and Helen W England "Fantastic holiday - the charm of the chateau and this lovely area grows on you - a special place creating special memories."