18th Century Cottage Farmhouse with Large Pool in Southern France

En Ramounas details

Home description

Get away from it all ... here in the Languedoc we are surrounded by wall to wall, rolling arable countryside with wide skies and beautiful wild flowers on the verges of roads and hedgerows, with rugged old oaks, ash, elm, planes, pines, barley, wheat, lilac and sun worshipping sunflowers all basking in the heat.

En Ramounas is a cosy, traditional, 18th century cottage farmhouse, with soft coloured sandstone walls one metre thick in places, terracotta tiled floors downstairs, double parquet floor upstairs, timbered ceilings throughout and hunks of trees that hold the house together.

It's a perfect getaway to quiet open spaces that never seem to change.

We are up on our very own little hill, one and a half kilometers and a hill away from our village of Montferrand. We live next door in a converted barn, so we are always available to help if needed.

External features on site

• Barbecue
• Garden
• Scenic views
• Swimming pool (shared use)

Accommodation detail

Open all year

Ground Floor:

• Living Room (6 x 4 metres) with large open fireplace, comfortably fully furnished, sofabed, free view satellite TV, CD/DVD, books
• Another Living Room (6 x 5 metres) with large stone open fireplace with wood burning stove. Fully furnished with dining table for at least eight, sofabed, bookshelves filled with books, French TV/video
• Separate kitchen (4 x 4 metres), cupboards, table and four chairs, well equipped with gas cooker with oven, rotisserie and grill, microwave, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, coffee maker, electric kettle, toaster, electric food blender, sandwich maker. Both kitchen and first living room have traditional terracotta tiled floors, otherwise parquet floors throughout.
• Shower room and separate utility room leading off the kitchen with basin, automatic washing machine, iron, ironing board, hairdryer
• Separate WC.
• All rooms overlook landscaped gardens

First Floor:

• Hall with stairs down to the kitchen. Large wooden chest with puzzles, games and toys
• Double bedroom (6 x 4 metres), large, with two double beds
• Double bedroom (4 x 4.25 metres), with double bed
• Bathroom with white tiled walls, bath/shower, basin and WC.
• Bath, kitchen and bed linen supplied, except for baby bed linen and pool towels
• New bedding and bedlinen
• High chairs and stairgates on request
• Cleaning and ironing service if required

All beds have two non allergic pillows and a continental quilt per person with extra quilts and blankets . All beds and furniture are in traditional French styles and all bedrooms overlook gardens. For cooler evenings there are electric radiators and supplementary gas stoves.

Outside:

The cottage is surrounded by secluded gardens, landscaped in a country style of shrubs, trees and lawn. At the back, fields stretch to the Montagne Noire; at the front, to the Pyrenees.

A high, old stone wall incorporating a purpose built stone barbecue separates you from the owners to give you privacy. A spreading ash tree shades the stone, terracotta tiled table where you can eat al fresco while comfortably enjoying the wonderful view.

• Large private terrace and private south facing garden with almond, olive, fig trees and lawn
• Private back garden with lawn, shrubs etc
• Magnificent views to Pyrenees over arable farmland to hilltop village of Montferrand (1.5km) and beyond
• Private Parking
• Garden furniture

A gentle stroll down your hill past mini vineyard (table grapes), across Beth Chatto inspired Mediterranean plantings, leads you to the large, secluded paved sunbathing terrace and swimming pool looking out across arable countryside to the mountains beyond. The hill curves round the back of the terrace to form an 8 metre high ivy covered amphitheatre with trees.

• Large swimming pool (12.75m x 5.5m; depth 0.90 - 2m) with Roman steps, shared with the owners. Security cover conforms to European regulations; Bio-UV laser water cleaning system.
• Glamorous site with views to the Pyrenees
• Pool cabin for shade
• Pool furniture

Windsurfing, sailing, swimming on pretty Lac de la Ganguise in unspoilt Lauragais hills with its own bathing beaches (15 mins drive).

About the location

Places of Interest Nearby

All the necessities of life at Avignonet (2kms), Labastide d'Anjou (2 kms). Hypermarkets, delis, cyber cafés, etc are found at Castelnaudary (14 kms) where Monday is market day or Villefranche du Lauragais (12 kms) with Friday morning market.

