Substantial Property - Morbihan, South Brittany, France

This extensive property has had much of the back breaking work done and in particular, the land and grounds have benefited from a lot of hard work and expert knowledge and they will only grow more beautiful in time. Literally hundreds of trees have been planted and hedging plants, plus a superb herb garden and a great vegetable plot are established and all this before we even get onto the house which is both immense and comfortable having been well designed and refurbished to a high standard. Situated close Josselein and the Nantes Brest Canal runs through the nearby town, this is a haven for tourism making chambres d'hôte or a sporting/entertainment facility a real possibility.

The property is basically a particularly large longère with a very nicely renovated home at one end and a huge part left to renovate into two gites. Planning permission has previously been in place and been allowed to lapse, but it was for one 3 bed and one 4 bed gite - if this is what you want to do with the property then the permission can be requested again. Outside there are two enormous barns built of concrete block with a wooden frame and corrugated roof - both in pretty good order.

The main house has a really nice, very good quality fitted kitchen with a blue and white theme and a blue gas fired Aga set in a lovely chimney area - dream kitchen. Off to one side is a huge utility room currently used for freezers, wine storage, etc. To the other side a corridor which leads to an office (or 4th bedroom), a dining room (or 5th bedroom), a WC, downstairs bathroom, family/TV lounge, large built in storage cupboard, boiler room and the pièce de resistance, a fabulous double height lounge of over 60m2 with exposed beams, an original bread oven and a stone fireplace with wood burner. This room has the most magnificent Normandy chestnut floor and double doors opening onto a patio.

Upstairs there are 3 large double bedrooms leading off a spacious landing, a family bathroom and a walk in storage room. This description does very little justice to the fantastic feel of the home; comfort, quality, space - all of these are present in abundance, it really has to be seen to be appreciated. The house has water, electricity, an underground gas tank for the Aga gas, oil fired central heating, satellite TV and broadband internet access. It is at the heart of a rural area and there are some breathtaking views.

Planting includes a small cider apple orchard, 16 varieties of eucalypt, a small pinewood, 200 willows, 60 ash and a further area of 40 trees including ash, oak, birch, holly, hornbeam, alder, rowan, thorn and mulberry. The vegetable garden is also very well stocked with soft fruits, there is a herb garden with over 30 varieties of herb and a rose garden. This is serious gardening and all planting has been very carefully thought out.

This is much, much more than just a home, it is crying out to be developed into a business whether that be a bed & breakfast, leisure facility, restaurant, tea room, petting zoo, arts and crafts centre, livery stable, kennels or a combination of these things. If your plan to start a fantastic new life in the Breton countryside involves generating an income then this just may be the place for you.

Take the plane from the UK to St Brieuc, Dinard, Rennes, Nantes or Brest or the boat into Roscoff, St Malo or drive down the superb roads from one of the more northern ports. Or what about the TGV to Rennes? This is truly one of the most easily accessible areas of France and don't forget, this department is one of the warmest in winter and enjoys a milder climate than many other areas at that time.

Price: £280,000      Contact: Leggetts - Tel 08700 115151 (UK)