One of those rare couples who managed to avoid the pressures of long drawn out house hunting, Cathy and her late husband Brian, spotted the home of their dreams in Country Life as soon as they decided to leave London. ‘ ‘Being born and bred in Northumberland where streams, rivers and lakes abound, I always wanted to live near water.’ Cathy explains. ‘This house is half an hour’s drive from the sea and has its own large lake fed from a near by spring attracting kingfishers, heron and other wildlife. It even has its own pontoon with a rowing boat. When we first set eExtended Text on the property, corny as it sounds, it was love at first sight.’