Canal du Midi: World Heritage Monument. A beautiful meandering plane-tree lined canal built in 17th century, 240 kms long, linking the Mediterranean (Aude) to the Atlantic Ocean (Bordeaux), just 1.5 kms from En Ramounas. Trips to Le Sègala on "Bateau Lucie".

Local Restaurants: Our "local" is typically French family run bar-restaurant on the Canal du Midi at Le Sègala (5 mins). Other restaurants vary from family run at Labastide d'Anjou to the Michelin starred Château de Pomarède and Auberge du Poids at St Fèlix du Lauragais. Predictably wide range from rustic to sophisticated in Castelnaudary (home of cassoulet), Villefranche du Lauragais, Carcassonne, Toulouse, etc

Winetasting: of local AOC wines - Fitou, Cabardès, Minervois, Corbières, Blanquette (local fizz) and more in 'caves' at local vineyards and Domaines.

Carcassonne: Fairytale medieval 13th century Cathar castle in old walled town (La Cité). World Heritage Monument. Ville Basse - 13th century town with narrow windy streets and squares. Fun day out.

Toulouse: 4th largest city in France. Major centre of higher education so lively, young atmosphere. Built of rose red bricque tiled roofs, 18th century Vieux Quartier pedestrianised. Marvellous variety of shops - designer, specialist boutiques, department stores. Lots of cafés, restaurants, cinemas, museums, interesting churches, art galleries, fascinating aerospace museum. Flea Market Wednesday, Antique market Saturday morning. Lovely place to pass time.

Revel: Market town founded 1342. Its covered Halle du Marché in the square, complete with covered arcades, is one of two finest examples in France. Large, traditional French market every Saturday morning. Home of fine furniture and marquetry.

Cote Vermeuille (1 hr) with Impressionist coastal village of Collioure, Banyuls home of Maillol, Ceret with Musée d'Art Moderne. Explore tiny fishing villages, wander across the border to self-designed Salvador Dali Museum at Figueres and old home at Cadaques, Spanish Le Tropez.

Montauban: Birth place of Ingres, with museum, one hour up the motorway.

Albi: Chaotically attractive town in the Tarn, (1 hour). Birthplace of Toulouse Lautrec with over 500 pieces of his work in the Musée. Gothic Cathedral Sainte Cecile (13th-15thC)

Antiques, bricabrac, junk: collectables to be found everywhere from fine marquetry, old farm machinery, architectural salvage, French country furniture, textiles to the usual unusuals.

Other places of interest: Pyrenees, Montagne Noire with spectacular ravines and gorges, Montolieu the village of books, Andorra (2hrs), Lourdes (6hrs), Pau, Mirepoix (1 hr) with the famous Cathar Bastide, Montségur the last stronghold of the Cathars nearby.

Montpellier (1.5 hrs), Perpignan, (1.5 hrs), Narbonne (55mins), Barcelona (3 hrs), Bilbao, with awesome Guggenheim Art Museum. And many many more.

Autumn to Spring

The countryside is particularly beautiful from autumn to spring. Spectacular skies and Old Master colours of lovat green, terracotta, replace bleached, sunflowered fields. Our view stretches to sparkling, snow clad mountains.

As well as the usual country pursuits of walking, cycling, fishing, there is a lot to see and do. We often go to the coast at this time, but there are also towns and villages with regional and national treasures to see - all without summer crowds.

Ski slopes in the Pyrenees and Andorra are just an hour's drive, where there are also thermal baths. Or there are good golf courses our side of Toulouse and Carcassonne, both around 30 minutes drive.The weather is warmer, sunnier and dryer than further north - but we don't want to exaggerate. We have wind and rain too!

• Open all year
• Special rates for long lets
• Warm, comfortable, peaceful, secluded, accessible
• Full heating
• Ideal location for sightseeing, relaxing
• Toulouse & Carcassonne airports about 35 mins drive

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and facilities.

Activities near by

Boating, Cycling, Drawing and painting, Fishing, Golf, Gourmet dining, Horse riding, Photography, Photography, Rambling, Shopping, Sightseeing, Skiing, Swimming, Tennis, Walking, Water sports, Wind Surfing, Wine tasting

See Activities and attractions for more information on nearby activities and places of interest.

How to get here

• The property is equidistant to Toulouse and Carcassonne which both have international airports. 
• There are good roads direct from Toulouse and Carcassonne to Montferrand.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and airports.