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Marina View is lovely park that was first developed in 1992 and now has 102 homes with plans for a further 26. The park can be found away in the back of Lincolnshire, overlooked only by the jets from the neighbouring RAF Coningsby air base! I have to say, I found it fascinating watching the new Euro fighters fly overhead and as a keen photographer could have spent hours at the end of the runway shooting them but I had an interview waiting and photographs to capture for the new website and brochures.
My first challenge in interviewing Richard & Linda Brewer was in finding them! Rather than sitting at home with their feet up I found them helping Site Manager Brian Row prepare his house for some new carpets due to be fitted the next day. This obviously gave me the opportunity to quiz Brian and his wife Christine a little too as they all stopped for a coffee break.
Linda and Richard explained that they moved to the Park in 2003 where they had the first house of the 3rd phase. Richard explained how he had been a Security Manager at Luton Airport for 29 years and took voluntary redundancy several years before he was due to retire in a bold move to get off the treadmill and live life, something we all dream of but few of us actually achieve.
Not long after, the Brewers took themselves to Scotland for a holiday where they stayed in a log cabin and found themselves saying to each other ‘we could live in one of these!’ Within 2 hours of their return they had sold their house and were making plans to find a Park Home to see them through their retirement years.
With Linda’s mother living in a park home, it wasn’t surprising that the Brewers would end up seizing the opportunities presented by selling their bricks and mortar house and moving to a park themselves. As Richard said, he couldn’t have retired seven years early without releasing the extra capital from the sale of their house and moving to a park.
Their decision for choosing Marina View over other parks was largely based on location. Lincolnshire being the least populated county in the UK put it top of their list, and you certainly do get a real sense of space as you visit the county. Linda told me that the sunsets are beautiful as you look across the unobscured horizon and with them both having a dream of owning a boat, Marina View made a lot of sense. The area offers them good golf, fishing, the sea nearby and plenty of facilities within a short drive.
Both the Brewers and the Rows told me that the community spirit on the park was fantastic. There is a really friendly little pub just at the entrance to the park where many of them meet and the active residents’ association always have plenty on offer from coffee mornings to dances and other regular outings.
It was a pleasure meeting up briefly with these two lovely couples who were certainly enjoying life, and in such a lovely part of the country it was clear to see why. It occurred to me that while some of us just dream of life like this, others get on and make it happen. There are great benefits to be realised from this lifestyle and very little stopping you. In another 30 years I know where I’ll be!
Adrian Salisbury, Optical FX on behalf of Tingdene Parks Ltd
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