Ardroy, 933 Longwood-Ruffy Road, Ruffy VIC 3666

'Ardroy' has looked out over the Ruffy hills since around 1950, and more than seventy years on it remains one of the district's true character homesteads. Set on approximately 41 acres* above the valley, with views running down through the timbered hills and out to the plains, it brings together a six-bedroom home of real presence, a garden that has had decades to mature and the quiet of the Strathbogie Ranges - a combination that very seldom comes to the market in this part of the world.

The homestead sits low among the old trees, its white rendered walls, terracotta tile roof and stone chimneys settled so comfortably into the hillside that it seems to have grown there. Around 329 square metres* in size, it was laid out with the sun in mind, so the main bedroom takes the warmth of the winter sun and is shaded from it through the heat of summer.

At the heart of the home is a family room of almost ten metres, with an open fire and doors opening out to the stone terrace. Large windows frame the distant view like art. The dining room and sitting room each have a fireplace of their own, and alongside them sit a seven-metre library lined with shelves and a separate office - the kind of rooms that make a winter in the hills something to look forward to. The kitchen, with two pantries, leads through to the laundry and a practical mudroom for coming in from the garden.

Five bedrooms are set in their own wing, each with built-in robes and served by a family bathroom with separate toilet and a second bathroom, while a 13.8m* deck runs the full length of the wing. The sixth bedroom, with its own bathroom beside the side entry, gives guests or extended family a space that is entirely their own.

Surrounding the house is a garden that has filled out beautifully over the decades. Flagstone terraces, dry-stone retaining walls and stone steps wrap around the home, framed by established trees and granite boulders, while a gravel drive loops through the garden to the front door. Behind the house, a garage with three storerooms provides room for cars, tools and storage, and below it all a substantial dam sits quietly in the gully.

'Ardroy' has wonderful bones and genuine character. **For those wanting more land, the adjoining 169 acres*, with its own cottage, stables and sheds, is being offered separately as Lot 1 Longwood-Ruffy Road, giving the opportunity to bring the two back together.

10km* to Longwood and the Hume Freeway, 18km* to Euroa and around two hours* from Melbourne

*denotes approximately