Antony Ardan

My first job was as a shore hand on a trawler. My family were involved in boats, marine engineering, fishing and farming. I learned a love and respect for the sea and those who make a living from it.

I worked my way through college in the family stained-glass studio. I came across saints and symbolism while working in churches, chapels, abbeys and castles.

After graduating in Industrial Engineering, I was recruited by a consultancy firm and spent decades on factory floors and in meeting rooms and boardrooms.

Early retirement meant the chance to travel and develop properties in France.

Our first place was an old farm in the rolling countryside of Manche where Norman neighbours were bemused by us but welcoming, helpful and generous.

After the crash of 2009 we bought a motorhome and over several summers we went from the Picardy coast to Bordeaux onto the Med, the Centre, the Loire Valley and around Normandy and Britanny.

In 2016 we decided to give it another try and bought a property in Brittany.

Our Breton village house placed us into a community that lived to the rhythm of the seasons.