7 Chapel Street, Mousehole, Cornwall. The place in the World where, for some reason, I feel most at home. And 7 Chapel Street IS my home. Which I invite people to visit – to become their second home.

Small. Old. Nautical. Baked by the sun in summer, lashed by the wind and rain in winter. Romantic. Historical. One of only two hundred properties in the whole of what Dylan Thomas famously called 'the loveliest village in England'.

I agree. And, with the most soul too. Here's the story behind me being there:

1982 - or thereabouts - I was a wild young 'would-be' racer - and the owner of an RD400E Yamaha two-stroke motorcycle. At seventeen years old I had just bikes, didn't even have a car licence. But I did have a pillion, my first serious girlfriend - Carol Davis

We planned an illicit summer holiday, together, ( - pretty much unheard of in those days), packed all of our gear on the seat of the Yamaha - and headed due South in the late evening. Kenilworth to Cornwall. 300 miles. Romantic, or what?

Naturally all the lights blew on the bike on the way down, (I had been 'tuning' her, after all ...), and exhausted and unable to continue we slept with a herd of friendly dairy cows in a field by the side of the M5, set off at first light, and eventually arrived ... in Mousehole. And, well, truth told, never really left.

You see we arrived in the village whilst it was still reeling from the loss of its lifeboat, 'The Solomon Browne', and with it, the key men from the village. The 'Mousehole lifeboat disaster'. Husbands, fathers, brothers, fishermen, sailors - the best of men - a courage never equalled. All lost, one stormy night, the worst on record, December 1981. I listened to their stories in awe, felt their grief - and pride. Became enchanted with this tough little piece of Cornish costal rock - and the gritty folk who made their lives there.

I, somehow, ended up visiting the village every year thereafter - and in 2017 decided that, after a lifetime of motorsport, coaching, aviation and general shenanigans, (scroll this page sideways to see my life in film), it was time to put down roots - in the only place that called me home.

7 Chapel Street. Bought, by going out on a limb. NOT my 'holiday cottage', my ONLY cottage, my home. I set about restoring her. NOT to be a holiday cottage. To be a beautiful home for JoJo, me and the pusses. That is why I put in the Esse Bakeheart wood-burning stove, the little Juliet balcony, the secondary glazing, the 'Paul Smith Stripe' carpet on the stairs. None of the above makes financial sense for a holiday let - but, it makes perfect sense to create the place I call 'home'. I put on a new roof, restored all the woodwork painted and carpeted throughout - and continue to upgrade as I can afford to. I always will.

Simply put, it's the most re-energising pace I know. I sleep better there than anywhere else in the World. The light, the air - the energy. It's at its best over Christmas and New Year - and in the off-season. A walk to Newlyn - and on to Penzance is epic. Eat at 2 Fore St., the Ship Inn, the Old Coastguard, grab a croissant from 2 Fore St's deli for breakfast - lunch at the Four Teas Café - or grab an icy cider and pasty from the Mousehole Deli, throw your towel down on the talc.- soft sand in the harbour when the tide is out ...and ... relax

DON'T make any plans - you are set for the DAY. Ask me how I know this ...

Classic Cottages are marketing 7 Chapel St. for me, you can see the price and availability here.