I’m Andy Portsmouth, the local agent for this calm riverside paradise, with a 95m river frontage, fisherman’s cottage, lake and wooded area, on almost 1.9 hectares (4.5 acres).
The lake, approximately 800m2 and 2m maximum depth, has carp, black bass, goldfish, and beautiful lilies. It was drained and the banks dug-out in 2015. Then the garden slopes down to the river frontage, on the Vienne river, a tributary of the Loire.
Please watch our video tour of this truly special place.
The charming detached house – in excellent condition – has a large and bright living room (27m2) with logburner and windows on three sides – it overlooks the lake, with patio doors opening towards the lake and also onto the terrace. This is a ready-made lifestyle, with all of the furniture, gazebo, appliances, included in the asking price.
There’s a spacious kitchen and dining room with a study corner (23m2 with air conditioning), opening to the garden via a covered porch with a view of the lake, a lovely place to sit.
A hallway leads to a patio door opening to the terrace, and to two double bedrooms (13m2 with a large fitted wardrobe and air conditioning, and 10m2), and to two shower rooms with WCs (10m2, and 5m2).
Separate from the house, there’s a double garage plus storage.
On the far side of the land, and with absolute privacy, the fisherman’s cottage (25m2) has clear potential to be developed into a gîte; indeed permission was previously given for a 20m2 extension.
Originally the house itself was also a fisherman’s cottage, it was then developed by the current owners who have enjoyed the property for 21 years, and have added those two bedrooms and two shower rooms, the living room and garage, between 2003 and 2013.
The house is on a septic tank installed in 2003, has double-glazing, electric heating (radiators) plus the logburner, and insulation in the walls (75mm), floor (120mm) and ceilings (200mm). The house is not floodable. The lake is fed by run-off from the land, and it can be supplemented if needed from a spring.
The village of Queaux is only 1km away, along a quiet road. The village has a riverside park with a sandy beach and pétanque, where you’ll also find a nice bar with hot snacks and occasional live music, and during the summer there’s laid-back live music once a week in the park (jazz, blues, Cuban etc) with hot food laid on by the local community. The village itself, on the hillside with stunning views of the valley and river, has a café/restaurant/shop. An old public lavoir for washing clothes is fed by a spring – the water runs on down the hill, twisting and turning with the street through the village, all year.
Queaux’s history begins in prehistoric times, in its caves – polished and cut stone, tools, axes and arrows have been found. In Gallo-Roman times the village was on an intersection of several important roads, including Poitiers to Limoges, and lost thermal baths were re-discovered here in the 19th century during the construction of the school.
Queaux is only 10 minutes from the small town of L’Isle Jourdain with a supermarket, cafés and restaurants, doctors, dentist, and most other services.