House Hunt

Isn’t technology wonderful? Over the last few weeks I have looked at hundreds of houses on Rightmove without moving from my armchair.  I’ve been able to drive along roads to check out neighbourhoods on Streetview and zoom out to satellite mode to discover the whereabouts of power stations, quarries and railway lines.   I have travelled from Cornwall, through Devon, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, nipped over the border to Wales (yes, there was a house for sale in Trelawnyd), before shooting across to Lincolnshire and back down the east side of the country through Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.  Apart from a day trip to Wales all this travelling was done from the comfort of my home.

We had a whole list of criteria to consider – a large, private garden for Paul and Rick, a quiet, rural location, not too close to any neighbours (Rick barks a lot) and enough space indoors to accommodate visiting daughters.  I envisaged a period house with a big kitchen opening out onto an expansive lawn.

We put a shortlist of properties together but didn’t dare arrange any viewings until our two properties were under offer.  Finally we got the ‘phone call we were waiting for and we accepted an offer for our second property.  Now we could have some fun and arrange some viewings.  But we were too late and most of the houses had been sold, apart from a beautiful bungalow with a large garden in the Lincolnshire Wolds. We made an appointment to view and booked some dog friendly overnight accommodation as the journey would take several hours.  But we were thwarted once again when, just prior to setting out, the estate agent rang to say the owners had accepted an offer on the property. 

Back to scanning properties on Rightmove.  The perfect cottage in Shropshire with a large garden popped up on the screen.  Paul picked up the phone.  We would have to leave straightaway to make an afternoon appointment, other people were viewing too. We were very excited. Then I checked the room sizes, it was tiny.  Sadly we cancelled the appointment.

not this one

Back to the computer. A nice bungalow in Devon but a public footpath at the bottom of the garden would have Rick barking at every passer-by.  An idyllic, isolated cottage in Cornwall, the garden was beautiful but massive. It would be a jungle by the time we got back from France. A contemporary house in Gloucestershire, you must be joking with that decor.  Well actually, it ticks a lot of boxes and the bedrooms are a good size. So on Wednesday we headed west along the motorway and across the old Severn Bridge. The house was the polar opposite to anything we had imagined we would buy but the location and views sounded amazing. Would this be the one?