I have lived in Lichfield for over 25 years. I fell in love with this house when I first saw it. We drove up the lane and a fox jumped across in front of us and I felt that was the first sign. The house was a complete mess with a very run down with a large garden that was just about waist high and very unloved. I was teaching full time with two very small children and it was a challenge moving into a house that needed so much love and work, but I had a vision and I knew it could make a wonderful family home. I was not wrong.
The house saw me through some of the worst times in my life and also some of the best. The garden gave me the chance to learn and nurture my local wildlife and my WildlifeKate business started there. I loved the garden throughout the time I was there, but especially when my children grew up and the garden became all mine to nurture and turn into a mini wildlife haven.
I have now reached a different phase of my life. My two children have now left home and have set up their own lives. I finished teaching 18 months ago, to allow me to focus purely on my wildlife work, meaning there was no need to stay in Lichfield. It was time to follow my dream and sell up to buy something with more land in a more rural area.
I had to bite the bullet and make things happen!
I put the house on the market and sold in just a few days to a wonderful couple that fell in love the minute they saw the house and garden. I knew it was in safe hands. I headed to South Wales to look at a selection of properties I had seen online.
I had no idea what I really wanted, other than land that would give me the opportunity to develop it for wildlife, to watch, film and share. I had a feeling that I would just 'know' when I found the right property and this is exactly what happened. Within a day, I had found exactly what I wanted, met the owner, who had nurtured it for 30 years for wildlife, and we knew this house had been waiting for me. My offer was accepted and I was in shock!
I returned home to pack up and, with everything happening rather fast at the end, I decided to undertake the move myself, with help from friends and family! Not an easy task, but a large van 2 trips, wonderful friends and a lot of hard work, we loaded my life , ready for the 3 1/2 hr trips to Wales.
Massive thank you to Denis, who helped with that first load... packed to the hilt, driven to Wales and return in a day, ready to repack the following day.
Monday morning dawned and it was time to leave this Lichfield life, where I had raised my two children, to move on to this exciting new phase of my life. Mixed feelings but no sadness, just joy that everything had worked out so far and I was leaving many, many happy memories....
With my kids and grand-daughter, we said our goodbyes...
Three van loads and my car packed full, , we hit the road, with blue skies and sunshine!
An exhausting day, but oh my goodness.... a dream to arrive and begin to believe that this beautiful house and garden was really mine...... my new forever home......
