A British family has lost their forever home in the Greek mountains to wildfires, just days before they were due to leave the UK and move there permanently. Rory Clifford and Stephanie Harper, 36 and 35, had invested their entire savings and income into building their dream home in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. They had shipped their sentimental belongings last year and had enrolled their twin daughters, Evangeline and Ivaria, eight, in a local school for September. The couple also has a 19-month-old daughter, Athena.
Devastating Loss
Fast-moving wildfires swept through parts of Greece in recent days, destroying their home and everything in it. Stephanie, who is currently pregnant with twins, spoke exclusively to The Mirror about the tragedy. “We are a very resilient family but this has knocked it out of us completely. The emptiness and sorrow has been overwhelming,” she said. “A dream and hard work not just from us but the Greek community who helped us achieve our home… just stolen in seconds. I can't describe the grief, as it's not just the house we built, it's all the cherished memories and the home we created inside.”
The property, which they bought in 2023, was destroyed, leaving the family stuck in a one-bedroom flat in Hastings, East Sussex. They had spent over €300,000 (approx £257,000) to make it the ideal place to raise a family, with plans to bring their three rescue dogs there. The money came from their designer furniture business, savings, and loans. They had sold everything to make the relocation possible, a plan they had been working on for over a decade.
Rebuilding Efforts
The process had been costly, including over £10,000 to replace 2km of piping up the mountain to get water to the house. Now, they are starting from scratch. Stephanie’s sister, Gabby, has started a GoFundMe to help the “inconsolable” family rebuild. Stephanie fears they need around €100,000 (£85,000) to get back on track, even with insurance. She expressed gratitude for the response but felt uncomfortable about the fundraiser: “Even saying this part makes us feel a little uncomfortable. We are not materialistic people and we don't want people reading about a pool, and thinking here we go, first world problems. We live a very modest life, we have lived in a one-bedroom flat for 12 years, we have slept on a sofa bed for eight of those years, with our children having the bedroom, this Greek house was everything to us. It was a way of us affording a life we wanted to give our children, we spent every penny on giving our children the life they deserve and admittedly we were unbelievably excited to sleep in an actual bed. We will rebuild and we can't give up.”
Connection to Greece
Stephanie and Rory first traveled to Greece in 2011 in a campervan and fell in love with the country. They envisioned raising a family there, and with the cost of living crisis straining their business, they decided to make the move. They spent eight weeks in Peloponnese last summer and were convinced it was the right place. They planned to move permanently on August 10, and Stephanie had even contacted obstetrics to have her twins there in early 2027.
Last Friday, a friend told them a wildfire was near their region. They had experienced fires last year and knew how fast the fire service was, but this time their home could not be saved. “We were helpless waiting for news. However, as darkness fell, helicopters can’t fly at night, so they’d have to wait until the first light. It took our house at 4am,” Stephanie said.
Looking Ahead
Stephanie said it was still early days and they were figuring out an action plan. They are determined not to let it beat them, but keeping a positive mindset is challenging. Their children have coped well: “They have coped really well to be honest, it's hard for them to process as they were ready for the change and their next chapter. We will still do anything for our children's happiness and future which is why we can't give up on the House on the Mountain.”
