We got lucky in finding a house to rent on Jordan street (Buckfastleigh), we were the first to see it since the property had recently been sympathetically renovated to keep it's character. It's real charm was the wood burning stove in the living area and country style kitchen. We shared a courtyard with next door another rental property with a single mum and her two children. After waiting two months for credit checks etc we moved into Buckfastleigh from Plymouth in November 2013 . We traded the student lifestyle and hussle and bussle of a city to the more simple life of the country. Living in the country certainly helped reduce my stress levels (as well as changing job) and without the urban noise I was finally able to sleep through the night with out waking up like I was a child again.

One of the best things about the town was it's proximity to Dartmoor National Park on it's door step offering great scenery and the opportunity to go on a variety of different walks. The town offered all the facilities we needed including a Co-op, post office (which also sold local vegetables), doctors, boots pharmacy and a collection of good places to eat including a fish & chip shop (Jolly Rogers) an indian restaurant (The Moguls Palace) and kebab house. The close proximity of food outlets meant we often couldn't resist temptation of either a meal out or takeaway twice a week. There was also a outdoor swimming pool which we were able to enjoy in the evenings in the summer months.

A benefit to the indian restaurant being closer to Buckfast than Buckfastleigh meant we had an enjoyable walk to get there. During the winter it meant often walking up the dividing hill in the dark and past the haunted "cable" tomb in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church (the church on top of the hill). One time during a weekend walk passing the church we talked to a local man who had lived in the area main year. He explained the church was the original Buckfast Abbey until they moved the Abbey into the valley to aid the production of Buckfast wine. He also explained there was one of the largest collection of caves underneath the church which in the future I hope to explore. He pointed out the building along the road which Steph often felt uneasy walking past was infact the old local mortuary.