Pretty as it is, this historic thatched cottage in a Cambridgeshire village needed a top-to-bottom renovation when its owners Jim and Jenny Bailey took it on in 2010.
It had taken the couple an extensive search to find their ideal home, but once over the threshold, they were in love. After a third viewing, they sat in the back garden and negotiated a price with the owners. ‘We walked away pinching ourselves that it would soon be ours,’ recalls Jenny.
