Swapping Cornish Coast For Lakeside Living In Peterborough

A couple from Cornwall bought a new home more than 300 miles away in Peterborough without ever having seen the property.

Rob and Gavin Gunn purchased the four-bedroom detached house at Bovis Homes’ Hampton Water development in Peterborough after conducting the whole buying process online.

The first time the pair, who lived just outside the seaside resort of Perranporth, visited their new home was on the day they moved in.

“The sales team at Hampton Water were amazing,” said Rob. “Elouise gave us a tour of the show home through a WhatsApp live video on her mobile phone. It was great fun as we were able to ask her to stop and open cupboards and look behind doors. It was really lucky that the show home was an ‘Aspen’, which was the type of house we were looking to buy.

“We were so impressed with the layout and look of the house that we reserved the plot a few days later. The sales team then kept in touch at every step of the way and the site manager Mark Tattershall used live video chats to keep us informed of the build progress as we went along.”

Rob, a manager for a health and well-being company, and Gavin, an engineer, were in the process of selling their house in a village on the north Cornwall coast to move to another home in the county when some bad news made them change their plans.

“My father had been diagnosed with dementia a few years ago but then we got the news just before Christmas in 2020 that Gavin’s stepfather had terminal cancer,” said Rob. “It was such a shock that we suddenly decided that we should move up north to be nearer to our mothers to be able to help and support them.”

The pair started to look for a new home located somewhere between Rob’s mum in Hertfordshire and Gavin’s mother in Lincolnshire.

“We searched on the internet and found the Bovis Homes development at Hampton Water and liked the look of it,” said Rob. “Gavin’s brother lives in Peterborough and told us that it was on the edge of the city and a good place to live.     

“We did not want to leave Cornwall as it is such a wonderful place to live but we could not have picked a better second place than here at Hampton Water. Anyone would miss the beauty of Cornwall but we really love it here. It is one of the best new-build developments I have ever seen.

“The development is right next to two lakes and we can walk out of our front door and be lakeside within minutes. We have two Old Tyme Bulldogs, called Cash and Maggie, and there is nothing better than strolling over to the lake with them.

“The dogs get to go for a paddle and we get to benefit from the relaxing atmosphere of the waterside environment. I work from home and some days when I have had a stressful morning I can walk over to the lake with Cash and Maggie and totally destress. By the time I get back home I am ready for the afternoon feeling fresh and full of energy.”

The couple, who moved to Hampton Water in May last year, are both enjoying the extra space that their new four-bedroom detached home provides. Rob said: “In Cornwall, we used to live in a three-bedroom end-of-terrace new build and it felt so cramped. The rooms are so much bigger here and the downstairs is big enough for me to use the study as a work from home area.

“Our favourite place in the new home is the huge kitchen and dining room space which has bi-fold doors leading to the garden. When we open the doors the house and the garden become one huge relaxing and entertaining space. We have had barbecues and drinks parties here and it’s just perfect.”

The pair said they would not hesitate to recommend Bovis Homes and Hampton Water. “Everyone at Bovis Homes has been brilliant,” said Gavin. “Elouise and Mark went over and above what was required of them many, many times to keep us informed and reassured along every step of the way and even now they are there for us if we have a problem.

“It seems amazing that we bought a house that we had never seen on a development we had never visited but that’s exactly what happened. It is tribute to the team at Bovis Homes that we were able to do this and that we love our new home.”  

There’s currently a selection of two- and three-bedroom homes available at Hampton Water, with prices starting at £200,000. Find out more at bovishomes.co.uk.

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