Homeowner stories - Mrs Wills has a new lease of life

“My home is everything I want it to be; I love it.”

Mrs Wills has an enviable zest for life, filling her days with yoga classes, meeting up with new friends, and putting her green fingers to use at Beechwood Park’s beautiful gardens.  Now, as she approaches the first anniversary of moving into her new home, she tells us about her life, family and how she is looking forward to a rosy future in the beautiful Cotswold town of Stow-on-the-Wold.  

 At 87 years old, Mrs Wills – a customer at Brio Retirement Living’s Beechwood Park community – has a new lease of life. Her secret? Setting up her new home in a dream neighbourhood in the picturesque Cotswolds.

“My previous home was a beautiful stable conversion,” Mrs Wills says. “It was built in 1887 and located in Hampton on Thames – and though I loved it, the property was aging and in need of external and internal work.”

The increasing number of costly renovation works that would have been needed for Mrs Wills to continue living there were not something she had the appetite to undertake. She began thinking about moving somewhere new and turned her mind to retirement living.

Deciding to embark on a fresh start, Mrs Wills pondered where to settle. She sought advice from her youngest daughter who started a search for a new home – one which should be in a great location but would fulfil Mrs Wills’ love of the outdoors; “I didn’t want to compromise on a garden or outdoor space,”: she says. “But most places we looked at just didn’t have what I was looking for. We looked at a variety of retirement properties on the market with a competitor of Brio but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my wish list and miss out on the al fresco lifestyle I’ve come to love.”

On a visit to see her daughter in nearby Long Compton, and prompted by a recommendation from a friend of her daughters, Mrs Wills headed for a viewing at Beechwood Park; “The friend piqued my interest with Brio; she used to work at one of their developments and had always spoken so highly of the business.

“I was cautious but excited, but it all started falling into place. When we arrived, we were greeted by the lovely Elle, and she was ever so helpful. She showed us around several properties so we could see the options on offer and the difference in layouts available.”

Green-fingered Mrs Wills longed to see the gardens and was again pleased with what she saw; she adds: “I really was delighted with what was on offer.

“I opted for a two-bedroom apartment with a spacious balcony overlooking the communal gardens. I genuinely love my home; it’s everything I wanted it to be.”

Mrs Wills was the first buyer to move to Beechwood Park and has since embraced life here. “My home is perfect. The apartments are only two levels high and are built in Cotswold stone which is very pretty.

“The variety of properties on the development adds to the aesthetics and they are all exceptionally well presented. It’s a very individual looking development, which really appealed to me – I can hand on heart say that I 100% made the right decision moving here as it’s perfect.”

But beyond the aesthetics, Mrs Wills is happy to be settled at Beechwood Park and close to some members of her family. “After the losses of recent years, I needed to find somewhere to anchor myself and I’m now close to my youngest daughter and granddaughter. Beechwood Park has also provided the opportunity to make new friends and I really do feel happy.

“Where Beechwood stands out for me is that everyone here everyone here is so friendly; it’s really helped me coming in on my own here.”

Now, Mrs Wills has an enviably packed social life, making the best of everything Beechwood has to offer. “There’s so much happening here; I do weekly yoga; I attend a Sunday matinee with friends, and I recently attended a quiz and pizza evening here.

“We also have our own minibus with days out to Bourton, Cheltenham and Cirencester – which as someone new to the area helps me to discover new places with friends from the development. There’s also a hobby room and we have our own brasserie, bar and coffee lounge – Slate & Grain.”

Now as we head to what Mrs Wills hopes will be a ‘normal’ summer, she has even more plans on the horizon; “I’m very happy here and I’m looking forward to what the future holds. Beechwood Park is truly a super place to live.”