Quinta Da Flores.

Quinta Da Flores.




Here you are in the heart of Portugal’s Lake District. Within a very short drive are a number of scenic lakes of crystalline water – deliciously warm in summer – great to swim, and safe. Some have restaurants/bars at the water’s edge, others you will likely have all to yourself.

A little to the north is the town of Castanheira de Pêra with its celebrated ‘Inland Sea’ (Prai das Rocas). The fast IC8 east-west highway will take you to the vast golden beaches of the Silver Coast (Costa de Prata) in around an hour, and to Spain in around two hours. The regional capital and Portugal’s third city, the A very rare and special private valley estate of 3 hectares (7.5 acres) of truly lovely park-like grounds, no near neighbours, with two restored stone-built farmhouses and swimming pool – excellent income potential.

Location

This is a little Shangri-La, tucked away down a longish track, all on its own in a green wooded valley – gaze out at the beautiful view and know that it’s all yours and, what’s more, that you will never be overlooked. For company you have the birdsong, the gentle rush of the waterfalls and the sigh of the breeze in the trees; yet this mini-paradise is just seven minutes’ drive from the attractive little town of Figueiró dos Vinhos, which has all your daily needs, including supermarkets/shops, a health centre and even a bus service direct to Lisbon airport and city.

picturesque medieval university city of Coimbra (noted for one of Europe’s leading university hospitals), is a little over an hour away. World Heritage Town of Tomar is about 45 minutes.

There is a small and growing expat community in the area – enough for company, if you want it, but never an expat ghetto. English is now very widely spoken, especially among the younger Portuguese.

The main house (‘Magnolia’)

Picture postcard, with rose-draped pergola and a little walled courtyard at the entrance. The main door leads into the large kitchen/breakfast room, fully equipped and fitted in charming farmhouse style. Just a couple of steps take you up to the dining room, partially tiled in traditional Portuguese ‘azulejos’, another good-size space which could also serve as a sitting room. Then on to the existing sitting room: big, light and airy, through the panoramic wrap-around windows it commands wonderful views over the estate. It could readily be converted to an en-suite bedroom, if desired. Satellite TV. A glazed door leads to a large terrace and those views again – facing south-east, it’s a magical spot to take breakfast.

Off the breakfast room is a double bedroom with tasteful en-suite bath/shower room and ‘hayloft’ type storage.

Off the kitchen is the orangery – a conservatory with Perspex roof, this is the place to sit with a good book amongst the tropical plants on a fresh but sunny winter’s day. Off this is an exceptionally large walk-in pantry with lots of shelving. Also off the orangery is a single bedroom with adult bunk beds, and a short passageway (walled but not covered) to a fully tiled shower room.

A short hop from the front entrance door across the courtyard brings you to the other double bedroom with en-suite shower room.

On the ground floor of the house are an enormous garage/workshop and two very useful storage rooms approached through a second walled courtyard.

Magnolia benefits from diesel-fired central heating, mains water and electricity, bottled gas, drainage to septic tank.

The second house – (‘Frangipane’)

Just behind and above Magnolia, this single-storey house is very suitable for letting or for private guest accommodation. It has two double bedrooms, both with en-suite shower rooms and with wall-mounted electrical heaters; a fair-size fully fitted kitchen with gas heater; and a long galley-style sitting/dining room with wood-burning stove, satellite TV and glazed door to a large covered veranda – great for the outdoor dining which is such a pleasant feature of life here.

Mains water and electricity, bottled gas, drainage to septic tank.

Outbuildings

By the large entrance car park is a two-tier separate stone house with two rooms. The upper is currently used as a library/playroom, but would make an excellent study or artist’s studio; the lower is used for wood storage.

Right next to the swimming pool is a large stone pool house, with two-tier cement floor, brand new roof and ventilator for barbecue. It has a character which cannot be simulated in any new building, and could readily be adapted for a variety of uses.

Tucked away in a far corner of the estate, and standing well above ground on a wooden platform (8m x 7m), is a military-style canvas tent, designed for eight men, with veranda, shower and cooking facilities. It would make a very unusual summer house or even adventurous guest accommodation – teenagers, especially, adore it. Below it is a lawn facing an exceptionally lovely waterfall, bedecked by giant ferns.

Above the houses is a water tower, to which water is pumped from the stream for free irrigation.

The grounds

Your own private park - you could take a longish walk without ever leaving your own property! And it would be a dreamy walk: past the fish pond (into which tumbles a little waterfall), perhaps pausing to take a crisp white wine in the shade of the round white pergola which stands on a lawn by the water; leave the children at the trampoline garden, where they have their own little formal ‘square’ with miniature wooden bench; then up ‘Fern Valley’, listening to the stream gently cascading through the trees on the lower terraces, to the hidden corner where the water enters the property; follow the babbling brook a long way back down to the lower reaches (where two streams meet), past the delightful marsh garden with its pampas grasses, perhaps pausing for a while in the shade of the willow, before coming to the tent garden, to refresh yourself with a cold beer or hot coffee by the waterfall, then finally beginning the steady climb back up to the houses. There are too many little surprises and secret treasures to describe here; suffice to say it is utterly enchanting and unique.

For all its enormous size and beauty, the grounds have been so designed that surprisingly little maintenance is required, and with just routine care the owner will enjoy many years of immense pleasure in this private wonderland.

Price € 395,000.00

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