A mum-of-two has shared the amusing nickname locals bestowed upon her after she relocated her family from Hertfordshire to a £930k coastal property. Louise Connolly revealed that she and her family had resided in Markyate for roughly a decade before falling head over heels for a home in the quaint fishing village of Felixstowe Ferry.

The 51-year-old expressed that the property, suggested by a friend, was "jaw-dropping", and she promptly informed her husband, Shane, that she had "found our next house".

After persuading her two teenage children to embark on the move, Louise disclosed that the family sold their 1970s four-bedroom house for £970,000, and purchased the new three-bedroom house for £930,000.

In an article for The Times, she confessed that it required some convincing to get her two children, Aaron and Isabelle, to agree to the move to Suffolk, but emphasised that she felt like a "better person by the sea".

She admitted: "When I told the kids we were moving to Suffolk they hated the idea, and they hated me too. They were saying things like, "Why are you doing this to us?", "We are happy where we are". It went down like a lead balloon.

"It wasn't a good time to move at all. Our son, Aaron, now 15, had just started senior school, and our daughter, Isabelle, now 19, was mid-GCSEs. But we went for a long weekend to Felixstowe, and once they saw it I think they realised it was going to be OK.

"The kids settled in right away - and the move has given them both so much more confidence. Isabelle is away travelling in southeast Asia at the moment, which she would never have done if we had stayed in Markyate."

Felixstowe Ferry, set at the mouth of the river Deben, boasts a "timeless atmosphere" with its eclectic mix of homes, shacks, and houseboats, complemented by a pub, church, fresh fish for sale, boatyard, and sailing club.

Just over three miles away lies the bustling seaside town of Felixstowe, featuring a lively town centre and a seafront promenade. Locals can take the quaint foot ferry from Felixstowe Ferry to Bawdsey for a delightful tea and cake outing.

Louise revealed that Felixstowe Ferry comprises only forty homes, with about half occupied year-round, and she characterised it as a tight-knit community where "everyone knows everyone".

Yet, the mum, who left her marketing job at a major telecommunications firm before relocating, admitted she initially worried about the locals' reception of her family.

She recounted: "We were quite concerned about what people would think of us coming in and buying this big house, but on the first night we were invited along to the locals' table at the pub, and that was it.

"People who were not born and brought up in the Ferry are called blow-ins, so we are blow-ins, but there are really no divides at all. There are fire pit parties, and we go in and out of each other's houses all the time. It is like the world used to be.

"It has been a game-changer. I am much calmer than I used to be. I am a better person by the sea."