Easter Surprise – April 2004

Easter could not come quickly enough and we spent another three days searching for a suitable empty shell in the drizzle and rain. Despite the poor weather we knew we loved the area and the countryside of the Creuse and the Correze and if we loved it in the damp and wet, then we expected the affair to continue in the heat of the summer. We just needed to find a place we loved.

On our last search day, visiting the final property we found what has turned out to be the ideal property. An empty barn, which was in great structural condition, sitting in 1,500 sq metres of field on the edge of a village called Colondannes and around 4km from the nearest town Dun Le Palestel and 12 km for the large town of La Souterraine.

We resisted attempts to proceed there and then. We retreated to our hotel to reflect and consider what we had found and decided to return to the Grange to view the property and area on our own.

Fortunately, the sun was shining and we got plenty of time to look around and make our minds up before visiting the Agent, offering the asking price and having it accepted.

Once the paperwork was signed, we returned to our hotel and spent a further few days exploring the area and of course the village and our home to be. This was turnign into an even bigger French Adventure than we had even imagined!!

Realisation Strikes – March 2004

We spent a week searching for our ideal home all over the Limousin area, with the help of the local team from VEF and realised that our naïve idea to find a bargain, only in need of a little DiY & a bit of tender loving care was not achievable for the budget we had in mind.

The viewing of more than a dozen properties ranging from €30-100,000 resulted in us discovering what many people before us and after have discovered; that you would have to gut most places and start from base with the basics.

Most properties would need to be completely rewired, heating installed and all the sanitation replaced, relocated or even installed for the first time and a kitchen installed. As a result we concluded that if we were going to pay for a place and have to GUT it, then we might as well look for something that was already an empty shell.

So our research continued and we booked for a second visit over the Easter break in April 2004.

First Impressions

Having enjoyed our first and brief impression of Limoges we headed east to find the guest house we had booked in Chiessoux, near Lake Vassiveiere and having driven for 30minutes I realised we had not encountered another car either way. The peace and serenity had even imposed itself upon my our driving speed and I was at a slow 50 kmh.

We meandered through the country side and past fir tree forests and wood piles on a crisp, cold but bright morning with some snow on the ground. This seemed like bliss and we couldn’t believe what we were seeing when we came across Lake Vassiveiere. Wow!!!

First Foot Forward

With this in mind we booked an exploratory trip to Limousin on 14th February 2004, during the half term holiday.

We set out straight after Joshua had finished school and ventured down to Dover, across on the Eurotunnel and into France as a family on the adventure together.

The trip was easy and uneventful, EXCEPT the troubling encounter in the dark around the Paris Peripherique, which would prove problematic for a few more journeys.

We arrived at the Service Area on the A20 north of Limoges at 3.30am to grab a few hours sleep. It was very cold that night and some snow had settled on the ground, but we were not alone, as many other drivers had decided to do the same. We eventually ventured into Limoges and found the magnificent railway station there at 6:00am to freshen up and get a wonderful coffee before most people had risen.

Research and Preparation - December 2003

Over the coming weeks, like many before us we embarked upon the journey to acquire information. We researched the internet, subscribed to numerous magazines and most importantly discussed a criteria for what we would look to buy and where.

We determined that:
· We wanted to be able to drive to the location within 12 hours of our home in the England
· We did not want to be dependant upon a low cost flight
· We wanted to be in the countryside and were not particularly interested in being near the coast
· We only needed a small and manageable home, with a small garden.
· The home should be within or on the edge of a village
· We had a modest budget in mind and expect to do some DiY to get the home as we expect.
Having been to France on holidays before, Linda and I were drawn to the inland Loire Atlantique area, but our desk research quickly indicated that there was a limited choice of property for sale, and even more limited homes within our budget.

As can often happen, our discussions with other people led to a chance conversation with a property consultant who said, “have you thought of the Limousin area” which lead us on the road to a new discovering, but not after some sceptical doubt.

I looked at the map of France and couldn’t believe it conformed to our first criteria element. The map seemed to defy logic. The area was actually within 12 hours of home and the AA Route Finder confirmed that Limoges was only 50km further than Nantes by the fastest route distance.

Still skeptical our research took a turn and became detailed and focused upon the Limousin Area made up of Le Creuse, Haute Vienne and Correze. The more we investigated over the following few weeks the more we became enthralled and intrigued by this part of France.