My wife Marie and I had lived in Lurgan for 21 years before we made our recent move to Barleyfields in Culmore.

We had always planned to move again on my retirement. It had to be somewhere which had a welcoming community, was near water and within easy reach of the countryside without being isolated. In addition, it had to have excellent connectivity vis a vis the internet due to the fact that I am a partner director in a start-up e-learning company. We had looked at various locations over the past few years in both the north and south of Ireland but did not come across anything that matched our needs.

So, why Barleyfields and Culmore?

Well, the answer is that it was more a case of serendipity as opposed to them being on our ‘radar’, so to speak.  Marie happened to be conducting an internet search for locations and properties based on our criteria one night and she came across Taggart’s website which in turn then led us to look at what was available in Barleyfields. We had both previously worked in County Derry as teachers and were therefore very aware of the friendly and welcoming nature of Derry people. We liked what we saw with regards to the look of the properties and their location both in terms of being near the River Foyle and short walk into Donegal. The next day we booked a visit through James Gorman, the site agent for Barleyfields.

We looked at a number of properties, all of which had their own unique qualities but decided on the Granary as our final choice. So, over the next couple of weeks we visited the various locations within near reach of Barleyfields and were suitably impressed; the walk to Muff via Coney Road and Culmore Country Park was a very uplifting experience.  Once the availability of a high-speed internet service was confirmed it meant that all of the needs which we had noted down on our wish list had been matched. In addition, a visit to Tank and Skinny’s in Muff left us with no doubts whatsoever.

We were very fortunate and blessed to be able to sell our own house within a very short period of time and moved into our present home in Barleyfields on the 28^th September.

Marie and I are looking forward to spending many happy years as part both the Barleyfields and Culmore communities.

Kieran and Marie (McGeown)