Farmhouse with Private Pool, Panoramic Views
Quiet Location, easy access to Central Tuscany
1, 2, 3 and 4 Bedroom Holiday Accommodation
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Ferchia is a peaceful hillside hamlet near Lucca, recently lovingly restored into self-catering holiday homes from a 300 year old farmhouse and its estate. The conversion is of the highest standard, retaining period features along with modern facilities such as underfloor heating, high quality kitchens and bathrooms. Within extensive wooded and terraced grounds are three houses, which altogether can sleep 21 people, or any combination from 2 upwards. All rooms have spectacular views, the sitting rooms are large with open Tuscan fireplaces/woodburners and there are chestnut beamed ceilings and terracotta tiled floors throughout. Ferchia is private and secluded but not isolated. There is a 13 metre swimming pool with solar panel and shower. The air is clear, our own spring water pure; above all there is no noise or light pollution. Guests returning from a holiday here are relaxed, refreshed and de-stressed and have found it to be the most perfect base for exploring this beautiful region.
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| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 January 2011 - 31 March 2011 | £280 | 4 | ||
| 1 April 2011 - 31 October 2011 | £300 | 7 | ||
| 1 November 2011 - 31 March 2012 | £280 | 4 |
Smaller part of Farmhouse (2 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6) Prices
| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 January 2011 - 31 March 2011 | £280 | 4 | ||
| 1 April 2011 - 31 October 2011 | £300 | 7 | ||
| 1 November 2011 - 31 March 2012 | £280 | 4 |
The Villa (3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6) Prices
| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 January 2011 - 31 March 2011 | £280 | 4 | ||
| 1 April 2011 - 31 October 2011 | £300 | 7 | ||
| 1 November 2011 - 31 March 2012 | £280 | 4 |
The Metato (1 Bedroom, Sleeps 2) Prices
| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 January 2011 - 31 March 2012 | £250 | 7 |
Notes on prices
We charge by the person, rather than the size of accommodation. Rates do vary accordingly to number in party, length of stay and to an extent, time of year. The upper price is £300 per person per week and includes all usage of gas, electricity, sheets and towels (except swimming), the cleaning of the house before and after.
Changeover day
We don’t mind midweek bookings, also short stays (min 3 nights). We also can arrange for long autumn, winter and spring stays.
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Smaller part of Farmhouse (2 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6)
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A large kitchen/dining room, fully fitted in oak, with double sink, hob, oven, fridge/freezer, extractor hood, dining table and chairs. All cutlery, utensils, crockery, glasses etc are provided. This room leads onto a large terrace. Two spacious bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with a pair of 3ft single beds, which can be made up together as a double when required. The bedroom furniture comprises chests of drawers, bedside cabinets, chairs and hanging rails. A 22ft long sitting room with corner Tuscan open fireplace, king size sofa bed, another sofa, chairs, tables etc. This room leads onto a large terrace. The tiled bathroom has shower, WC, basin and bidet. |
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The Villa (3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6)
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In 2005/6, we completely rebuilt a ruined property, some 100 metres away from the main house. This accommodation comprises: Ground Floor: Three double bedrooms, one with double bed and two with 3ft twin beds, complete with chest of drawers, bedside tables and hanging space and two bathrooms, one of which is en suite, containing a shower, basin, bidet and WC each. First Floor: A large sitting/kitchen/dining room with wood burning stove, two 3 seater sofas, one 2 seater sofa, marble coffee table, 8ft dining table and 8 chairs, fully fitted kitchen with chestnut wall and floor units, hob, oven, fridge/freezer, washing machine and extractor hood. All cutlery, utensils, crockery, glasses etc are provided. This room leads onto large terrace, with further access down to ground floor terracing. Outside: 3 paved sun terraces, plus a large garden store which houses the sunbeds, patio table and chairs, umbrellas and stands, barbeque etc. There is a private car park for this house. |
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The Metato (1 Bedroom, Sleeps 2)
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This little oast house is a self-contained unit on two floors that sleeps two people. It is well equipped and compact with underfloor heating plus a wood burning stove. The sitting room/kitchen opens onto the main terrace, while a stable door from the bedroom and bathroom at first floor level leads out onto a private terrace above the pool. The fully fitted oak kitchen has double sink, gas hob, extractor hood, fridge/freezer, dining table and chairs, plus sofa. All cutlery, utensils, crockery, glasses etc are provided. The wooden floored bedroom has a double bed, chest of drawers, bedside cabinets and chairs, hanging rails for clothes. The tiled bathroom is a shower wet-room, plus WC and wash basin. |
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Notes on accommodation
All the floors (except the first floor in the metato) are tiled, with underfloor heating throughout. The walls are white rendered and the ceilings traditional chestnut beams and terracotta tiles. All doors and windows are in planed and polished chestnut with wooden shutters and retractable insect mesh screens.
