Castella · Lot-et-Garonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
A stone estate above the Lot valley
The estate from the air — house, cottage, barn and pool
All 34 photographsTwo houses, one gate, nobody else for a mile
An eight-bedroom stone estate on 3.3 private acres between Agen and Villeneuve-sur-Lot — main house, guest cottage, pool, and a barn built for long lunches.
- 16
- guests
- 8
- bedrooms
- 12
- beds
- 5
- bathrooms
430m² habitable · 13,640m² of land · main house 328m², guest cottage 102m²
- Pool to yourselves Enclosed terrace, open May to October, no neighbours in sight.
- 3.3 acres, all yours Gardens, woodland and a spring-fed pond. No shared access, no passing traffic.
- The barn A converted barn with an open fireplace and a table that seats everyone.
- Two houses, one gate A 5-bedroom main house and a separate 3-bedroom cottage — close, but not on top of each other.
The house
Three centuries of it
The house sits high on a ridge above the valley, the way farmhouses here always did — south-facing, backed into the hill, with a barn set at right angles to break the wind. It has been a working property for most of three centuries. The bread oven is still there. So is the wine cellar, and the shallow trough in the kitchen flags worn by a hundred and fifty years of washing up.
Inside, the good bones survived: exposed limestone, chestnut beams, original parquet in the double-height sitting room, and a fireplace in the kitchen big enough to stand in. Nothing has been flattened into a rental. It is furnished like a family house, because it is one.
The main house sleeps ten across five bedrooms. The guest cottage, forty paces down the lawn, sleeps a further six with its own kitchen, sitting room and terrace — which is what makes this work for two families, or for the sort of gathering where some people want to be up at seven and others do not.
Most days end the same way: someone swims, someone lights the fire in the barn, and the table under the beams fills up until it is dark.
Where everyone sleeps
8 bedrooms, 12 beds
Five in the main house, three in the cottage down the lawn. Beds are made up before you arrive — tell us the split when you book.
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Main house · ground floor
Garden room
1 double
En-suite shower
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Main house · ground floor
Shutter room
1 double
Doors to the garden
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Main house · first floor
Beam room
1 double
Valley view
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Main house · first floor
Library room
1 double
Shares the first-floor shower room
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Main house · first floor
The long attic
2 singles + 2 daybeds
Insulated, best room for children
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Guest cottage
Cottage double
1 double
Stone walls, ground floor
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Guest cottage
Cottage twin
2 singles
In the old alcove
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Guest cottage
Cottage small double
1 double
Off the sitting room
What is here
Everything the house has, and the four things it does not
Outside
- Private swimming pool (12m × 5m, unheated)
- Enclosed pool terrace with loungers
- Converted barn with open fireplace
- Covered terrace, seats 16
- Charcoal barbecue + outdoor prep counter
- Spring-fed pond and woodland walks
- 3.3 acres of private gardens
- Table tennis in the old bakehouse
Kitchen & dining
- Two full kitchens (house + cottage)
- Range cooker and second electric oven
- Dishwasher in both kitchens
- Fridge-freezer ×2, wine fridge
- Nespresso + cafetière + kettle
- Dining for 14 inside, 16 out
- Wine cellar (yours to use — please replace)
Living
- Double-height sitting room with wood-burning stove
- Second sitting room in the cottage
- Artist's studio with north light
- Study with desk and fast wired connection
- Wall of books, English and French
- Board games, cards, jigsaws
Practical
- Wi-Fi throughout (fibre, ~200 Mbps)
- Washing machine and dryer
- Iron and airer
- Travel cot and high chair on request
- Parking for 6 cars
- Linen and towels included
- Mid-stay clean available
- Heating: oil central + wood
Not here
- No air conditioning — thick walls, shutters, and it works
- No television in the main house
- No pool heating or cover alarm — under-fives need watching
- No lift; the attic stair is steep
Stay with us
Enquire about a stay
Tell us roughly when and how many, and we will reply within a day.
Getting here
Far enough out to matter, close enough to shop
The house is at the end of a private lane above Castella, halfway between Agen and Villeneuve-sur-Lot. You will want a car. Agen has the TGV — Paris in three hours twenty — and the hire desks sit at the station.
- Laroque-Timbaut — bakery, market, pharmacy
- 7 km · 10 min
- Villeneuve-sur-Lot
- 18 km · 22 min
- Agen — TGV to Paris & Bordeaux
- 25 km · 30 min
- Pujols — one of the plus beaux villages
- 20 km · 25 min
- Bergerac airport
- 1 hr
- Bordeaux airport
- 1 hr 50
- Toulouse airport
- 1 hr 40
- Caen ferry port
- 7 hrs
The exact address and gate code go out with the booking confirmation.
Worth leaving the pool for
The full guide to the valley →-
Markets
Thursday market, Villeneuve-sur-Lot
The big one. Prunes, cheese, rotisserie chicken, and a queue for the oyster stand that is worth joining.
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Villages
Pujols
A walled hill village twenty minutes away, best at seven in the evening when the light goes orange on the stone.
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On the water
Canoeing the Lot
Put in at Casseneuil and drift down. Half a day, mostly flat, one small weir to portage.
Your host
Devon Roeshot
- Owner since
- 2026
- Response rate
- 100%
- Replies
- within an hour
- Languages
- English, Français
I took the estate on in 2026, and kept everything that made it worth buying — the parquet, the bread oven, the furniture that came with the house. I live an hour away and hand the keys over myself. Expect bread, a bottle of Buzet, and far too much advice about markets.
Ask Devon a questionBefore you book
House rules
- Check-in
- After 16:00 — we meet you at the gate
- Check-out
- Before 10:00
- Guests
- Up to 16, plus infants under two
- Children
- Very welcome. The pool is unfenced — under-fives need eyes on them
- Pets
- Two dogs by arrangement, not in the bedrooms
- Events
- Gatherings up to 50 by prior agreement, quiet by midnight
- Smoking
- Outside only, and not near the barn
- Cancellation
- Full refund up to 60 days before arrival, 50% up to 30 days
Asked often
Questions
Do we need a car?
Yes. The nearest shop is 7 km and there is no bus. Agen has the TGV from Paris in 3h20 and the car hire desks are at the station.
Can we book only the cottage?
Not in July and August. Outside those months, yes — the cottage alone is €260 a night with a 3-night minimum. Ask and we will send terms.
Is the pool heated?
No. It opens in May and closes in mid-October, and it is swimmable from about the third week of May.
What about the road noise?
There is none. The property is at the end of a private lane and the nearest road carries a tractor an hour in season.
Can you cater?
We can arrange a chef for a night or a caterer for a party, and a cook who does two dinners a week for larger groups. Give us four weeks.
Is it suitable for a wedding?
For up to 50 guests, with 16 staying. We have done a dozen. The mairie at Laroque-Timbaut handles the paperwork side.
