ROSS Girdwood is the first to admit that Jerilderie isn't necessarily a place people would think of to buy a lifestyle property.

He jokes that travellers through the area would probably associate it with roly-polys racing across the plains.

    THE RIDGE
  • JERILDERIE, NSW
  • Property: lifestyle, grazing, cropping
  • Size: 122ha
  • Auction: March 26, 1pm
  • Price: about $400,000
  • Agent: Elders, Griffith and JM Smith and Co, Urana
  • Contact: 0407 549 703 or (02) 6920 8207

But tucked away just east of the town is a picturesque property, The Ridge, which he has called home for the past couple of decades.

Ross and his brother, Ian, and their families farmed neighbouring property Colombo Plains.

That has been sold and now the Girdwoods are offering up The Ridge.

It's a 122ha block that has been set up for cropping or grazing.

Virtually the whole block is arable, and two-thirds of it has been fallowed and could be sown immediately to crops or pastures.

There's also an impressive hydroponic feed shed system, which has provided fodder for the Girdwoods' flock of Merinos, helping the sheep get through the dry times.

Ross said it had enabled them to retain their breeding stock, allowing feed to be produced with little effort.

The feed system gives the new buyers the chance to increase the stocking rate.

And while the farming credentials are sound, it is frontage to Colombo Creek that is perhaps the most attractive feature of The Ridge.

With 2km of permanent winding creek to fish, relax and use, The Ridge makes an ideal lifestyle retreat.

"It would be a great hobby farm for someone, but it is also just a really pretty spot," Ross said.

"There are yellowbelly, cod, redfin and catfish in the creek.

"And the best thing is that you can sit in the living room watching the cricket and have a line in the creek, and you can see from the chair whether you have a bite or not."

The Ridge has a steel-framed, cement-rendered three-bedroom house, with lawns that run down to a jetty into the creek. There is also a deck overlooking the creek.

Ross said the property also had approval for a second dwelling, which would allow two families to share the property as a weekend retreat.

Other improvements include a machinery shed with three-phase power, a one-stand woolshed, cattle yards and sheep yards.

The buyer of The Ridge will have the first option to acquire all or part of the 300-megalitre water entitlement.

The Ridge is about 140km from Albury and about four hours' drive from Melbourne.

It will hold an open day on March 13, from 10am to 2pm.