Before settling in Carlisle, Claire Boyle and her husband, Kieran, travelled the world for work, but when Kieran's contract in Houston, Texas, ended, the couple decided to move back home. ‘I'm originally from Newcastle, and Kieran is from Ireland, so we didn't know this area,’ says Claire.
‘However, Kieran's work brought us here and, because of the different education systems in the US and England, Callum was overdue starting school, so we had to find a place quickly.’ This house, which had been standing empty for a year, was the only one for sale in the catchment area, and Claire admits to disliking it when she first walked in. ‘I didn't get ‘the feeling’ that people talk about as it felt so cold and lacking in love,’ she remembers. ‘The…
