Moving in

1st March

Set off early but the snow was already falling and traffic was bad – however we made it to Okehampton to meet with our lovely letting agent Anne-Marie to sign some paperwork and collect our keys – stage one complete!

The decision to whizz round the supermarket and get a few days’ worth of food – we had time as the removal guys had estimated a 10/11am arrival - turned out to be a good one.

Andy wanted to drive our Audi up to the cottage, as it’s a very steep hill and he wasn’t convinced it would made it – I followed in our Defender which was perfect for the height and conditions. We had to stop briefly as an entire camp of Army cadets trooped past, also on the move from the site on Dartmoor to another – they were very friendly but looked mighty cold!

Stage two complete as we got both cars are ourselves to the cottage safe and well. No fridge yet as it was on one of the trucks, but since it was already way beyond freezing it was no problem to leave the shopping in the car. We were delighted to find the cottage warm, now we just had to wait and watch the weather worsen as we hoped our boys were doing ok travelling down.

Amazingly they made it a couple of hours later and we started the big unload. Conditions were properly grim as the Beast and Emma continued to unleash their worst. Snowdrifts rushed in to the barn and cottage while I valiantly tried to keep the brand new carpets protected and kept everyone warm with endless tea and coffee. Andy and the boys worked tirelessly and I was super impressed by everyone’s stoic attitude, sense of humour and lack of complaint. The ceilings are very low in this cottage and we were concerned about a few pieces of furniture even fitting in – they all went in and were our small victories for the day!

We were all exhausted when everything was finally unloaded by late afternoon and the boys still had to get back to Hertfordshire.

Wasn’t going to happen.

Despite best efforts those three trucks weren’t going anywhere so Andy very kindly offered to take the boys in our Defender to try and find accommodation. In the meantime, the local roads including the A30 had ground to a halt so they weren’t the only ones looking for shelter for the night.

Andy was out in the absolute worst of the storm for a couple of hours and I was frantic – this wasn’t how our first night in our new home was supposed to be.

A line or two here about the selfless, kind, generous and sometimes dangerous work done, voluntarily, by the community of 4x4 drivers during these challenging weather conditions.

Without this voluntary army our country would have ground to a halt – amazing stories about 4x4 drivers getting healthcare workers around, pulling people out when their vehicles were stuck. And a great sense of community all round.

I spotted this open letter and petition on facebook

Andy ended up having to abandon his Defender a mile or so away at the end of our lane and trek back. We eventually sat down to a pizza sometime after 9. I’ve never seen my husband so exhausted – I’m so very proud of him but couldn’t have been gladder to have him home safe. We go to sleep for the first time in our gorgeous new home thinking of the many who are stuck out there tonight and feeling blessed that we are in, with all our stuff, safe and warm.