‘WE MOVED TO A REMOTE CORNISH ISLAND’
Mary Considine, 50, spent five years renovating a house on a remote island off the Cornish coast with her partner Patrick. They now live in north Devon, where she helps run Patrick’s software business.
In our early 30s, Patrick and I were set for the life we thought we wanted – great jobs, a big house and 2.4 children. Patrick had a successful career in IT and had a five-bedroom Edwardian house in south London, which was perfect for a future family. I was working for a fancy independent school. When we were dating, I introduced Patrick to St George’s Island, off the coast of Cornwall. I’d adored the place as a child on a family holiday, and had visited every year since. Patrick loved it too.
We married there in 2006. Then things started to go wrong. We had three unsuccessful rounds of IVF. After the second round, my dad, who’d been ill for a while, died. We decided not to try another round. Heartbroken and depressed by the fertility drugs, I left work, unable to cope.
Shattered, Patrick and I decided to escape the sadness and have an adventure. The island seemed an obvious place to start. Two sisters who owned it died, leaving it to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. We approached the trust and they agreed to let us renovate the house in return for a 20-year lease, with potential to extend.
Patrick had recently set up his own software business and was able to work remotely from the island, with occasional trips back to London. We moved there in 2009 – happy and excited, but also nervous because the house was in a terrible state. But we’ve never felt as happy as we did the first night under that roof.
The first winter was tough – rough seas made the one-mile journey to the mainland in our inflatable impossible. But the arrival of spring was beautiful. We grew fruit and vegetables, had eggs from the ducks, and kept bees for honey. Best of all were the storms – there was an especially memorable storm one Valentine’s Day.
Our first five years were heavenly, but then Patrick’s health suddenly crashed in 2014. He has a rare genetic condition that causes severe muscle pain. His flare-ups had been manageable but that suddenly changed. He spent weeks in hospital on the mainland and could no longer walk any distance or do any physical work.
We had sunk a lot of money into the house, which we’d expected to live in for at least another 15 years. After 18 months, we knew we could no longer live there and continue working on it. It had been the best time of our lives and we were devastated to leave.
We moved to a less remote cottage in north Devon, and still visit the island for a few weeks each year. I’ve also written a book about our amazing experience, which has been cathartic. To anyone who feels a yearning to make a big change in their life, I say don’t wait, just do it – we’ve never regretted it for a moment.
‘To anyone yearning to make a change – just do it!’
✢ The Island House by Mary Considine (£16.99 HB, Monoray) is out now.