There is a boules court near the swimming pool and a snooker table in the larger part of the main house.
Our caretaker lives in the next house to us, a quarter of a mile away, should you have need of anything.
Accessibility
Although set in wooded hills which are terraced, we have built a long access ramp so that wheelchair users can stay in the smaller part of the main farmhouse, where the bedrooms, bathroom and dining kitchen are all on the sun terrace level.
Babies are welcome, we have a cot, high chair and playpen available.
Outside
At the back of the house is the utility room, complete with a washing machine, double sink unit and the boiler. There are tiled terraces leading from the large car park, in front of and behind the main house, and on to the Metato and the swimming pool where there are further tiled sun terraces. Sun beds, sun umbrellas, tables and chairs are all at the property.
The pool is 40 feet long by 20 feet wide, is partially heated by a solar panel and is 1.5m deep throughout. It is shared between the guests of our houses only.
Our land covers about 30 acres, all wooded and terraced. The views from all points are superb, and you can even watch buzzard hunting in the valley below you when on the terraces.
There is a full time gardener, who cuts the grass and waters the flowers in this very verdant part of the world.
Coast/Beach
The coast is approx 1 hours drive away and consists of miles of sandy, gently shelving beaches, from Viareggio through Marina di Pietrasanta, to Forte di Marmi. Scores of restaurants back these beaches and there are sun beds and canopies to hire. The impressive hills around Cararra form a beautiful backdrop.
Golf
There are several 18 hole courses within a reasonable distance from Ferchia. All details on the Internet.
Castelfalfi Golf and Country club. 45 km SW of Florence.
6,668 yds sss73
Cosmopolitan Golf and Country club. 15km SW of Pisa.
6,882 yds sss73
Firenze Ugolino GC. 9 km from Florence.
6,329 yds sss70
Le Pavoniere GC. 10 km from Prato (Arnold Palmer design)
7,072 yds sss73
Montecatini GC. 8 km SE of Montecatini.
6,490 yds sss71
Special interest holidays
New in 2011. The celebrity chef, Valentina Harris, is planning on holding 2 x 5 day cookery courses at the house this Autumn. Please ask for further details.
Travel
Airports: Pisa is 60 km and takes 50 mins. Genoa is approx. 2hrs. Train Station is Pescia, (about 15 mins) on the main line from Florence to Lucca/Viareggio. The A11 motorway (Florence – Lucca – Viareggio)is just 20 minutes from Ferchia. Our exit can be Capannori or Altopascio or Chiesina Uzzanese. Your own vehicle is essential to enjoy the holiday to the maximum. This is not a walking to the shops and promenading before supper type location.
Distances
Due to the proximity of the motorway, sightseeing and day trips are easy. This area is the genuine and traditional Tuscany, Lucca is just 28km away (some 40 minutes); Pescia 10km, Florence can be reached in an hour, Siena and southern Tuscany take about 2 hours. Cinque Terra is just over an hour, Barga 40 mins, Pistoia 35 mins and many, many more. The village of Collodi, where Pinocchio was written and which has famous gardens, is just 10 mins away.
Further details
For shopping, there is everything from the local shops, to excellent supermarkets, to the designer shops of Lucca and Florence.
Eating out. This, in our experience, is universally good and inexpensive in our noncommercial area, we have never really had a bad meal and never had anything but excellent local red wine. Prices obviously differ, and beware fish and steak which is sold by the etto (500 grams), sometimes there is a fright when you get the bill. On the whole, though, prices are far less than the UK and after a couple of weeks eating the genuine fare, you’ll never want to eat an Italian meal in the UK again!!
