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Property Summary
Newly renovated country home, consisting of 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, sitting room, utility room, huge barn that could be converted into a large drawing room, separate barn and fenced land with great views.
Property Description
This French Charentaise farmhouse is in a small hamlet just outside the listed village of Villebois Lavalette with medieval market square, shops, restaurants, bars, and good school. It is just 25 minutes from the city of Angouleme and its TGV direct link to Paris, London and Brussels and international airport. This house is extremley good value for money. It has just finished being entirely re-furbished (wiring, plumbing, insolation, joinery etc ) and yet it retains all its charm and character. The south facing house was built in two parts. The original part of the farmhouse ajoining the barn dates to the early sixteenth century, the eastern side of the farmhouse dates to around 1900. There is a private and secluded south facing courtyard surrounded by elevated garden and stone retaining wall with beautiful stone well and pillars. The back garden of some 8000 m2 would be ideal for an equine friend. You enter the house through a large light room with Charentaise stone fireplace. Leading from here is a large lounge with fireplace and double aspect french windows and door to garden. Another door leads through to the older part of the building and to a large sunny kitchen, utility room and newly fitted downstairs toilet and shower room. There is a door to the garden and terrace area. A barn / garage can accomodate several vehicles and a light workshop. It has direct access to the kitchen and could make a fantastic lounge -it is around 120m2 with pitched roof and wonderful old exposed beams. There is a old elm curved staircase which leads up to the first floor from the reception room. The master bedroom, in the old part of the house, is I feel, one of the best rooms in the house. 40m2, it has an 16 century stone fireplace, oak beamed ceilings and chestnut polished floors. It has lovely views over the meadow and garden and a large en-suite bathroom / dressing room with shower unit, roll top free standing bath, double vanity unit and wc. Two double bedrooms, a single bedroom and a shower room at the end of the corridor with views over the sunflower fields completes the first floor. Outside there is another large barn, ideal for storage or an outside games rooms. This solid dry stone barn with good roof is around 150m2 and has a stone arched entrance. There are views all around the property and from the garden you can see the Chateau of Villebois Lavalette in the distance on the top of its hill. It is a very peacefull setting in a farming hamlet close to all local amenities. There remains the possiblily to buy for a further € 60,000 two other large neighbouring barns which may be suitable for gite conversions.
Location in France
The Charente department is home to over 340,000 inhabitants and is located in the south-east of Poitou-Charentes. The countryside offers a unique and varied environment for walkers and mountain bikers from rolling hills in the east to a flatter landscape in the west. The northern area is wild with deep forests and peaks reaching to over 1000ft. The Charente has long relied on agriculture to fuel its economy. In the 18th Century, however, the department started mass producing its infamous Cognac drink, which proved extremely popular with people from all over the world.
The department is very well situated for expatriates looking to purchase French property here, with great roads down to the Charente and the Channel ports just a short days drive away. The department has access to Poitiers, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bergerac and Limoges airports, all within 2 hours. Furthermore, in the centre of the department you will be able to fly from either Gatwick or Stanstead direct to the Angouleme Champniers-Brie airport .
Angouleme is a small yet cosmopolitan city, with a fairly dynamic feel about the place when compared to the neighbouring Dordogne or Haute Vienne. It hosts a lot of events such its vintage car racing (the Circuit des Remparts) which takes place in September , the cartoon festival in January and a great music scene which just seems to get better every year . Both Cognac and Confolens have annual festivals which attract tourists to the area.
The Charente has an immensely varied countryside bordering 5 departments, famous for both its Cognac vineyards in the west, and its Limousin beef production in the east, which in terms of scenery are worlds apart. The valley of the Charente River meanders down from Ruffec in the north through Angouleme onto Jarnac and Cognac. Confolens in the East of the department is situated on the banks of the majestic River Vienne, this area being known as the Charente Limousine, and is extremely popular with expatriates because it looks and feels like the UK. The south of the county which borders the Charente Maritime has a much better climate but less undulating scenery.
