“O


ne minute we had a bungalow, the next we had a pile of rubble,” recalls Donald Alden of his family’s


Salcombe home. “We’d never tackled a building project before, so it was unnerving to effectively demolish our life savings and start again, with just one main wall left standing.” With Donald and his wife, Anne, determined to update the tired single-storey holiday bungalow they had owned for 30 years, one factor limited their options: the building is semi- detached. With no hope of demolishing and rebuilding, the couple knew that any changes would need to be in keeping with both the wider setting and the property next-door. They had purchased their modest bungalow thirty years before, after searching for a holiday home in the area.  fi rst fell in love with Salcombe back in 1976, when I joined my family for a holiday in the town,” recalls Donald. “I was nineteen at the time, and met Anne shortly after at university.”


The couple married in 1981 and had three


children together. “We found that taking small children away to farfl ung places on holidays could be stressful and expensive,” says Donald. “Devon’s South Hams is so beautiful, and we had enjoyed some wonderful times there over the years, so we decided to use our savings to buy a holiday home in the UK instead.” Located right at the top of Salcombe, enjoying


30 www.sbhonline.co.uk


far-reaching views of rolling Devon countryside to distant Dartmoor, the bungalow they found was empty and in a poor condition, making it affordable to the family. They inherited furniture with the property and then gradually made improvements as funds allowed.


“It was a big step for us, and we had to take out an extra mortgage on our existing home in Hertfordshire in order to buy the bungalow,” says Donald. “Later, we replaced the kitchen and bathroom but took our time, because we were never going to let out the bungalow to others on a commercial basis.” The single-storey brick property had been solidly built in the 1960s, with a compact garage, a kitchen, one bathroom, a separate living room, two bedrooms and a dining room which Donald and Anne used as a third bedroom. They enjoyed spending time together as a family in Salcombe, which is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the banks of the Kingsbridge Estuary and has been named Britain’s most expensive seaside town. Renowned as a holiday hotspot, the area is a mecca for those who enjoy sailing and water sports. “The children learnt to sail dinghies during their holidays,” says Donald. “Then, 20 years ago, we all voted to buy our fi rst basic boat, and although we were nervous at fi rst, it really completed the whole Salcombe experience.”


HIGH POINT


We never expected to enjoy the project, but can honestly say it was a fantastic experience from start to fi nish.


sep/oct 2024


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