A 19th-century watermill with a reception hall and five hectares of meadows and woods, nestled inland in Brittany but only 30 minutes from the coast -
A 19th-century watermill with a reception hall and five hectares of meadows and woods, nestled inland in Brittany but only 30 minutes from the coast.
The property is tucked away in calm surroundings, around 20 minutes from the town of Guingamp in Brittany. The former watermill stands in a bucolic backdrop, set back from the urban bustle of the major regional roads. Here, meadows, embankments and woods form a patchwork of lush, dense vegetation. Streams give structure to the land and flow down into the valley of the River Trieux, bringing coolness and ecological continuity. Country lanes run across the unspoilt landscape of farmland that invites you to enjoy rural walks. There are shops and amenities not too far away. And from the train station in Guingamp, you can easily get to the cities of Rennes, Brest and Paris by rail. You can also reach Brittany's beautiful Pink Granite coastline in less than an hour.
The former watermill is a stone building that stands in the hollow of a small wooded valley. A stream flows beside it, giving structure to the grounds. You reach the property via a tarmacked country lane that slopes down to the valley. You enter the grounds across a little bridge suitable for motor vehicles. This bridge edged with fencing painted white. Just beyond it, there is a circular driveway for turning back around. First, an outbuilding comes into view. It stands out for its broad, arched, panelled double door, painted blue and set in an ashlar surround. A flight of front steps covered with terracotta tiles with a patina of time leads up to this entrance door, beside which there is an outdoor wall lamp. The main building has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. It is crowned with a slate roof with three hipped dormers. The elevations are built of rubble stone and have plain windows. A stream and traces of a former millrace bear witness to the edifice's original purpose as a watermill. Around the buildings, there are lawns, shrubs and tall trees, including oaks, beeches and a sequoia. This area leads to meadows and woods. Large parking areas have been created outside too. With its remarkable reception hall, professional kitchen and lavatory, the property used to be rented out as an events venue. Its facilities are ready to be used for special events again or they could be converted, for example to increase the liveable floor area or to build an indoor swimming pool.
The watermill
The ground floor
The ground floor is made up of a single room without any partition walls. Square terracotta tiles with red and brown tones cover the floor. Exposed beams run across the ceiling. A lounge is centred around a straight fireplace built into a wall of stone coated with pale beige plastering. At a lower level, there is a small dining room. It faces the watermill's old mechanism, which has been preserved in its same place and is made up of metal and timber components. Above it, there is a round millstone kept in place by an adjustment system upon a timber structure. A fitted kitchen lies in an alcove with a work surface and units of pale wood. A window in the thick wall of exposed stonework brings natural light inside. There is a cast-iron wood-burning stove with an exposed vertical pipe. A timber staircase in the middle of the open space leads to the different levels. It is an openwork structure with vertical posts, straight steps and a quarter turn. The balustrade, also made of wood, mirrors this verticality with straight balusters creating space for natural light and views. A honey-tone door of solid wood with black metal hinge strips leads into a professional kitchen at the back.
The intermediate level
There is an intermediate level with a large room that has white-plastered walls and two wooden-framed windows beneath an exposed lintel. These windows offer ...
