Anoushka Francis-Keeble was brought up in a tiny Cornish fishing village, a speck on the map between Plymouth and Looe.
She always dreamed of bringing up her own family in Downderry, but the journey to get there has been long and full of unexpected and frightening bumps.
Anoushka moved to London to pursue a career as a television producer. It was there that she met her now-husband, Matt Keeble, a photographer.
To their amazement he had also spent his childhood in Downderry.
“He used to deliver the papers to our house, and we went to the same primary school, although not at the same time,” said Anoushka.
The couple were keen to get onto the property ladder together but lacked the funds to buy a place in London.
So they quit their rented flat in Primrose Hill and, some ten years ago, bought their first home together in the commuter town of Datchet, Berkshire.
Their strategy was to renovate their way up the property ladder and they revamped the run down property which they had bought for circa £250,000. It sold for circa £450,000.
They reinvested their money in a second home in Datchet, bought for £239,000, and set about doing it up too.
The couple knew that one day they wanted to return to Cornwall and kept an eye on property listings in Downderry.
In 2016 they spotted a three bedroom cottage with sea views.
“Houses don’t come up in the village very often so we decided to buy it, and renovate it,” said Anoushka, 44.
With demanding full time jobs and two houses to remodel the couple had a lot on their plate.
Then came a bombshell.
Matt, 50, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
He embarked on a gruelling course of chemotherapy and the couple were informed that if they wanted children Anoushka would need immediate IVF.
Happily Matt’s treatment was a complete success but the whole experience left the couple completely burned out and exhausted.
When Anoushka became pregnant – their daughter, Coco, is now five – they sold their house in Datchet for £440,000 and headed down to Cornwall for some rest and relaxation.
Having made money on their renovations the couple’s mortgage on their cottage – which cost £231,000 – is small, and they had enough left over to take 18 months off to recharge and get used to being parents.
“All we did was go for long walks on the beach, and surf,” said Anoushka.
Matt is now back working as a photographer, and after their break Anoushka decided on a career pivot.
She has set up her own company, The Cornish Surfer, inspired by her love of the sea. It sells a range of homewares, from cushions to crockery.
Running a small business for the first time has been a shock to the system.
“I thought that it would be a lot easier,” admits Anoushka, who has had to navigate both Brexit and the pandemic over the past few years.
But she gains huge satisfaction from creating products which are both British made and ethical, and being able to walk Coco to school along the beach makes up for the hard work.
There are, of course, things she misses about London.
The office banter and the easy availability of a good flat white. But she would not trade her home by the sea for a return to the capital.
“When I was living in Datchet and on the 7am train every day I had a book with the motto “Dream Big” on the front,” she said.
“I would sit there, writing down business ideas, things I could do if we did move to Cornwall. I was trying to escape even before things went wrong.”
