One of those cottages is called Serendipity, and when owner Jeanne Bonello opens her jangly gate and welcomes you inside, layer upon layer of wonders unfold.
Dogs bustle past as she leads you through the bright dining room and past the kitchen, where something delicious is cooking, through the lounge full of soft couches and shelves of books,
and out into her garden, which seems to overflow with life. You walk into a wall of noise and it takes a few seconds to realise it’s the ocean – crashing, booming and sighing relentlessly. The air smells like salt and your hair is sticky with humidity. If you’re wearing shoes, you have an overwhelming desire to kick them off and leave them where they land.