Big move to Alderney was couple's first ever visit

Thursday 05 August 2021

Would you move to an island you had never visited? For one Oxfordshire couple, the impact of the pandemic led them to take a leap into the unknown... and move to Alderney.

Simon and Stella Hewerdine moved to the island with their daughter Leah six weeks ago, having moved to remote working and deciding that Alderney was the place for them.

They bought their £300,000 house overlooking Platte Saline beach by phone, and left their home in Oxfordshire for a punt at island life.

"When covid came along, the company I worked for shut down the office, because we could work from home and we worked very well," Mr Hewerdine said of his decision to start working remotely full-time.

"We have family in Norfolk, but half of London has moved there and the houses are very expensive. We started looking and realised that the Channel Islands aren't that far away time-wise."

Pictured: The Hewerdine family had holidayed in the Channel Islands 35 years ago, but only ever visited Guernsey and Jersey.

"We came across the Visit Alderney site and thought it looked beautiful - I feel like it's a lot like Guernsey, all those years ago," said Mr Hewerdine.

The family decided on the house after learning that Platte Saline allows dog walking all year round.

Since their initial decision, Mr Hewerdine said the family hasn't looked back and they've fallen in love with island life.

"We started to compare it to a little coastal village in England, and realised that wherever we went on the mainland there wouldn't be as much nearby, Alderney has everything close because it has to. You've got everything you need!"

Pictured: The family dog Theo has settled in well too.

Mr Hewerdine had only one reservation before coming to the island.

"The biggest fear, the biggest concern, is no-one is going to tell you what the people are really like - I wondered what the locals would be like, and they've been brilliant.

"There are two banks here and the staff knows everyone's name," he said.

The family has one trip planned to go visit family in the UK this year, and Leah will be heading back to university soon, but the Hewerdines feel like the "mad" choice to move without ever visiting has definitely paid off.

"Alderney is one of the perfect places for working remotely. Everything is familiar, but it's all a bit different."

Pictured top: Simon and Stella Hewerdine.