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CastleNersac (16)
A 17th century chateau and its terraces registered as historical monuments, outbuildings, parkland and underground spring, set in 8 hectares of grounds overlooking the Charente valley. From the main road to the south, a large driveway lined with chestnut trees leads to the property gates, to the left of an L-shaped outbuilding to the north-west. A swimming pool at its northern end is protected by a walled enclosure, which extends from the outbuilding to the chateau moat, where it becomes a retaining wall. To the right of the outbuilding, an avenue of gnarled hornbeams crosses the grassy areas where fruit trees have been planted. There are a dovecote and a communal oven a few metres further on in the direction of the chateau. The main building, which is reached by going less than 50 m across the grounds, overlooks the River Charente. It is in an L-shape, which opens onto the sunlit valley it overlooks. Its two wings, framed by dry moats to the east and west, are bordered by terraces above, with the eastern one, which juts out towards the valley, featuring high arches running the entire length of the ground. The west wing, meanwhile, looks as if it is standing on a rock at its end, and the balustrade of the terrace closes off the courtyard on the lower level facing the River Charente, which flows around 300 m below. The chateau walls are crowned with crenellations scalloped on machicolations. The low-sloped canal tile roof is concealed by battlements and the ends of the gutters are in the shape of cannon mouths. The balustrade, at the edge of the dry moat which the entrance to the residence is above, is only just visible. Beyond this, as you go down towards the west, a house facing the stream stands on the hillside. Moors and coppices stretch out towards the river. Finally, beyond the parkland to the west, grassed areas adjoin the woods on the edge of the property.