Through the chaos of preparing for a move and a job change for my husband, we decided to disappear west for a few days to a little cottage I found listed online. A bit of a nightmare to find (we eventually realised we had to squeeze through a tiny gap between a house and a big horse box and we’d emerge onto a track behind) but once you’re there, you feel completely alone.
An adorable little home, quaintly furnished with homely touches. These types of places are my favourite to stay in… not overly curated, not trying to perfect in any way. An honest, traditional house. There was no tv, no wifi, barely any phone signal. Just the cottage and the hills behind it.
The couple of days we spent here were a breath of fresh air, although I did notice two things…. Fox followed me around like a lost puppy. He’s always lived in vans which are really just one room, so he’s always able to see me. In the house, he’d follow me from room to room, not used to being out of eyesight. And, houses are too hot. I always say this when I visit family. Their houses are always bloody roasting and I feel like there’s no fresh air. I’ve climatised to a colder way of living, where there’s always a draft coming in from some random air vent and honestly, I like it. I find houses can be really stifling now so I spent a lot of time perched in the corner of the sitting room, writing on my laptop or making notes of my thoughts into my notebook, with the window wide open. I always like to feel half outside.
We didn’t plan anything to do while we were there… just wandering, driving back roads, seeing where we stumbled. I spent a lot of time whipping my camera out of my backpack, photographing coastal buildings and aesthetically-pleasing rocks.
