CALIFORNIA DREAMING

The golden beaches of Camber Sands in Kent were the next best thing to Los Angeles for one couple in search of a beachside adventure

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Dani D'Arcy and her partner Henry Duprey are brave souls. During lockdown, they were living in a flat in Brighton when they decided they wanted an adventure. First they considered California, but believing it would be too tricky to get green cards they set their sights on Camber in East Sussex.

They didn't know anyone in the area and had very little renovating experience but decided to buy a dated bungalow a stone's throw from the beach - and Henry vowed to take on the project almost entirely by himself.

It was February 2022 when the purchase went through and they decided to move into the bungalow during the renovation. 'We didn't have heating for a whole winter. It got down to minus eight, so we had to check into a hotel for a couple of nights,' says Dani.