New Home.

Phew! We made it. Let me just say that 5 1/2 days to pack up a 6 bedroom house that you've lived in for 25 years is not enough. (That was the time left after the removal men had taken the stuff that was going into storage.) On the actual day the removal team were like a whirlwind with stuff disappearing before I even had time to put it into boxes. The furniture vans and Peter left mid-afternoon while I stayed behind to; finish cutting up the sofa, make 2 trips to the dump, hoover the whole house, take down a heavy full length mirror I had forgotten to remind the men about, cram the mirror and 3 crates of garden stuff from a shed and the cats into my car and return the screwdrivers I had borrowed from our neighbours because the screwdriver set had gone. I arrived to the new house to find every room jammed full of boxes and a lot of furniture in the wrong rooms.

In the kitchen the washing machine was blocking off the sink because it was too big to fit in its space and the fridge freezer was still in its packaging. With all this chaos it was wonderful to find a friend had been round earlier in the day to leave a card and a home-made coffee and walnut cake. The cake was especially appreciated as it was my first food of the day eaten at about 9.00 and kept me going through a weekend of heaving things around and unpacking.

We've been here a week and most of the furniture is in the correct rooms (a large cupboard is still in our garage down the road). Because we have moved to an area we are familiar with Peter knows a wide network of people which includes many trades people. Through his contacts he has organised; replacement of all the double glazing and glass doors to the conservatory, new hatch to the loft with ladder plus flooring and insulation for the loft, putting in more electrical sockets and a ring main, removal of the shed and taking out a false wall in the sitting room with a nook for the tv. I foresee a lot of mess in the next few weeks but it will be worth it to have everything in good condition with all the relevant certificates. When all that's done we'll be painting the walls as grey is not really our colour scheme. We've already has the people from Sky come and install a dish which involved throwing wires over the roof in a hail shower and the telephone and internet both from Sky are up and running. 

It may sound as if there are a lot of things wrong with this place but we had anticipated the necessary work and will recoup the costs when we sell up. On the other hand the things that cannot be changed, the location, the quiet and the views are all excellent. The house faces south west and being on a hill has wonderful views (which I haven't really shown) of the estuary, Braunton Burrows and on the far side of Barnstaple Bay the land leading out to Hartland Point. Best of all are the amazing sky views and wonderful sunsets. The photo above shows what I see when I'm sitting on the sofa but if I stand at the window I can see the countryside for miles towards Hartland.

We couldn't be in a quieter location, not only are we at the end of a cul-de-sac but we face a small grassy area away from the road. There is only one road of houses to the right before the fields begin. 

This is my view when sitting in bed (spot the condensation on the existing windows), the tops of some trees, fields and lots of sky. 

Some of the places we can see from the front of the house. Sadly no sea views as the sea is on the other side of Braunton Burrows a Unesco Biosphere reserve. 

I tried to capture the magnificent sunset last night but the photos with the best colour came out blurry.