Charming home in a 17th century French manor house

The pictures don’t quite capture the magical feeling of the property. Below, we share information on: 1️⃣ The house 2️⃣ The grounds 3️⃣ The local village 4️⃣ The area 5️⃣ Reviews The house is owned by an English family who fell in love with it, so have visited almost every year for the last 25 years. Your host is Jane, originally from England but now living in one of the private properties with her family. This is a special place to us and we'd be delighted to share it with you! 😄 The space 1️⃣ THE HOUSE You’ll notice… 👉🏼 From floorboard cracks to uneven walls, everything is wonderfully imperfect. 👉🏼 It’s wonderfully cool in the house thanks to the 17th century architecture. 👉🏼 The old wooden staircase, shutters, and fireplace give an old-worldly feeling. 👉🏼 The secluded and spacious terrace, brilliant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 2️⃣ THE GROUNDS The grounds and surrounding properties are known as La Payrastrié (or La Pay for short). La Payrastrié is a 17th century manor house, built and owned by a rich French businessman. The people working for him lived around the property – there was space for the cooks, gardeners and servants, plus stables for the horses. The gardener lived in our property🧑🏼‍🌾 In the 1990s, La Payrastrié was transformed from a derelict building into 10 private properties. Structurally, the properties have barely changed from the 1600s, which gives them a unique, quirky charm. Today, these properties are mostly holiday homes. The grounds include: 🏊🏼‍♂️ A shared, unheated swimming pool with beautiful views overlooking the French countryside. 🏘️ Other properties so if you have children, there are often other kids to play with. 🌴 A large courtyard, perfect for boules. ⚽ Lots of land for fun and games, including a table tennis table. 🏰 Two turrets, giving La Pay its uniquely characterising look. The family who live there also have a very friendly Border Collie called Nellie who you'll see around the grounds 🐕 3️⃣ THE LOCAL VILLAGE About 1 mile from La Payrastrié is a small village called Montredon Labessonnié. You can walk there in 25 minutes or drive in less than 5 minutes. In summer, you'll often see line upon line of beautiful sunflowers as you enter Montredon. And despite only having 2,000 people and few tourists, this village bizarrely has: 👉🏼 Two small supermarkets. 👉🏼 A tourism office. 👉🏼 Two café / bars. 👉🏼 A planetarium. 👉🏼 A bakery. 👉🏼 A cinema. 4️⃣ THE AREA If you want a few hours or a day out, you can easily drive to places like: 👉🏼 Local picturesque hiking and cycling routes. 👉🏼 The local pretty towns of Realmont and Castres (10 and 20 mins away). 👉🏼 Adventure Park like GoApe called Parque Aventura (20 mins away). 👉🏼 The beautiful hilltop town Lautrec (20 mins away). 👉🏼 The medieval city Albi (40 mins away). 👉🏼 The beautiful town Cordes-sur-Ciel (1 hour away). 👉🏼 The historical city of Toulouse (1 hour 15 mins away). 👉🏼 The fortified city of Cascassonne (1 hour 15 mins away). 👉🏼 The coastal resorts of Bezier and Narbonne (2.5 hours away). Other things to note This property ISN'T for everyone! It’s perfect if you… ✅ Love nature, peace, and quiet. ✅ Want land for sports, games, and activities. ✅ Want a relaxed holiday where you can switch off from work. ✅ Want to experience a beautiful, yet less touristy part of France. ✅ Want somewhere completely safe (we even used to go out for a day with the door unlocked!) But it’s probably not right for you if you… ❌ Hate bugs or flies (we’re in the countryside so they're inevitable). ❌ Want a touristy area where everyone speaks English. ❌ Would prefer a more modern, less rustic property. ❌ Want everything on your doorstep. Got questions? Send them through and we'll reply as soon as we can 😄