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The house is set out over 470sqm (5000sqft) & has 5 large bedrooms & en-suite bathrooms, sleeps 10-12. It also has a salt water pool, Wifi, UHD TV (SKY, Streaming Services, French TV), Blu-ray, HiFi (indoor and outdoor) Table Tennis, Pool Table, huge selection of kids games & toys, outside covered lounging/dining area & Weber gas BBQ and for winter rentals the house is fully underfloor heated with open/stove fires.

 

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Back in 2002, with a young family in tow, we set about trying to find our perfect holiday destination: By chance a friend who had just returned from Gascony suggested that we should try there. It was a part of France that we did not know, but on arrival in the Gers, we, like many others, fell in love with the region. Far from the hustle and bustle of our city living, we found instead quiet roads winding through beautiful rolling fields of sunflowers and vineyards as far as the eye could see, interspersed with medieval villages where time seemed to stand still. Then we tried the local food….and we realised that we had found our “perfect place”.

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We did what every tourist does and gazed into estate agents’ windows, imagining ourselves with a place of our own. As we hovered outside one agent, we were caught and invited in. Like lambs we complied and before long were comfortably seated, Armagnac in hand (it was after all mid-afternoon) discussing our dreams. Then came the killer line: “this has just come in, it’s not for sale yet as the owner is unsure, but it will go quickly if he does decide to sell”…

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Next morning, the suited and welly-booted agent took us to look at the "not for sale" property, which essentially turned out to be a pile of limestone rocks surrounded by fields on top of a hill. Clearly this was an ancient ruin, with trees growing both inside and outside but our minds began to  whir. "Nothing a lick of paint, a bit of elbow grease and some TLC couldn't fix.....right?"

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Cut to ten years later; having expended a lot of sweat, blood and tears and emptied our pockets numerous times, the lambs finally managed to bring La Barre back to life.

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The house is now fully restored to modern standards with all things that you would expect in a luxury home. We have retained many of the historic 14C elements, such as the limestone mullion windows, fireplaces and arched stone doorways, but of course the property boasts all the amenities expected of luxury 21C interior and exterior living.

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Situated on top of a hill in its own 10 acres of private land and accessed by a 1Km private drive through surrounding fields & forests, La Barre has stunning valley views to the UNESCO cathedral of Condom and Pyrenees beyond. If you do fancy venturing out for some provisions or a market or two, then you are only 4Kms from local amenities. Some have been known to walk…  although be warned: the drive is uphill on the way back…so buy an extra baguette for the return trip.

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