10 Years in Wiltshire

Today marks the 10th anniversary of me moving to Wiltshire. It all began when I was studying online for an AS in Business Studies and asked on the forum for a study buddy. A certain lass from Wiltshire, who goes by the name of Lucy, replied and we started emailing each other.

Lucy and myself in Bruges, 2012.

At first it was just a study relationship, but this became friendship and we'd video chat on MSN Messenger (remember that!?). March 2007 was my first visit to Wiltshire and after a few visits of me to Lucy and Lucy to me in North Lincolnshire, we decided it was time to move things along. On the 1st September 2007, I made the 200 mile trip from North Lincolnshire to Wiltshire to move in with Lucy at her parent's house.

We found our first place in Chippenham and moved there in October that year. Such a short time of chatting via email to living with each other made for a steep learning curve and the first year of living together was pretty tough. But so are we! After 2 years we moved to Melksham, which we bought with a mortgage and then last year we moved to Calne.

For me, the move to Wiltshire was difficult and it's only in the last year that I've felt that Wiltshire is now my home.

In some ways the last 10 years has gone by so quickly. But in others, I can feel the passage of time.

My son investigating a bee orchid, 2017.

Now that Wiltshire lass is my wife and we have a son who's now over 2 years old and, even with my chronic illness, life is great. I'm really happy I made such a life changing decision and get to spend every day with my best friend, the love of my life. Who knew that first email, that first phone call, that first visit, would lead to a totally different life than I had lived previously.

Here are some of the photos I took on my first visit to Wiltshire:

Silbury Hill, 2007

Cherhill, White Horse and Monument, 2007

West Kennet Long Barrow, 2007

Stonehenge, 2007