Located 500 metres above sea level in the foothills of the Pyrenees, just one hour’s drive south of Toulouse and less than two hours from the medieval city of Carcassonne, Château de Bardies is a rambling old house set in the beautiful rolling farmland and woodland of the Ariège in South West France.
The nearest town is St-Girons, nine kilometres down the hill (with spectacular views of the Pyrenees on the way).
There are plentiful opportunities close by for hiking in the mountains, rafting etc. An excellent 18 hole golf course is about 35 minutes away.
Anyone looking for a beach resort should avoid Bardies (check the map!), but for those needing a fix of sea air the Atlantic coast can be be reached in less than 3 hours and the Med in around 2 1/2.
For winter activities, we are just an hour from Guzet and around two hours from Ax-les-Thermes or Baqueira/Beret.
Facilities:
The house sleeps 12/13 in four double bedrooms, one triple/family bedroom and one small single. There are six shower/bathrooms (three en-suite), a fully equipped kitchen with Lacanche cooker; a laundry room; a large dining room which can seat eighteen; a biblioteque with 5'6" grand piano; and a large salon with Hi-Fi, TV and DVD player. Free Wi-Fi. All three main downstairs reception rooms have wood burners.
Outside, there is a beautiful, secluded* walled garden with ancient box hedges, a sunny terrace ideal for breakfast or drinks, an outstanding lunch/dining area under the trees, and an 11 metre heated swimming pool with views down the valley. The garden is surrounded by a further 5 hectares of meadow set in 50 hectares of grazing farmland and woods, featuring the sources of not one but two streams, one with its own spectacular mini-waterfall straight out of the rocks.
*Our tenant farmer lives with his young family in a small house by the main entrance to the property. This does not materially affect the privacy of the main garden, which lies on the opposite side of the house.
If you are seeking shiny, modern, ultra chic interiors, Château de Bardies will not be to your taste. It is however a very comfortable family home equipped with modern conveniences and full of paintings, sculptures and a wide collection of books, DVDs and CDs.
We plan to run courses periodically, in yoga, music, photography, art, creative writing, cookery and Cathar history so if you would like to be on our mailing list, do please contact us.
Every two years we run Blues at Bardies, a small but high quality music festival for old and new friends.
At other times we are happy to rent out Bardies to careful and considerate tenants. If you think that would appeal to you, please contact us through Owners Direct.
Finally, we are delighted to have been accepted by Alastair Sawday's prestigious and exclusive Special Places to Stay in France. We now feature in the 2010 edition of the book and you can also see what they have to say about us on the Sawday website.
