A family living "the rat race" sold their three-bedroom semi for £400,000 - and bought an entire French village. Liz and David Murphy purchased the historic rural hamlet of Lac De Maison, in Poitou-Charentes, south west France, in January 2021.
The couple sold their three-bed home for £400,000 and used the cash to buy six 400-year-old houses, two barns and three-acres of land. Their hamlet also includes two 10m x 15m swimming pools which they have renovated with the help of local builders and tradesmen.
The couple, who both worked in radio, spent £300,000 to transform the ruined buildings into homes for their family and a potentially thriving holiday let business. They moved into the main house with their two children Tom, 12, and Charlotte, eight, late last year.