Moving from a small, rented flat in Hackney to a two-up, two-down Victorian cottage in Walthamstow felt like a very grown-up step for us when we bought our first property together in 2014,’ says Nicky. ‘Tom and I were lucky enough to inherit a small amount of money and were keen to get our foot on the property ladder. Staying in Hackney, we could have only afforded a tiny one-bed flat, so we widened our search to Walthamstow Village, where we were able to stretch to a little two-bedroom cottage with a small courtyard garden.
At the time it felt so much further out of London, but it was a proper little house, and we loved the area – with its cobbled parade of artisan shops and old-fashioned pubs, it felt like you were stepping back in time, and with great links into the city and Epping Forest on
