**** IMPORTANT NOTE: Our asking price includes a fully running thriving holiday and retreat business: web site, client database, goodwill, all contents of holiday business e.g. flat screen TVs, dishwashers, sofas, linen, etc. etc. as well as all real estate. If you are not interested in this aspect of the sale and you would just like to purchase just the real estate please let us know and we can discuss further. ****

As well as the owner's beautiful 300 year old 4-bedroom house, Yavanna is currently running workshops, retreats and courses, as well as providing a very good rental income in the two 3-bedroom guest houses. The set up at Yavanna provides a very nice income and lifestyle.

Converted from an ancient barn, there is also a large fully equipped ceramics studio, which also converts into a workspace for retreats, seminars and workshops.

Fully renovated by English owners, Yavanna offers a blend of contemporary features in a traditional Minho farmhouse setting.

There is a peaceful garden with secret corners, an ancient working well and quiet areas. Grapevines, lemon, olive and orange trees provide the perfect shade on a hot day. Yavanna overlooks rural farmland, small hamlets with the Minho hills in the background. The property covers about 6000 sq meters (1.5 acres). To see the layout of the property see http://www.yavannaportugal.com/Plan_Holidays.htm.

We are surrounded by beautiful mountains, rivers and beaches. Perfect for those who want to simply get away from it all, lie back in the sun and enjoy an idyllic lifestyle.

You can fly to Porto in only 2 hours from Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Stansted or Liverpool, as well as from other European airports. You can reach Yavanna in just an hour.

See our website (www.yavannaportugal.com) for full details of how Yavanna is run as a business, as well as plenty of photos.

**** Please note that we are selling Yavanna prematurely, because one of the owners has developed a chronic back problem. ****

We are:
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Eunice Locher and Mark Sewell. Eunice is a Potter who also runs the “Yavanna” holiday retreat, and Mark is a part-time IT Director

We own:
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An 8 bedroom holiday retreat that we renovated between 2006 and 2008. Yavanna is made up of three adjacent 300-year-old granite farmhouses, as well as a large barn which is converted into a stunning ceramics studio, which also acts as a venue for the retreats we run. Most of the year Yavanna is rented out for family holidays - the guest houses were booked for 33 weeks last year. We also ran a fully subscribed retreat, a cycling week and a pottery/ceramics holiday.

Yavanna is set in the Costa Verde, or Minho region, only 5 miles from the Spanish border province of Galicia. Arriving in the Minho region is like stepping back in time. Small houses and farms are dotted around the lush green rural landscape, surrounded by fields often too small for a tractor to work. Our neighbours work the fields with hand tools. Connecting these fields are granite tracks which often have “Vinho Verde” grapevines growing overhead. Yavanna’s valley, Fontoura, lies on the Pilgrim's way, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

At the same time, over the past 15 years, much EC money has being invested in The Minho, with new motorways having recently been built and a new TGV high speed rail link planned. The journey from Porto which used to take 8 hours now takes just over an hour. Thankfully, the charm of the region has been retained.

One of the farmhouses acts as our home, and the other two are used by guests. There are 10 bedrooms and 8 bath/shower rooms in total, and also a 12*6m salt water pool which we added.

Some of Europe’s best surf beaches are within a half hour drive as well as beautiful mountain ranges.

We chose:
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The Costa Verde because of its authenticity and old-fashionedness. We wanted to live amongst natural beauty with beaches and mountains nearby. We wanted a complete career change and were fed up with the rat race. We wanted to feel part of a community, with friendly neighbours and very low crime.

- We found what we wanted, and more.
- We have our own well with crystal clear water.
- We feel more sunshine.
- We have a business we run from our home, meeting interesting people from all over the world who tell us they leave feeling 10 times better than when they arrive.
- We run a business that is virtually stress-free, yet gives a comfortable lifestyle.
- We live in an area where a beer or a coffee costs less than a Euro.
- We are less than 2 hours flying time from the UK.
- We live somewhere where people say good morning to each other with a big smile.
- We experience real Portugal, yet live only 10 minutes from the Spanish border and enjoy that amazingly contrasting culture too.

We rent:
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Yavanna to family groups of between 5 and 15, for between £650 and £1,600 per week, depending on the group size and time of year.

For our all-inclusive activity retreats we take up to 11 people, and charge between £220 and £530, depending on the length of the course and the room chosen.

We have our own website (www.YavannaPortugal.com) and also advertise on www.ownersdirect.co.uk/portugal/P3200.htm.

Also please see www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/reviews/p68846 to read independent reviews.

We pay:
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Around €200 (£175) per month for gardening and cleaning. Electricity, water, sewerage, insurance, telephone and council tax cost €350 (£310) per month. Laundry costs €50 (£40) per month and advertising €500 (£440) per annum. For our retreats, we employ two chefs and also incur costs for leaders, food, alcohol and motoring costs for transfer and excursions.

Key Points:
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- Thriving business
- Fantastic reputation
- 3 granite farmhouses
- 10 bedrooms
- 8 bath/shower rooms
- Contemporary renovation
- 12*6m pool, 1.5 acres
- Large artist's studio
- Cheap standard of living
- The real traditional Portugal
- Only 10 minutes from Spain
- Under 2 hours flight from London
- Near Europe’s best surf beaches
- Near beautiful mountain ranges
- Ill health reluctantly forcing sale