Description:

Geography and Transport Links

Gueret is the departmental capital for Creuse, located in the heart of the department in the north of Limousin.  The town is by-passed by the RN145 which gives access to La Souterraine (and the A20) in the west.  Gueret does have rail services via the TER network, which enables access to both Limoges and Montluçon.  The nearest airport for flights to the UK is Limoges-Bellegarde, offering year-round services to an increasing number of destinations.

Climate

At an altitude of between 350m and 685m Gueret is typically wetter and cooler than its more westerly neighbours.  Average daytime summer temperatures are between 23C and 24C (13C to 15C low), and in winter this drops to 6C to 7C (2C to 3C low).  All seasons receive a decent amount of precipitation here, with the wettest being October with an average of 11cm, and the driest being September with 5.77cm.

Gueret is part of a zone which receives between 1750 and 2000 hours of sunshine per year.

Tourism

The key leisure feature here is the Lac de Courtille, a twelve hectare leisure lake offering swimming, fishing and watersports, as well as play areas, mini-golf and camping.  In the centre of Gueret is the Musée de la Sénatorerie, set in a public garden and exhibiting tapestries, paintings and ceramics from the seventeenth to nineteenth century.  The Monts de Gueret provide many opportunities for walking and cycling, and the tourist office can provide details of the numerous routes available. Les Loups de Chabrières is an animal park situated in the Monts de Guéret, where visitors can see wolves in a semi-free environment.  Also in the Monts de Guéret is a giant 2.2 hectare maze.

Economy

The farming cooperative Creuse Correze Berry Elevage are based here, as are Sauthon Industries (makers of baby furniture) as well as a number of transport companies.  Gueret is part of the economic zone of the same name, which has an unemployment rate of 7.2%, compared against the regional rate of 7.2% and the national rate of 9.1% (INSEE 2006).

Facilities

As you would expect from a town of this size all amenities are available including over 20 restaurants, a swimming pool and a cinema.   The local rugby club plays in the fourth tier of French rugby (Federale 2), whilst the football club play in the Ligue Centre-Ouest Division d'Honneur Regionale. 

Education

The town has five state nurseries/primary schools and one private, two state secondary schools (college) and one private, and two state Colleges (lycee).

Key Stats

Of the properties in Gueret 88.2% are classed as primary residences, with 5.4% being classed as second homes.  There are more females than males resident here (53.8% vs 46.2%), and there are more people aged 60 or over than the national average (24.7% vs 21.3%). The number of retired people is also more (21.6% vs 18.2%).  The percentage of people below the age of 19 is lower than the national average (19.7% vs 24.6%)

Key Facilities and Services: