Living in a period home surrounded by beautiful countryside is just a dream for most but one family is celebrating a year of living that dream.

In autumn 2015 we revealed the National Trust was seeking new tenants for Stoneacre, a medieval yeoman’s home in Otham, near Maidstone, with eight acres of gardens and its own meadow.

After much searching the trust found IT consultant Karen Sime, her 14-year-old son Louis and her parents Avril and Alex.

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As 2016 draws to a close the family, originally from Scotland and more recently living in Rochester, has reflected on 12 months of hosting, gardening and the day the fire service arrived 500 years too late.

Video: Karen Sime explains why she loves living in Stoneacre

Karen said: “I visited Stoneacre on an open day for potential buyers and fell in love with it but mum and dad were concerned it was too big so we kept looking. By October we hadn’t found anything and it was still on the market so I brought them here.”

Her parents were eventually convinced and the family moved in on January 4.

Karen’s most amusing moment was when firefighters turned up at the property in Stoneacre Lane following reports the family had built a fire in the middle of the hall.

It turned out a well-meaning visitor had overheard a conversation about tenants in the 15th century burning logs on the floor, had smelt smoke from the fireplace, and got confused.

While Alex, 78, and Avril, 73, look after the house, Louis has been appointed tearoom manager and more than 20 volunteers provide vital help, Karen is becoming an expert gardener and says the biggest challenge involves a tree.

“It’s the best ginko tree outside Kew Gardens and was planted in 1920. It produces about 100,000 nuts every year and clearing those is a massive job. It drops millions of leaves and it’s like snow covering the grass - they’re 3in deep.”

A professional gardener visits once a week to help with big jobs and teach Karen and the volunteers new skills.

Other plants Karen would encourage visitors to look out for are the chocolate vine, the Japanese strawberry tree, hellebores, a bank of snowdrops and clerodendru.

The wildlife in Stoneacre’s grounds is also a huge attraction and Karen has spotted foxes, hedgehogs, badgers and a variety of birds including nuthatches, woodpeckers, kingfishers, storks and a family of moorhens.

She said: “It’s beautiful here, really magical. It’s a privilege to live here, even though there’s a large amount of work.”

Avril said: “It’s very comfortable and very nice. We’ve got a lovely breakfast room with an Aga, which I’ve never had before. I arrived with my thermals, thinking it would be freezing in such an old house but it’s actually got a very good oil heating system.

“We tend to feel the private part of the house is ours but we love welcoming people and chatting to them. We’ve actually made friends with some people who have come to visit.”

The family, including dog Patches and kitten Gizzy, have lived at Stoneacre since January with the parlour, hall, solar and tearoom open to the public on Saturdays and Bank Holidays between March and October.

An average of 90 people visit each Saturday with more than 100 on a Bank Holiday.

In the private area, used by the family, are four bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen, study and wine cellar as well as an additional two bedrooms in another part of the house.

The family keeps the home and the ancient artefacts within it clean and dust-free using tiny brushes designed for museum exhibits and following a National Trust guide on how to look after historical properties.

In twelve months they’ve fixed a leaking roof, replaced a wall and path that collapsed during flooding and planted more than 4,000 bulbs in the garden.

Looking forward to the family’s first Christmas at Stoneacre, Alex said: “We’re going to have a big fire and music. It will be a right old fashioned Christmas.”

Karen added: “Christmas will be lovely. There will be no TV, we’ll make our own entertainment.

“Past tenants have improved the gardens and looked after the house. It’s a legacy in continuing it on for the next generation of people to love and enjoy.”