Steven CARTER's selection of French property for sale

About my area

The department of the Vienne is situated to the north of the Charente and the Haute Vienne and to the south of the Indre et Loire and the Maine et Loire. The population of the department in 2005 was 416,000 and a population density of 60 per square kilometre makes it one of the less densely populated areas of the country.

Stretching from Civray in the southwest to Montmorillon and La Trimouille in the east and from L'Isle Jourdain in the south to Loudun in the north this is a thriving agricultural area with many picturesque bustling towns.

The department capital is Poitiers, once home to Eleanor of Acquitaine and Richard the Lionheart, which houses one of France's premier universities. The pedestrianised heart of the city offers a chance to stroll through old cobbled streets enjoying the excellent shopping facilities as well as a regular programme of theatre, music and other cultural activities.

Access to the area from the UK is excellent; the drive from Calais is about seven hours; there is a daily service to Poitiers airport from London Stansted and a high speed train link from Waterloo to Poitiers via Lille.

As well as the usual attractions the Vienne offers a variety of special activities and places to visit; the Futuroscope leisure park is only 10 minutes away from Poitiers; those interested in wild life can visit the birds of prey at Chauvigny, the snakes at La Trimouille or the monkeys at Romagne; motor racing enthusiasts have the circuit at Le Vigeant, bibliophiles must visit the Cite de L'Ecrit at Montmorillon and the rivers Vienne, Clain and Gartempe attract fishermen, canoeists and water-skiers whilst golfers are served by two courses near Poitiers. Although becoming more popular with English buyers the area has yet to acquire the popularity of the Loire valley or the Dordogne and this is reflected in property prices.

About me

Before moving to France my background was in the field of international finance: I spent many years living in South America and, latterly, most of my time travelling around Europe; all of this travel helped confirm to me that my dream of, one day, settling in France to live was the right one.

After a long and arduous search I found a property, which has been my dream home since I was a young man, and I moved here in 2004. I live here in the southern Vienne with my partner who is a writer, but has yet to write "A Year in The Vienne".

Working for Leggett gives me the opportunity to meet a wide variety of buyers and to work closely with them to help them to find their dream property here in France. So many people are moving here to find a quality and pace of life which is difficult to achieve in the UK that I rarely have to 'sell' the benefits of our lifestyle- all I have to do is to listen to what you say, and don't say, and then find that one elusive property which ticks all of the boxes.

My partner and I spend all of our free time in renovating and modernising our beautiful manor house which is located in a tiny hamlet in the southern part of the Vienne, but there is still occasionally time to indulge in some fishing or clay-pigeon shooting; or even just to enjoy the peace and quiet.