Our Country Story
After 15 years of fast-paced London life, we found ourselves craving something a little slower.
It really began during Covid, when we moved in with my husband’s parents on the farm where he grew up. Having always lived in a town or city myself (I grew up in East London) country life was completely new to me. I started to appreciate the beauty of nature and the simplicity of everyday moments: sitting by the fire, going for long walks and enjoying a quieter pace of life.
When we eventually moved back to London after Covid, that feeling never really left. There was always a pull back towards the countryside and the life we had briefly discovered there.
And so, our next adventure began…
The Move From London
Full disclosure: getting here took a lot longer than we ever imagined. It took three years to sell my flat in London, with more than a few setbacks, failed sales, block issues, lease issues, and so many stressful moments along the way.
At times, it felt as though the move might never happen, but looking back now, every disappointment was worth it. We’re finally here, turning the life we’d imagined into a reality.
I want to use this space to share the honest side of that journey too – the messy, hopeful reality of creating a country life of our own, one room, one garden border and one village tradition at a time.
Life Here
We fell in love with a Grade II listed Jacobean cottage in the village of Flaunden, Hertfordshire. Full of character and beautifully looked after by the previous owners, it sits on a wonderfully quiet road and offered just the right amount of space for the life we wanted to create.
We quickly fell for the village itself too. With just two local pubs, a village hall and a church, it is a world away from the convenience of London we were used to. At first, I wasn’t sure whether somewhere quite so small would suit us. We had been used to having everything on our doorstep, so the change felt huge. But something about this place felt magical, and we felt so peaceful and happy just walking around here, and was a feeling we could not ignore. Follow us on this journey of adapting to this new way of life, things we have learnt along the way, and local restaurants/pubs we have discovered.