VIEWS in every direction belie Swanview's easy commute to Melbourne, just 1 1/2 hours' drive away.

The 20ha property with 12-year-old sandstone home looks over the town of Alexandra and the Goulburn River valley out to distant snow-clad peaks of the Australian Alps on the horizon.

    SWANVIEW
  • Property: lifestyle
  • Size: 20ha
  • Price: $700,000-plus
  • Agent: Pat Rice & Hawkins, Melbourne
  • Contact: Robert Hill, (03) 9866 5588

Owners Mark and Helen Lewis are both from farming families with an affinity with the district.

They bought Swanview after downsizing from a larger nearby farm.

Now, their children have moved on in pursuit of education and careers and so the couple are on the move again.

"The house has become too large for us, but it is a living environment we will be bound to miss," Mark said.

And with good reason; the property features fully landscaped and established gardens with a large outdoor entertaining area and a solar-heated in-ground pool.

The couple updated the inside of the home since moving in and planted the garden with more blossoming plants and colourful natives.

The home has 325sq m of living space and includes four bedrooms, the main with en suite, a study and a fully refurbished designer kitchen with timber joinery and sparkling new benchtops.

All the living areas are positioned to enjoy views of rolling hills and valleys beneath.

Under-floor electric heating and a combustion heater create year-round comfort.

There's 80,000 litres of rainwater storage at the house, rooftop and under-veranda sprinkler system and automated lawn and garden sprinkler system.

Small enough to manage on the weekends, but big enough to run a small herd of cows, the property is well set up for lifestyle farming.

There are 15 paddocks, cattle yards and two dams.

Water security is ensured with a two-megalitre stock and domestic water right to the Goulburn River.

Presently, Mark and Helen run 18 cows with calves, although the property has run up to 50 cattle.

Working infrastructure includes machinery shed, powered workshop and a double car port under the roofline of the house.

Pat Rice and Hawkins selling agent Robert Hill said Swanview would meet the tests of the most discerning buyer.

"Every possible feature of this property is of the highest order. The hilltop position with the expansive views ... and Alexandra affords every service and facility.

"This holding is large enough to run a small cattle operation and will appeal to a farmer retiring or relocating off a larger holding, while as a family home, or a retreat from city living the quality and facilities are all very well established."

Swanview is 3km west of Alexandra and 135km northeast of Melbourne.