PARTNERS Roger Grant and Denise Wells did not realise they were sailing into a new life when they took a cruise on the Kennet and Avon Canal a year ago.

When they stopped at Great Bedwyn and went to The Stores for supplies they spotted a For Sale board. The rest is history. The couple are now settling in as the new owners.

Some villagers had feared that the decision by previous owner Diana Cooper to sell-up for health reasons might have left the village without its only grocery shop.

Great Bedwyn has a bakery and a post office that is also a newsagent and sweet shop but The Stores is the only grocery shop.

Miss Wells, formerly a personal assistant to the boss of a travel firm, and former hotelier Mr Grant fell in love with Great Bedwyn at first sight and decided there and then to buy the village shop.

Previously they had run two coffee shops in Tunbridge Wells and near Ashford together, and they are planning to add tea and coffee to the many services available at the Bedwyn store.

With help of the existing staff, particularly Eileen McDonald who has worked there for 16 years, the couple have settled into their new way of life and, said Miss Wells, love every minute of it. It has become a way of life for them.

Mr Grant said they are amazed how busy the shop is, serving not only villagers but also tourists and boaters from the Kennet and Avon Canal.

He said they had been able to reduce many of the prices in the shop and introduce new lines including hand-carved ham that they cook themselves.

He thought people were returning to the village shops rather than getting in the car and travelling into nearby towns to go to supermarkets.