Casa do Po???o Velho, meaning House of the Old Well, is a large 4 bedroom family home set in about three quarters an acre of south facing, fertile land close to the beautiful city of Coimbra in central Portugal.
It is situated in a beautiful area at the end of the small and friendly village of Lagares and is the last house on a track leading into the forest with only a small farm adjacent to it.
Both the house and the land are south facing, with stunning views that stretch over pine and eucalyptus forest out towards the distant Serra da Lousa Mountains.
The property takes its name from its 20 metre deep well which up until the arrival of mains water was the primary water supply for the whole village.
The property spreads itself generously over one level, the only steps inside the house are the three steps leading down in to the second living room/dining room.
There is a very luxurious feel to the property with exposed beam ceilings stretching up to 4.5 metres throughout the house, a roof top sun terrace, two large living rooms, a large kitchen with granite work surfaces and spacious bedrooms, all of which have ensuite bathrooms.
Being spread out over one level, the inside of the house feels very light, open and spacious.
Large glass doors in all of the living areas of the house open up on to a long, covered verandah giving fantastic views over the garden, forest and distant mountains.
The roof over the verandah has been designed so that direct sunlight only enters the rooms during the cooler months of the year when the sun is lower in the sky, during the summer months the windows and doors are shaded by the roof.
At one end of the verandah there is a large covered outdoor dining area, perfect for shaded lunchtimes or summer evening meals.
From the outside you can never get a complete view of the whole of the house, this gives the house the appearance of being much smaller than it is.
Kitchen 6.5m x 3.65m (21.5 x 12ft)
The large rustic kitchen is roughly divided in to cooking and dining areas by a granite topped kitchen island. The kitchen units are hand built in a rustic style using terracotta brick and solid wood, all work surfaces are solid granite.
For cooking there is a 90cm gas range oven and also a traditional Portuguese wood burning range.
Living Room 6.65m x 5.7m (21.8 x 18.7ft)
The 38m2 main living room is a great entertaining space with it's high exposed beam ceiling giving a real sense of space and it's two sets of large glass doors flooding the room with light.
As with all of the rooms in the house except the bathrooms, there are telephone, broadband internet and T.V. connections points.
The back living room wall has exposed sections of the original barn wall.
Living/Dining Room 6.65m x 4.75m (21.8 x 15.6ft)
The downstairs living room we also use as our main dining room. It is the only room in the house that doesn't have an exposed beam ceiling, this is because the space above this room accommodates the roof top sun terrace.
There is a traditional wood burning stove in this room which gives you that cosy feeling during the cooler months when it's raining and 3 metre wide glass doors leading out to the verandah and outside dining area.
As with all of the rooms in the house except the bathrooms, there are telephone, broadband internet and T.V. connections points.
Bedrooms
The house has four generously sized double bedrooms, all with high exposed beam ceilings and en-suite bathrooms. The bedroom dimensions are as follows :-
Bedroom 1 - 4.3m x 3.5m (14.1 x 11.5ft) En-suite Bathroom - 3.6m x 2.35m (11.8 x 7.7ft)
Bedroom 2 - 4.27m x 3.4m (14 x 11.5ft) En-suite Bathroom - 2.1m x 2.83m (6.9 x 9.3ft)
Bedroom 3 - 4.05m x 3.45m (13.3 x 11.3ft) En-suite Bathroom - 2.3m x 1.4m (7.7x 4.6ft)
Bedroom 3 - 4.05m x 3.45m (13.3 x 11.3ft) En-suite Bathroom - 2.2m x 1.4m (7.6x 4.6ft)
As with all of the rooms in the house except the bathrooms, there are telephone, broadband internet and T.V. connections points.
Garden and Land
The land covers an area of approximately three quarters of an acre and is gently sloping directly southwards making it ideal for growing virtually any type of crops or vegetables. We have recently had the top part of the land terraced so that we can extend the flower garden which occupies the land surrounding the house.
We have many different types of fruit trees, some well established and others that are only a couple of years old, these include:-
- Orange
- Tangerine
- Clementine
- Peach
- Necterine
- Apple
- Cherry
- Pommegranite
- Fig
We also have a 50 metre row of well established grape vines which we believe to be at least eighty years old and our olive trees are believed to be even older.
