Her teenage nieces joke that it’s the most expensive ‘Cardigan’ she has ever bought...
Her teenage nieces joke that it’s the most expensive ‘Cardigan’ she has ever bought, but for Gwendda Jones her new home at Anwyl’s Tyddyn Bach development fits absolutely perfectly. And the former primary teacher who’s looking forward to retirement in Holyhead says it’s the ideal home, a place to relive treasured memories of the past and make new ones for the future.
“My parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and generations before all lived in Holyhead and every holiday we had was spent here,” says Gwendda. “It’s home for me too. I’ve used the legacy mum left me to buy a new house in a place where I am happiest and where I have the strongest memories. It’s idyllic, and I am very lucky to be able to do it.”
Gwendda, 61, worked as a teacher for 35 years and was deputy head of a primary school in Birmingham before her recent retirement. She has bought the Cardigan four-bedroom home at Tyddyn Bach in Holyhead initially as a second home while she works out if it’s the right move for her to up sticks from the Midlands to live there permanently – but deep down she knows she has already made the decision.
She explains: “All my family came from Holyhead but because my mum couldn’t speak Welsh fluently enough – my dad could – she couldn’t get a job as a teacher so she moved to Liverpool and then Birmingham. But whenever it was a school holiday we were here, staying with my grandparents. That was my background for 18 years and, even after that, I always came back to see relatives who were still here or for major events. I had great uncles who served on the Holyhead lifeboat.”
And there were many other reasons why Gwendda wanted to retire to Holyhead: “I love the coastline, the variety of walks close by, the peace of the place…but also the sense of community. I’ve already been welcomed by my neighbours but it’s the wider community too which is so friendly.
“I’m trying to join the local library and my cousin has already suggested a Pilates class…that’s the feeling of coming home. And, because I have so many wonderful memories of Holyhead I want to give the same experiences to my twin 16-year-old nieces, Florence and Hope, like going to Mackenzie Pier crabbing, and walking the Breakwater.”
It wasn’t easy trying to purchase her home in lockdown but with the help of the ‘brilliant’ Elizabeth in Anwyl’s sales office, she made an appointment to see the show home which she loved, and then plot 79 on which her house was built.
“I think I wanted a sign from the heavens that it was the right thing and my sister started to laugh. Whenever mum came home to visit my grandparents, she and dad would visit the Seventy Nine pub in Market Street!”
The Cardigan style home is a large four-bedroom detached property with an open plan kitchen and dining area, as well as a separate spacious lounge; upstairs there are four good sizes bedrooms, the main with en-suite, and a family bathroom.
“I chose it because it’s big enough for the family to come and stay any time, and I liked the development because there’s a variety of houses so it’s attractive to look at and I like the social areas, the gardens which are lovely and really well-kept,” says Gwendda. “Everyone has been so helpful, accommodating me having to travel back and forth to Birmingham after completing the house in February because of lockdown, and the site manager Nick was exemplary. I returned to Birmingham recently to do things on my house there and halfway through my visit I was itching to get back so I think I’ve already made up my mind. “I’m enjoying being part of the community here and I’m looking forward to making this house a home that the family can use and be proud of, and making those memories that make a house a happy home.” She adds: “I’m also looking forward to learning Welsh and being fluent like my dad – and thanking my lucky stars each and every day that I am here.”
Tyddyn Bach, in South Stack Road, will eventually feature 170 homes and Anwyl is currently selling phase two of the development. Located on the main road between Llaingoch and Holyhead, it’s close to the iconic South Stack Lighthouse and just three miles from the picturesque Trearddur Bay. There’s a range of three and four-bedroom semi-detached and detached homes with prices starting from £179,995. To make an appointment or arrange a virtual viewing, please visit
www.anwyl.co.uk/tyddynbach or call 01407 467995.
