Final Visits and New Outlooks - We've Moved!
Contracts are now exchanged, and we have moved into our rental home
Last week contracts were exchanged on the sale of our Yorkshire home, and we moved to our temporary rental home in Cumbria.
The last few weeks have been chaotic. Since Matt and I suddenly decided it was time to move on, we alternated between periods of frantic packing and periods of nervously waiting for something to happen.
I am sure anyone who has moved house will know how stressful it is, especially after living in the same house for over 30 years. Were we doing the right thing? Had our buyers changed their minds? Was there a problem with the survey? Would we be able to find somewhere we could be happy? What would we do with all the plants? Would the new owners feed the birds?
I didn’t think we were hoarders, but after living in the same house for so long it is amazing how much clutter we had accumulated. Especially with me being a keen gardener and cook and Matt being a keen cyclist - all activities which demand a lot of tools, utensils and accessories.
I lost count of the number of times we visited the local waste recycling centre last month. Always a thoroughly depressing experience. I can’t believe the amount of utter junk that people buy just to throw away. At least the items we were throwing out had been well used for many years, and to be honest most of them should probably have been replaced ages ago.
Added to this were all the items we donated to charity shops, plants we gave to neighbours and salable items we sold online.
Dismantling all the plants in the garden was probably the hardest part for me. When I sowed the seeds early this year, and then lovingly potted up all the tomato plants, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, beans, lettuces, broccoli, chard and many others, the thought of moving hadn’t even occurred to us. At least we managed to get a decent crop from many of them before we left.
Removal day arrived late last week. All our goods and furnishings have now been transferred to the house we have rented in Cumbria, which will act as a base while we search for our permanent home and as storage for our belongings.
It’s really nice here. When I look out of my window in the morning I can look over the estuary of the River Wampool and watch the changing tides instead of overlooking neighbours gardens and windows. And when I open my door I hear curlews and lapwings calling rather than loudly arguing kids, balls being kicked and revving engines. We should have done this years ago.
In between decluttering, packing and fretting, we visited as many of our favourite haunts as we could for the last time. I thought I would feel sad visiting places where we have spent so many happy days, knowing it would probably be our last visit. I know we won’t be a million miles away, but with the whole of Cumbria and Scotland to explore, why would we come back?
But actually I didn’t feel sad. I felt lucky to have spent a large part of our lives in this lovely area, with easy access to the wonderful city of York and so much nature and beautiful countryside. And I feel excited and enthusiastic about seeking a new home where we can live closer to the nature we love so much - be part of the countryside around us. Like I said, we should have done this years ago.
Of course, there are some things I will miss. Easy trips to my favourite coffee shop. Concerts at York’s excellent Early Music Centre. Hearing bitterns booming in spring. (Though perhaps with climate change they will follow me north…..)
Below is a random selection of photos taken on our final visits to favourite locations. I am so looking forward to discovering new haunts, and sharing them along the way.
You can see more of my photographs here at Photo4Me, where you can also buy prints in various formats.
A brilliant post Angie, I really enjoyed the excitement that leaps off the page. Interestingly, I thought I would feel sad when we moved from the south coast where I had lived all my life but I didn’t and I’ve never looked back. And what a fabulous view to wake up to even if it’s only temporary! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations on the move Angie! I look forward to hearing about your adventures in your new home county.
PS. Those pepper and chilli plants look amazing - do you have any tips??