Poitou-Charentes, Vienne, Ingrandes, France

A34444TAL86 - Situated halfway along a no-through road just set back from the main part of the village, you can either park in the garage or just outside on the road (it's all free).
Entering the house itself, the tiled entrance hall (9m²) houses the original wooden staircase, whilst a door to the right leads to a second living room, which could also be used as an office or ground floor bedroom (18m²) with fireplace and beautiful wooden floor, the window overlooking the paved area and the church out the front. Back in the hall and on the opposite side a doorway leads to the kitchen (15m²), tiled in the same tiles as the entrance hall. At the rear of the kitchen, glazed doors open onto the dual-aspect dining room (tiled - 17m²), which is positively bathed in light and enjoys views over the river and garden. Twin bifold glazed doors on the third side of the dining room open onto the spacious yet comfortable living room (21m²) with a gorgeous parquet floor and two more windows facing the river, between which is an open fireplace.
Heading upstairs, a half-landing to the rear of the property offers access to the master bedroom (18m²) benefiting from built-in cupboards plus an ensuite bathroom (9.5m²) featuring a full-sized bath, bidet, washbasin and WC with privacy cubicle. The icing on the cake - a 16.5m² roof terrace perfect for watching the sun set over the river!
Back up the stairs towards the front of the house there is a small landing (1.5m²) with door to a shower room (4m²) with shower cubicle, WC and washbasin. To either side of this are two more bedrooms (15m² and 18m² respectively) each with the same wooden floorboards and original fireplace, plus views over church and village.
Up the final flight of stairs and there is another bedroom (17m²) with built-in cupboards and a door to the unconverted attic space (13m²).
Back downstairs, a side door from the kitchen and another door from the road both lead to a small covered area (2.5m²) at the top of an exposed flight of stairs down to the garden. Opposite the kitchen another door reveals an extra loo.
At the bottom of the steps a door to the right leads to the basement under the house, offering 4 distinct but connected spaces. The first of these is a laundry area (16m²) housing the washing machine but also a large double sink, the Viessmann boiler and sockets for a spare freezer, tumble drier, etc. Then there's a general storage area, with some interesting stone features (24m²). The pump room (15m²) houses a covered well, that actually supplies the water for the laundry, as well as for flushing the toilets in the property and allows you to water the garden for free, although all the other taps in the house dispense town water. Finally, a traditional vaulted cellar (16m²) provides an ambient temperature for wine storage. Apart from the vaulted cellar, the whole of the basement boasts surprisingly high ceilings - no stooping required here!
Outside, the garden is mostly laid to lawn on two levels, with a gate separating the higher and lower levels and another separating the lower level from the river beyond. As there is a natural underground brook running directly below the property, there is a constant flow of water feeding a small pond, which then filters on down to the river. At the top of the garden in the opposite corner to the house, there is a garage (23m²) at street level and a room below (also 23m²) accessible from the garden. This is currently arranged as bar for gathering with friends.

All in all, this is a very attractive and versatile family home in a rare position in a well serviced village, near an even better serviced town.

For those travelling from the UK, there are regular flights into Poitiers (just over half an hour away) or Tours (a bit further but still under an hour), the train station in Châtellerault can get you to Paris in just over an hour and a half, from where you can pick up the Eurostar, and the nearest ports are around 4 hours away.

If you're looking at it as a holiday destination, several châteaux are within easy distance for a day trip, and the popular attraction, Futuroscope, is a mere half an hour away.