I'm reminded of the protagonist in Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea.
Like you, he moved to remote Scotland after retiring as a famous theatre director. There, he gets embroiled in various adventures, both real and metaphysical. In the end, he realises his place is IN the world, not out of it.
No watches of course, but lots of memorable food descriptions in the novel. Not to mention a sea monster! And some distinctly Buddhist ruminations.