Le Merle - Farmhouse in lovely village with School, shop and restaurant.

Property Description

Le Merle is a five bedroom farmhouse with in ground pool situated in the lovely village of Sainte-Hilaire de Voust. It is the perfect place to either set up home or take over an established gite business and develop it further for out of season. At the moment the gite is rented from the Mid April to Mid October and 2019 turnover was 14,000 euros.

There is further potential for out of season bookings and/or b&b especially given the expanded business in the village.

Until this year, the gite was rented as a 4 bedroom house. There is now annex with bathroom and own garden area and with little cost can be made into separate appartment by linking into the old kitchen. The house has oil fired central heating.

This Lovely beamed detached farmhouse with in-ground heated pool is situated in a small peaceful hamlet, a 5 minute walk to the centre of St Hilaire de Voust, a typical Vendeen village. The village has a small shop and the best restaurant for miles. For families, there is a junior school and sporting facilities.

The town of La Chataigneraie is a 15 minute drive and larger towns of Niort and Fontenay le Comte about 30 minutes. It is well served by airports with La Rochelle - 1 hour, Poitiers and Nantes - just over 1 hour.

There are lakes nearby at Vouvant and Mervent along with forest walks and hundreds of kilometres of cycle routes literally on your doorstep. Puy du Fou and the Marais Poitevin are a short drive away and further afield the superb sandy Vendeen beaches are just over an hour away.

KEY FEATURES:

The house has four bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, wc, large kitchen, large dining room and lounge. There is also a separate annex with ensuite bathroom and own terrace area and garden.
Outside is as follow:

IN-GROUND HEATED POOL - with steps and best pool security. The cover floats on the surface of the water and will not collapse under the water if fallen on. Sun loungers and chairs are available.
SOUTH FACING PATIO - to the front of the house and overlooking the pool is patio, with direct access to the kitchen through French doors.

LARGE GARDEN - there is garden to the front of the house which has a stone driveway and lawned area beyond which is a farmer's field, occasionally frequented by sheep! To the rear of the property is another lawned area which extends to about 25m.

ELEVATED BALCONY - from the dining room, there is access to a balcony with views over the river Vendee and countryside. This is east facing and is a great place for breakfast or to get away from the midday sun! From here there are steps down to the annex.

Main house - 4 bedrooms, a double, twin and bunk bed room is situated on the ground floor and a double on the first floor.

LOUNGE - with English tv and wood burner

SEPARATE DINING ROOM - with access to terrace

FULLY EQUIPPED KITCHEN - with French doors to the south facing patio.

Two bathrooms.

The annex is currently used as an extra bedroom with the gite to increase occupancy to 10 people. It can, however, be used as owner accommodation during season if wanted to continue the gite business. It is a large room with king bed and sofa bed, pool table, ensuite bathroom. There is a blocked door into the original kitchen area of the farmhouse which could easily be opened to make a self-contained appartment.

The house is situated in the beautiful peaceful Southern Vendeen countryside overlooking the River Vendee. The area is a mix of sunflower fields, rolling hills with pretty limestone villages tucked away in river valleys; very reminiscent of the Cotswolds apart from the weather - the South of the Vendée benefits from a micro climate, giving the region a level of summer sunshine bettered in France only by the Côte d’Azur

The Forest of Mervent – a vast nature lovers paradise of wooded valleys and lakes perfect for cycling & walking, sailing and canoeing with pony trekking also available

Vouvant, a medieval town, one of the most beautiful villages in France with its Medieval ramparts, cobbled lanes and pretty houses all contributing to the picture postcard setting.

The world renown 'Puy du Fou' theme park is less than an hours drive from the house and well worth a visit.

For fishermen, there is the Pescalis, largest fishing lakes at Moncoutant (20km) as well as a number of well stocked rivers and Lake Mervent.

Other nearby attractions include Marais Poitevin, La Rochelle and Fontenay le Comte

The house is currently run as a gite sleeping up to 12 people. It operates April to end of October.
There is a primary school in the village and football club. Neighbours are very friendly and welcoming.

La Chataigneraie is the nearest town with supermarkets, banks etc. Larger towns are Niort and Parthernay le Compte.