The woman who has different lockdown rules depending where she is at home

WalesOnline ^ | 12 DEC 2020 | Janet Hughes

[nickcarraway]

Half of Mari Hutching's home is in England, the other half is in Wales

How do you know what coronavirus rules to follow when the border of England and Wales runs right through your property?

Well, you don't.

Mari Hutchings' house has a Welsh postcode, but sits on the English side of a stream which flows down from Newland in the Forest of Dean at the top to the River Wye at the bottom and forms one of the borders between England and Wales.

Artist Mari and her husband live in the village of Redbook, which is split in two by the border which runs down the Wye Valley, reports GloucestershireLive.

Mari estimates around half her land is in Wales and half in England and the couple even have created their own mini Severn Bridge crossing the Red Brook flowing through their large garden in the Wye valley.

Mari, 53, knew nothing of the confusing geography when she moved there from Bristol with her husband and two sons over 20 years ago.

"When we bought the house we were told we had to have two lots of searches because part of the property was in Wales and part in England," she said.

"I think that was the first time we knew and it all seemed very bizarre. The house is England and some of the garden is Wales and the Red Brook running through is the official border."

But living on the border is not just a novelty and at first it brought a number of practical challenges.

"We had to negotiate who collected the bins and work out who to go for for electricity, sewage and all those kind of things," said Mari.

"The stream is the border but goes directly under some houses.

"When my friend wanted to apply for grants she had to work out how much of her little house was in Wales and how much was in England."

When they were young sons Jacob and Tywi set up a small tollgate and pretended to charge visitors crossing between England in Wales.

And in the past there have been complaints from residents about emergency services not coming out to Redbrook because of the confusion over whose territory it is.

"But it does have it's benefits," said Mari who is originally from mid-Wales and has her own gift business called the Angelic Hen.

"If fall out out with my husband I can storm out the house and tell him I'm leaving the country.

"Or I can tell him I'm going home to Wales and then just go into the garden."

But with the property being half in Wales and half in England, which lockdown rules should she follow?

"I'm not sure," she said.

"The house is in England but has a Welsh postcode and most of what we do is in Wales. That is where we work, do our shopping and go to church. If just do my best and if anyone asks I just say 'I'll be whatever you want me to be'."

Villagers in Redbrook have spent lockdown getting used to the confusing situation, particularly as they have two pubs on either side of the border.

The Bell is in England and the Boat in Wales. The school and church are in Gloucestershire but also have pupils and members of the congregation from Wales.

And the village shop was constantly having to remind people that it is in England not Wales when Boris brought in face masks ahead of Wales.

[nickcarraway]

[Verginius Rufus]

If King Edward I had done a proper job of it when he conquered Wales, they wouldn’t be having these problems now.

[tinyowl]

Does she have to quarantine every time she goes from the kitchen to the bathroom?