WE ESCAPED THE RAT RACE TO LIVE BY THE SEA
EVER FANTASISE ABOUT MOVING TO LIVE IN A SEASIDE LOCATION? VICTORIA YOUNG SPEAKS TO THREE WOMEN WHO HAVE TURNED THAT DREAM INTO REALITY
TURNING A DREAM INTO REALITY
“We rented out our home to create a new life by the coast”
BRIGID CLARKE, 55, AND HER HUSBAND, TIM, 57, MOVED TO CORNWALL THIS YEAR, HAVING BUILT THEIR OWN SEAFRONT HOUSE. THEY HAVE TWO GROWN-UP DAUGHTERS, AND RUN A BIKE HIRE AND COFFEE SHOP.
OUR DAUGHTERS HAD LEFT HOME AND WE WERE READY TO THINK ABOUT A NEXT
LIFE STAGE BUT HAD NO CLEAR PLANS. THEN ONE WEEKEND A FEW YEARS AGO I WENT TO PORTREATH, A BEAUTIFUL FISHING VILLAGE ON THE NORTH CORNISH COAST, TO HELP A FRIEND WHO HAD MOVED THERE. EVERYONE IN THE PUB WAS TALKING ABOUT A PIECE OF LAND UP FOR SALE THAT LOOKS RIGHT OVER THE BEACH. IT TURNED OUT TO BE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF MY FRIEND’S HOUSE AND THE SEA VIEW WAS JUST PHENOMENAL. I HAVE A STRONG INTEREST IN SUSTAINABLE BUILDING AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AND I HAD JUST COMPLETED AN MSC IN ARCHITECTURE: ADVANCED ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY STUDIES. IN LONDON I WAS WORKING AS A BUILDING PROJECT MANAGER AND WAS APPLYING MY MSC IN SMALL WAYS. BUT WHEN I SAW THIS PLOT OF LAND – WHICH HAD PLANNING PERMISSION – I WAS SWEPT AWAY BY
THE IDEA OF BUILDING A HOUSE THERE.
TIM TOOK SOME PERSUADING; AT FIRST HE THOUGHT I WAS MAD. BUT I GOT HIM TO COME AND SEE THE PLOT, AT WHICH POINT HE CAME ROUND TO THE IDEA. THE PLAN WAS TO BUILD A TWO-BEDROOM HOUSE THAT WE’D RENT OUT, SO IT WOULD PAY FOR ITSELF. WE HAD NO INTENTION OF LIVING THERE.
WE MORTGAGED OUR HOUSE IN
LONDON TO HELP RAISE THE MONEY, AND ALSO USED SAVINGS, AND WE BOUGHT THE PLOT IN MARCH 2013. WE WANTED TO
MAKE THE PROPERTY AS ENERGYEFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE, MAKING COMPLETE USE OF THE SUN,
AND ALSO OF THE VIEWS, AND A BRILLIANT LOCAL BUILDING DESIGNER
CALLED CHARLES GREEN HELPED US. WE DID SOIL AND BAT SURVEYS – MAINLY TO SATISFY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT THAT WE’D THOUGHT IT ALL THROUGH – AND PERMISSION WAS GRANTED.
TO BUILD, WE HAD TO CUT INTO ROCK; DEVONIAN SLATE, KNOWN LOCALLY AS
KILLAS. FOR THE HOUSE TO BE STABLE, WE NEEDED TO CREATE A BIG RETAINING WALL BETWEEN THE HOUSE AND THE LANE THAT IS BEHIND IT. SO I SUGGESTED WE BUILD A FOUR-BEDROOM HOUSE INSTEAD, TO JUSTIFY THE SIZE OF THE WALL. TIM KEPT SAYING, ”DON’T GO TOO MAD – IT’S NOT GOING
TO BE OUR PERMANENT HOME.” BUT I CONFESS, I IGNORED HIM COMPLETELY! THE HOUSE TOOK JUST OVER A YEAR TO BUILD AND WAS FINISHED IN AUTUMN 2015. WE WORKED WITH LOCAL BUILDERS, PHABY AND LUKE, AND THEIR AMAZING ATTENTION TO DETAIL MEANT THAT THE HOUSE HAS
THE TOP SCORE – AA – ON THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE, A GUIDE THAT SHOWS HOW EFFICIENTLY A HOUSE USES ENERGY. THIS IS A REAL ACHIEVEMENT BECAUSE THE HOUSE IS NORTH FACING, SO DOESN’T GET A LOT OF SUNLIGHT ON THE FRONT, AND ALSO WE USED A LOT OF GLASS. WE’VE ACHIEVED THIS BY USING SOLAR PANELS AND ALSO A GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP, WHICH TAKES THE HEAT OUT OF THE EARTH TO HELP PREHEAT OUR UNDERFLOOR HEATING AND HOT WATER. THIS MEANS RADICALLY CHEAPER BILLS.