Our notice boards have cards from many of the local restaurants, with a note of which day they are closed.
The wine trail. The local wine, which is universally drunk in all the local eateries comes from Montecarlo. It is seriously good and is mentioned as one of the wines to ‘sup’ in Hugh Johnson’s guide to Italian wines. There are lots of wineries around here, who are only too pleased to invite you in to taste their wines. Another good day out!
Wildlife
There are wild boar in the woods around us and also porcupine. Plus the usual deer, fox, pine martins. On the house walls (outside) lots of different shades of lizard, three toed skink, lovely butterflies and all sorts of other wonderments for the natural history observers. Now that the hunters have mostly stopped shooting the song birds in our locality, the bird song and especially the dawn chorus is extensive.
Booking notes
We ask for a deposit of 25% of the agreed fee and then the remainder one month before the start of the holiday. Plus a returnable damage deposit.
please note. We update the bookings on this site daily, so if the dates you require are taken, it is because we are a popular destination and guests do book early. Please also note that the prices we quote are per person per week. We feel that this is fairer. We do not insist on sat-sat bookings.
we are not in walking distance to restaurants.
Guest comments
“You've done a fantastic job creating an extremely comfortable house, which is just the right environment for a relaxing holiday and for visiting the attractions of Tuscany.”
"A truly lovely week in an amazing part of Tuscany. You have done everything to such a high standard, super comfy beds".
"Got back yesterday to black skies and rain and all the usual stuff! Just wanted to say a big thank-you for letting us all stay at your wonderful house. It is amazing and far exceeded any expectation that I had. So now faced with the prospect of "real life". I will hold on to the lovely memories that I have from the holiday. Thank you so much".
Hello and good morning to you! Wish I could say it's good to be back but I guess you know only too well what we mean. We enjoyed our holiday so much, it was so relaxing, so peaceful, so quiet, so cheap ohh I wish it were available on the NHS as treatment for stress!
House swap
More than happy. Just ask!
Owner profile
About the owner
Rod is a surveyor, qualifying in 1970. Jennie, his wife for nearly 40 years, sadly died in January 2011. After various property associated employed jobs, they set up their own building company in 1981. Before recently retiring, they completed over 2,000 contracts. By far the hardest was the “Italian Job”. Different language, currency, working procedure and ethics, building materials, crazy bureaucracy–distance. (It took 3 years to get permission for the pool). They designed and project managed it all.
We have 2 children, both of whom love going to Ferchia with their children – and sometimes us!! It has turned out to be the perfect family holiday retreat for hard working people who want to relax and love seeing their children enjoying themselves.
No photos, didn't want to scare you!
Why the owner chose a home in this location
Having decided upon Italy as our favoured European country in which to spend our holiday time, we bought Ferchia on our third investigative trip, having seen 24 different ruins in 4 days. It had (has) everything, that we were looking for, off the beaten track so that we have no noise, light or air pollution, our own water, 30 acres of woodland and a project to do.
We rebuilt the houses in traditional materials and style, adding modern kitchens, bathrooms and underfloor heating. Internally we have antique and quality new furniture, not cast offs from elsewhere. Happily every single visitor has admired the result, both inside and out. It is our home, not just property to rent.
Unique benefits of the property
A visitor comment from 2009.
"We had a wonderful time at Ferchia. The house is beautiful and you did a fantastic job making it a lovely home for us all to enjoy. We loved the quiet, the birds singing every morning and evening, the night sky full of stars and having almost all meals on the terrace with the stunning view. You almost feel optimistic about the world, seeing so many trees and having the sense that some bits of the earth are still unspoiled. We walked, swam, read a lot. We stayed 'home' every other day, so we could enjoy the peace, quiet and we loved the pool. 2 eagles came overhead every day plus visits from Frank the cat. Everyday Beppe came along to water the plants, a pool boy came by too. We saw Teresa, quietly doing laundry and watching over us, it all works perfectly".
For booking and further information
Property Ref IT1757
Contact Name:
Roderick MacPhail
(UNITED KINGDOM) +44 01179624055
Owners Website: Click here
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Property Ref IT1757
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