Two Weeks on... Down a Devon Country Lane

 

Thursday 26th November.  It's hard to believe but two weeks have passed and we already feel very settled in our home here in East Allington. Of course there are still plenty of boxes which need to be unpacked, but we have our bedroom sorted and a guest room almost ready to receive visitors once they are permitted. We have a comfortable room in which to relax and have already received a procession of tradespeople delivering logs, talking building alterations, log burning stoves and most recently the kitchen layout designer!  We've even managed to start some clearing up outside; and at the end of our first week a small number of the many trees we plan for our land were planted.

Weather has been mixed since our arrival, well it is November! But when it's dry we try to get some of the initial outside work started and when it's not there is plenty to keep us busy inside. A trip to a nearby garden centre has got us started with compost for our many pots in which Mary has planted a good selection of bulbs. I've made a start with sorting out the greenhouse, though this has first required the elimination of rats which have in the past had a clear run of the garden and outbuildings! The previous owners had horses, chickens, ducks and goats, so it's of little surprise they also had rats! More of the rats in a future post!

We've also had some fantastic sunsets.

We have had socially distanced visits from daughter Clare and grandson Tom, Mary's sister Chris and brother Andrew with sister-in-law Claire. All outdoors and all at two metres plus!

We have been shopping in Kingsbridge (Tescos) and Totnes (lots of independents) and our local farm shop near Torcross. Mary, Caroline and Benji have been exploring the field paths and local lanes on walks with Hobie - Caro and Benji's black Labrador. 

We've even managed a couple of trips to the beach at Torcross with fish and chips on one of them, so getting settled into our new way of life Down a Devon Country Lane. Though it rained most of the time!

The Day of the Move

Thursday 12th November

After thirty-eight years in our house in the lovely old market town of Somerton in the heart of rural Somerset, we are moving out and heading further south and west to start a new life. And today is the day!

To many of our friends, and perhaps some family members will also secretly agree, our move seems a strange thing to be considering, let alone doing, at this stage in our lives. Here we have a super home and garden with fabulous views over the Somerset countryside towards Glastonbury Tor. A home where our two daughters have passed through their education and grown to adulthood. A town where we have put down roots in our local community. An area where we have been lucky enough to grow many friendships. But today we leave all this behind us as we start on a new adventure. Today we head off into the South Hams district of South Devon towards the rest of our lives.

Over the next few weeks, months and years this blog will be a record of those adventures as we adjust to our newly chosen course, including the refurbishment of our share of an old farmhouse, the restoration and creation of gardens and the exploration of the countryside and coastline of Devon.

The reference to sharing above is important as we are embarking on this adventure by moving into part of a property which we shall be sharing with our daughter, son-in-law and our two granddaughters. Though when looking for a suitable property we were all in agreement that we needed our own front door, our own staircase, a guest bedroom for our friends and of course our own living space to relax, prepare food and eat. And here "Down a Devon Country Lane" we found it.

The vans arrived at Cross Farmhouse ahead of us and we used every available storage space for our many boxes, and indeed some of our furniture. The four vans a necessity due to the narrow Devon Lanes on the final approach. By bedtime we had at least all got beds to sleep in!

The property we are buying with Caroline and her husband Benji is an old Devon farmhouse with gardens and about three acres of land, currently used as paddocks for the seller's horses; so, of course, we also have a stable block. In addition there is a large barn with the potential to convert so we have plenty of exciting projects in the years ahead.

Cross Farmhouse sits on a south facing sloping site with wide views across rolling countryside. The nearest town is Kingsbridge on the Salcombe Estuary just five miles away and the sea a similar distance at Torcross. Totnes is ten miles to the north and Plymouth and Exeter are both under the hour. Although the postal address is East Allington, Cross Farmhouse is about a mile and a half from the centre of the village with its school, church and pub.

Our move proved to be relatively painless. We had packed well ahead of the big day and had been surrounded by boxes for several weeks. Our only problem proved to be the settee, which had to exit via the large window (once it had been removed!). Thanks to Gary Stamp, one of Mary's ex-pupils and dad to a couple of kids I knew through pantomime; it was very straight forward in the end!