IN THE MEANTIME, TIM,
WHO SPENT OVER 30
YEARS WORKING AS A
HEADHUNTER IN LONDON, HAD DECIDED THAT HE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. HE’S A KEEN CYCLIST AND, BROWSING ONLINE ONE DAY, SPOTTED THAT A SHOP 300 YARDS FROM OUR NEW HOUSE WAS UP FOR SALE. SO IT WAS ACTUALLY
HIS IDEA TO MOVE INTO THE HOUSE! HIS IDEA WAS TO RUN A BIKE-HIRE BUSINESS FROM THE SHOP, AND A CAFÉ. WHEN HE SUGGESTED IT, MY VIEW WAS THAT WE COULD SIT IN LONDON FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS DOING THE SAME THING – WHICH WE LOVED – BUT IT FELT LIKE WE HAD ANOTHER PROJECT IN US AND WE WERE ENTHUSIASTIC ENOUGH TO TAKE ON A NEW CHALLENGE.
WHEN WE FINALLY FINISHED UNLOADING OUR REMOVAL VAN, WE WENT TO THE LOCAL PUB FOR SOME FOOD AND THEN CAME HOME AND JUST COLLAPSED! WE SLEPT
WITH THE WINDOWS OPEN SO WERE LULLED TO SLEEP BY THE LAPPING WAVES, AND I REMEMBER OPENING THE CURTAINS TO SEE THE BEACH AND SEA UNDER A BEAUTIFUL CLEAR BLUE SKY AND FEELING LIKE WE WERE ON HOLIDAY. YOU CAN’T HELP BUT WATCH THE WEATHER FROM THIS HOUSE AND THE BIG STORMS ARE AMAZING. THEY ARE STRONG, BUT WE ARE PROTECTED BY A HEADLAND SO DON’T GET THE BRUNT OF THE WIND, AND FEEL TOTALLY SECURE IN OUR AIRTIGHT HOUSE.
TO MAKE THE FIGURES ADD UP WE NEEDED TO RENT OUT OUR HOUSE IN LONDON BUT THE BIKE SHOP NEEDS TO
PAY FOR ITSELF, WHICH IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE WITH A SEASONAL BUSINESS. THE ORIGINAL SHOP HAD BEEN THE ONLY BEACH SHOP IN THE VILLAGE SO WE DECIDED TO KEEP THAT ELEMENT, AS WELL AS BIKE HIRE AND CAFÉ. THAT MEANT WE HAD TO LEARN THREE NEW BUSINESSES, ALL OF WHICH REQUIRE DIFFERENT STOCKISTS AND STAFFING! SO IT’S BEEN A STEEP LEARNING CURVE AND VERY CHALLENGING. WE SPENT LAST SUMMER CLEARING OUT OUR FAMILY HOME, AND MOVING TO CORNWALL. AND ON 1 APRIL, WE OPENED THE HUB PORTREATH, A BIKE SHOP WITH A COFFEE SHOP ATTACHED.
TIM OVERSEES THE BIKES AND THE MARKETING. I DO THE BUYING FOR THE
SHOP, ALL THE ORDERING AND MENU PLANNING, AND WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM.
WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 32 YEARS AND ALWAYS SAID WE’D NEVER WORK TOGETHER IN CASE IT ALL ENDED UP IN FIREWORKS. BUT ACTUALLY IT WORKS REALLY WELL – THIS IS A REAL NEW CHAPTER FOR US.
I DO MISS FRIENDS AND OUR GIRLS BEING DOWN THE ROAD. BUT SO FAR WE’VE BEEN LUCKY; THE GIRLS HAVE VISITED AND VARIOUS FRIENDS HAVE TOO – WHICH IS LOVELY, ALTHOUGH I’M AWARE THAT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE DOWNSIDES OF BEING SO FAR AWAY. BUT ALTHOUGH I MISS THE PEOPLE,
I DON’T MISS MY OLD CITY LIFE AT ALL.