A British family’s dream of starting a new life in Greece has been shattered after wildfires in the Aigialeia region of the Peloponnese destroyed their newly renovated home just days before they were due to move in permanently, according to a report by the UK’s Mirror.
The newspaper says Rory Clifford and Stephanie Harper had planned to relocate to Greece on Aug. 10, 2026. Having already shipped their personal belongings and completed all the necessary arrangements for permanent residence, the family was preparing to begin a new chapter after years of planning.
The couple purchased the property in 2023 and invested more than €300,000 to transform it into what the Mirror described as their ideal home in the Greek countryside. Their eight-year-old twin daughters had already been enrolled in a local school, and the family was also preparing to relocate their three rescue dogs.
However, devastating wildfires swept through the area, completely destroying the house and all of the family’s possessions, bringing an end to plans that had reportedly been more than a decade in the making.
Stephanie Harper, who is pregnant with twins and is also the mother of three other children, described the emotional impact of the disaster in comments to the Mirror.
“We are a very strong family, but this broke us,” she said. “The grief and emptiness are unbearable. We didn’t just lose the home we built—we lost all the memories and the life we had created there.”
According to the report, the family’s move was financed through years of savings, loans, and proceeds from a bespoke furniture design business they operated in Britain. They had also sold nearly all of their assets to make the move possible.
Following the destruction of their home, the family is now staying in a one-bedroom apartment in Hastings, southeastern England, as they try to cope with the aftermath.
The Mirror notes that the relocation project had been the result of more than 10 years of preparation and substantial financial sacrifices. Among the investments made was more than £10,000 spent to replace two kilometers of water pipes needed to supply the property.
