In 2010, Brendan, Celia and their son Hal were living in Chester, near daughters Lauren and Alexi, when a newspaper ad caught their eye.
A dilapidated watermill was up for sale after its previous owner, who saved it from demolition in the 1970s, had gone bankrupt.
“I’ve always liked water mills, who doesn’t? They’re very picturesque and romantic,” Brendan, 65, a former director of a commercial plant business, said.
“But we didn’t pursue it, we had no intention of moving.
“But then, coincidentally, about a fortnight later, we happened to be driving through this area in Rossett, and we said ‘wasn’t that water mill round here somewhere?’
“Before we had finished the sentence, we came around the corner and saw it. We knew within five minutes that we wanted to buy it.”