Cornwall is a great place to live but there are places that can be a bit tricky in winter. Many towns turn from a bustling metropolis into a ghost town with no shops open and not even a functioning chippy to keep the spirits up. At least the pubs stay open in some areas.
Clive Gardner, 71, came to in 1996 and runs Clive's Cat's Cartoons - a gallery and framers with a waffle hut - with his partner Mandy Rose. The pair love living in Cornwall, but they've got a handy trick for surviving the winters. They live above the business, in the heart of Looe's old town - until winter comes, and they leave Britain behind.
Clive told they flee Britain in January, only returning at the end of March. He said: "It's so quiet here then there's no point staying. If it was busier I wouldn't want to be away for so long - I'd get twitchy thinking I'm missing out on custom" He continued: "We go away in the winter, for three months, to Thailand.
We work seven days a week in the summer and take the winter off." "It would cost us more in electricity to stay here in the winter. Especially now the government has taken our winter allowance away!" "Everything here costs an arm and leg - so we go away to Thailand.
We rent a villa for £14 a night on Koh Samui - we couldn't stay here for that. And it costs next to nothing to eat out there." Despite decamping to an island paradise for the winter, both Clive and Mandy, maintain that Looe is a great place to live.
Even in the winter. Clive said: "Looe is still a really good community and during the winter the character of Looe changes - the pubs have pool nights and quiz nights - it's more about the locals. The restaurants tend to close during the week and just open at the weekends.
But it's not like Polperro [a neighbouring village] - it's deserted there in the winter." "The holiday season can be absolutely monstrous - but Looe is a nice town to live in." Kelly Jones, 41, also runs a business in Looe - the Uncharted giftshop on the quayside.
However, she stays in Looe all year round. She told the Express: "In the winter it's deserted down here. From November through to March it's just empty.
Sometimes I'll open [the shop]- but it really depends on the . If it's dry, I'll come down and open up and give it a go." "But the locals don't even come down this far if it's raining - it can get pretty windswept down here in the winter! But I still think Looe is beautiful in the winter.
Even in the wind and the rain!".
