Residents of Lancaster Grange, in Fernwood, Newark, share their love stories and the secrets to a happy life this Valentine’s Day

In today’s world, our expectations of love can sometimes feel more like inventions from Hollywood than something real and attainable.

However, as is often the case, life can be stranger than fiction, filled with quirky ‘meet-cutes’ that lead to a lifetime of dedication.

This Valentine’s Day I found myself asking “what is it that creates a love that stands the test of time?”

So, I paid a visit to Barchester’s Lancaster Grange Care Home in Fernwood to speak with couples whose relationships have done exactly that.

Gwenda and Andrew Baggaley have been married since 1981 and met under entirely unique circumstances — riding horses down the A1.

Although both are originally from the small village of Foston, the pair had never actually met up until a cold December day in the late-1970s.

Andrew said: “It was just before Christmas, the A1 was closed for one reason or another and a friend asked if I wanted to go down.

“And there was Gwenda, on a horse, riding down the middle of it.”

The thought of two souls locking eyes on horseback and falling hopelessly in love was somewhat different than Andrew’s description of his future bride to be.

Clearly trying to make Gwenda laugh, he said: “It was bitterly cold and she had 10 coats on — she looked like a barrel.”

“But we went for a drink of two, and that was it. We’ve been together ever since.”

Gwenda added: “I’d seen him go past, but we’d never met before then.

“It was like meeting someone I’d known all my life.”

Offering advice to a younger generation of hopeless romantics, Gwenda shared their secret to a life a love.

“It’s about consistency — the love never changes,” she said.

“What’s important is meeting someone that you actually get on with and enjoy being around. To share your life with them.”

Although Gwenda is now a resident at Lancaster Grange, Andrew remains a dedicated husband who visits her as often as possible, usually three or four times a week.

Together they had two children, James, born a year after their marriage, and Elise, from Gwenda’s first marriage — but raised by Andrew as his own. They also have four grandchildren.

Both in their mid-30s at the time of their chance meeting, the couple’s story proves that love can find you when you least expect it, and in the most unusual of place.

While at the Lancaster Grange, I also had the opportunity to speak with Pat and Paul Woods, who are currently staying on respite care.

The couple married in 1956 following a whirlwind romance, meeting just one year prior at a regatta ball held their local rowing club in Portsmouth.

Aged just 18 and 20 at the time, it was an exciting introduction to young love.

“We met it a way that I think most people did in those day — while dancing,” said Pat.

“I wasn’t wearing anything particularly special, just a nice blue dress. But when I saw him, there was a spark.

She joked: “Although, his mother and father were there, so we had to be quite restrained and keep our hands off of each other.”

It wasn’t until Pat and Paul were together that they realised they had actually lived just a street apart from one another for many years, but never met.

Paul joined the Merchant Navy shortly after they married and spent long periods away from home, travelling to and from the USA, and even served aboard the Queen Mary.

Upon returning to the UK, the couple moved around a lot, living in a dozen different towns and cities, before settling in the Newark area to be closer to their daughter.

Now, 70 years on from their first meeting on the dancefloor, they offered some very practical advice.

“It was very different from nowadays, where you could be married one day and divorced the next,” said Pat.

“Love sometimes isn’t easy. It’s not roses all the way. You have to work on it, and we stuck together through thick and thin.”

The couple’s final bit of wisdom for the younger generation was to make sure to have “as little difference of opinion as possible”.

What really struck me after hearing the stories of both couples is that love can come in many forms and often arrives when you least expect it — whether fresh out of school, or finding happiness the second time around later in life.

What I’ll take away the most is that love shouldn’t be rushed and it’s not always easy. So, enjoy your life, and when when it finally comes along, just let it happen.

Happy Valentine’s Day.