When Derrick Bowler first moved to Trimingham he was told it would be 100 years before his home fell victim to the sea – now they only have about 20 years<\/p>\n
When Derrick Bowler and his wife moved to Trimingham on the Norfolk coast they thought they would leave the village "feet first" after being told they had 100 years before their "dream home" would be lost to the sea.<\/p>\n
The couple moved to the village in 2011 with Bowler's wife hoping to replicate her fond memories of going to the beach every day when she lived in Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n
Over the past 20 years dozens of properties in the village have become uninhabitable in a battle of man versus nature with the most recent home demolished in May 2024.<\/p>\n
"We've had to revise our opinions and our thoughts because of the coastal erosion, but it's not something we think about every day – you would go mad otherwise," he said.<\/p>\n
Built in 1780, the Bowlers' home was sold to the couple as the "house of their dreams".<\/p>\n
In recent years Bowler said North Norfolk District Council told them the property was expected to be a victim of coastal erosion in about 20 years' time.<\/p>\n
When they first moved in, he said there was a 45-degree slope you could walk down to access the water's edge, however now, it looks as if "a giant has taken two big bites" out of the cliff.<\/p>\n
He said: "In comparison to the inhabitants of Hemsby and Happisburgh, we are so lucky. We don't think about it too much."<\/p>\n
Bowler said even if he won the lottery, he knows erosion is a battle of man versus nature<\/p>\n
However, the couple try to not worry about the threat of erosion for "peace of mind".<\/p>\n
He said: "If we worry about that, we will never get a night's sleep. Let's just enjoy it while we can and when the time comes we'll have to find something else."<\/p>\n
However he knows it is a fight that cannot be won, adding: "Even if I was to win the Euro Lottery, you still can't stop what's happening from happening.<\/p>\n
"Everything has a lifespan. We might be able to pass it on to Liz's children but we'll just have to see."<\/p>\n
Instead of fighting the erosion, villagers have introduced their own mitigating measures to give their properties and livelihoods a better chance against the inevitable.<\/p>\n