Working from home allows family to enjoy a new rural lifestyle in Rufford Village

The couple, along with their two sons, six-year-old Noah and three-year-old Theo, hadn’t been thinking of moving, but stumbled across their dream rural destination at Jones Homes’ Hesketh Reach development in Rufford – somewhere they already enjoyed family walks.

The family of four weren’t unhappy with their three-bedroom house in Maghull, Sefton, but Celine said the start of remote working last year meant they were able to consider moving somewhere more rural, without having to worry about a long commute.

Celine said: “If it wasn’t for lockdown, we probably wouldn’t have moved, as Rufford is quite far from where Steven and I work. But as we’re both working from home now and in the future – at least for a couple of days each week – there was nothing stopping us!”

Celine, 36, and Steven, 37, ended up moving into a four-bedroom detached Hollin home at the end of October with their two sons.

This came after a whirlwind of a few months, beginning last March, when Celine stumbled across Hesketh Reach on Rightmove, and fell in love with its location.

Celine said: “We weren’t even thinking of moving at the time, but after coming across this development, and then as time went on, realising that we wouldn’t have to worry about commuting, we thought: why not?

“We knew the area well as we used to come to Rufford on our family walks, and we’ve always been keen to live somewhere closer to the countryside. So, we knew this development and house type would suit our lifestyle perfectly.”

Surrounded by picturesque farmland and on the doorstep of Rufford Canal, Hesketh Reach offers the perfect rural location for the Hourihans.

Celine commented: “The difference in surroundings from our last home is outstanding – it’s so much more tranquil. I don’t even miss our old place, which is very telling.

“Hesketh Reach is a wonderful base for our family walks. A particular favourite of ours is Mere Sands Wood, which is now only a five-minute walk away.

“We’re also really close to Noah’s primary school and Theo’s nursery, as well as within a five-minute drive of Burscough, which has all the amenities you need.”

The family waited for lockdown restrictions to ease before they visited the Hollin show home at Jones Homes’ Stonecross Meadows development in Kendal.

The Hollin house type ticked all the right boxes for the Hourihans.

Celine said: “Seeing the Hollin show home at the start of June confirmed to us that we wanted to live in one, as we loved the house type just as much as the location.

“We put our house up for sale a couple of days later and it sold within five days. I look back and think it was meant to be!

“The house suits our lifestyle perfectly. The kitchen diner is a lovely space for entertaining and the trifold doors which lead out into the garden will be fantastic during the summer.

“Even though we weren’t actively looking to move, it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.”

When Celine’s not working her part-time administration job at Rathbones – an investment management company – she’s busy doing all things interior design.

Celine showcases her talent for interior design on her Instagram page – home_at_hesketh_reach – in which she has amassed over 2,000 followers.

She said: “Styling the rooms and sharing it on Instagram is one of my favourite hobbies. Having a blank canvas that I could put my own stamp on was one of the reasons we wanted a new build this time round. It’s been great not having to refurbish anything – I’ve been able to focus all my efforts on styling it instead.

“The next thing on my list is to turn the study into a TV hang-out room for the children. It’s going to put such a big smile on their faces – I can’t wait.”

Celine praised the customer service she received from sales advisor, Louise, and site manager, Ian.

She said: “Louise and Ian were amazing from start to finish – we class them as our friends now. I can’t recommend buying with Jones Homes enough.”

There is currently a selection of three and four-bedroom homes available at Hesketh Reach, with prices starting from £279,995.