Most of the cardboard boxes have now been unpacked, including a few that were never opened after our last move 10 years ago. Getting to know a new house takes time, but it's fun exploring and trying to work out what all the oddly placed switches are for.
The hot-water system is rather old and wheezy, providing only the odd inch of water for a bath, but the Aga is thankfully unfussy and already part of the family. We even have a milkman who delivers, albeit at 4.30am, while doing an impression of the fastest milkman in the West, leaving in a spray of gravel that wakes the entire house.
The garden is full of old yews and scattered apple trees, including one that has a rose tree grafted onto it about 3ft up the trunk. Is this unusual? I haven't come across it before, but they seem to have been flourishing together for many years. I look forward to seeing the pair in their pomp next summer.
With vast expanses of grass surrounding the house, I will have to drive the lawnmower like the milkman. There's lots to look forward to, and little by little our new house is becoming a home.
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A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National ParkOld House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
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The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West SussexAlthough the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
