Axat
property details
for a Hub House co-operative coliving project

Environment ✧ deep rocky wooded gorges at bottom of Pyrenees; beach 1h

Services ✧ corner shop, bar; villages 20mins bike or bus; supermarket 15mins drive

Access ✧ Perpignan/Carcassonne 1h drive/1h15 €1 bus; Barcelona +1h30, Paris 5h15

Area ✧ isolated, though the tiny 'town' of Quillan is just 15mins drive with some restaurants and cafes (including a Tibetan) but otherwise quiet and not notable except for the summer; whilst a very easy 30mins by bike it's not advisable unless fit/or with electric due to the narrow road

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one bus to Carca at 6:30am (2h, 30min change to train); return at 4:30pm, else last 7pm to Quillan, daytrips could also allow for late pickups
✦ one bus to Perpignan 1h30 at 9am, 3 back at midday, 5pm and 6pm; few busses actually stop at the village, most from the neighbouring villages for pickups from Barcelona

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most outings would thus be driving but mornings towards Perpignan are possible
✦ the train line will reopen to Quillan in 2030 putting Carca at 1h with 10min dropoff thus suitable for days out and better for access (unfortunately long delayed by a mayor who wants a greenway instead, both will probably improve tourism equally, but the train is much better all round with access)

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(bad) bakery, (passable) resto, (good) pizziera, (good) minimart
✦ better resto 10mins bike/30 walk
✦ tennis and nice little riverside garden

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Esperaza with its lively village market is 20mins drive, and the town of Limoux is 45mins so would probably be a fairly regular outing especially for its winter-long carnival as it's the only notable town as Perpignan is a bit too far
✦ Limoux is 45mins drive so would not be a frequent outing but could be combined with pickups, and isn't too bad by bus (and in future train)
✦ accessible from Barcelona, Perpignan is also served by low cost high speed trains thus Paris is only €60, (its airport isn't particularly useful) Carcasonne airport is served all year, with Lisbon is possible via Porto

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ruined Cathar castle in the next valley
✦ canyoning, kayaking, rafting at door
✦ via ferrata (with zip and abseil, plus another mixed), horse riding all within 30mins
✦ 1h daytrips are quite varied for beach, and the high mountains/skiing, or to the plains and Mirepoix, plus can be split with additional stops such as for Prades, though Canigou is a bit far
✦ natural labyrinthe and multiple villages for jaunts within 30mins
✦ lakes in 45mins (if they retain water…)
✦ the nearest peak at 2400m is 40mins drive for a 3–4h hike though not especially remarkable
✦ biking from door most involving min 600m climbing in woods, but 1x gentle 1h there-back, and a moderate 2h to the castle with variants; it's 30mins on a narrow
✦ hikes from door with 1x 1h circuit and 4x 2h circuits

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does get a bit of snow snow in winter but sun is pretty decent with a fairly even split of sunny/mixed/overcast
✦ in the summer there's a fair amount of cloud which is desireable but rarely overcast

Property ✧ partly stripped and ready for refit, partly usable; pvc double-glazed windows and doors throughout
✦ possibly 1 remaining apartment rented, if so likely difficult to relocate as limited supply
✦ 85m2 per floor 10m wide, 9m deep; divided front (south) and back (north) by a load bearing wall with openings, the side windows are in the south half, and the doors each side (west end)
✦ full south exposure, overlooks a bungalow in front so view not obstructed but there's a 1300m peak directly to the south, however there's a view up the gorges
✦ 10 bedrooms, 6 pods
  ✧ ground - full height cellar opening onto garden, only the front half ~45m2; lounge with fireplace and for cinema; possible storage and sauna if split with small door on one side (but better to build on a terrace with a plunge pool, and laundry elsewhere); would open into conservatory and orangerie
  ✧ 1st - no rear windows as backs into bank, has side entrances with steps down; kitchen, dining opening onto terrace (over conservatory)
  ✧ 2nd - " has side entrances with steps up; 6 full height pods (probably blocking side doors) with bathrooms and staircase at rear
  ✧ 3rd - opens onto upper road with large window looking onto tourist-train station (north facing), no east side window; workspaces (casual for 8 at back/road, focus for 6 at front/south), 1 ensuite bedroom (east)
  ✧ 4th - library with 2 south windows and 1 west; 4 ensuite bedrooms (3 at back, 1 premium at south-east with 2 windows)
  ✧ 5th - attic but good north windows, 5 ensuite bedrooms, 2 with skylights
✦ (might be preferable to swap 1st and 2nd, in which case the orangerie would be smaller, a smaller terrace with a better view, and more floor insulation from kitchen floor to pods)
✦ staircase for 3rd-4th-5th is in centre with a small skylight
✦ 1st–2nd–3rd likely have no staircase so would need creating in the back half
✦ an orangerie would be built at the south-west corner over the steps into the 1st floor giving enclosed access to the lounge, would also have a 30m2 terrace with a ground floor conservatory below it as an extension of the orangerie and front for the caves, the far ground floor would be a lively lounge
✦ attic has full windows at 'back' onto small road but none at front as lower wall

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~100m2 flat garden directly in front that's only ~5m deep, the section in front of the house would be an orangerie with a 30m2 balcony terrace over
✦ ~150m2 steep garden bank part track and 25m2 shed onto upper road that is somewhat superflous; this bank would be terraced, thus there'd be a terrace from the 1st dining, and from the 2nd pods

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for additional capacity or better indpendence there's 5 gites at the old gendarmerie in front with direct access via a track, expensive and some 2/3 bedroom but could be reasonable if arranged
✦ 100m2 garage/shed onto the lower road which could be for sale and would add additional garden and event/yoga/gym space
✦ another 190m2 abandoned garage 2 buildings along actually for sale, which would be great as public coworking however just not enough demand