Escape to the Country returned to screens yesterday (January 30) to comply with a girl named Fran’s seek for her dream property. The BBC property programme sees its hosts assist potential patrons who’re residing within the metropolis transfer to a brand new home within the nation.
The standard daytime TV present is normally set within the UK countryside, nonetheless the latest installment noticed the presenters seize their passports because the latest house-hunting search ventured overseas. The episode caught up with a girl named Fran, who after her divorce 10 years in the past determined she wished to reside a extra relaxed way of life within the French countryside.
She had a price range of £400,000 and hoped to discover a characterful property with three bedrooms that had vacation let potential, with a swimming pool and delightful exterior house to benefit from the sunshine, experiences Wales Online.
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Back in 2014, presenter Alistair Appleton went trying to find a dream home in France with Fran from Yorkshire within the gorgeous space of Midi-Pyrenees, within the south west of the nation. However, Fran wasn’t too eager on the picks they discovered in the course of the present, and as an alternative opted to go for a countryside property within the Dordogne.
But factor’s did not find yourself dreamy as after a delay in transferring because of Covid, Fran’s new home was ‘suffering from rodents, bugs and a snake within the backyard.’ During the search, Fran first met up with Alistair and the Escape crew at property primary, and she or he almost purchased it there after which. Pretty and stuffed with character and in the marketplace for simply £354,000 in 2014 it was a contender, très bien Alistair.
The second property appeared charming from the surface, with views, two lakes and a shocking swimming pool and once more was well-priced at £330,000 however the lack of character inside had this property being discounted. Off to a 3rd property and this time the character was completely enchanting – it was a standard French dovecote with tower and veranda, and got here with a transformed barn within the backyard too, all for an asking value of £412,500.
The thriller home was a particular curve ball, as they usually are on this present, with Alistair taking Fran and her sister to a thriving village to see an enormous property that mixed an empty retail unit with a 5 mattress backpackers hostel and a one-bed residence for Fran, plus a pool within the very fairly backyard.
Although it acquired the pair excited in regards to the potential to show it into ‘Fran’s tea store’ and introduce the native residents to the delights of Yorkshire tea, and regardless that it was a variety of property for simply £375,00, it simply wasn’t Fran’s cup of tea.
Filmed almost ten years later in 2023, the latest episode then confirmed Alistair hopping throughout the English channel to search out out what occurred in Fran’s dream home search. Although Fran was fascinated with property one and wished a re-assessment she missed out because it was bought simply the day earlier than she wished to return, so in her phrases it ‘wasn’t meant to be’.
But Fran is now residing in France, having discovered a wonderful property by chance on a non-public web site, and she or he knew she wished it even earlier than stepping inside. Buying the home within the Dordogne area in 2019 was the simple little bit of the journey, however due to Brexit after which the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, Fran did not truly transfer to France till August 2020, when the borders opened briefly.
She now loves the place she lives however she advised Alistair when he visited that the primary few days at her new French home have been memorable, and never due to sipping wine by the pool and taking within the panoramic views.
Fran mentioned: “Let’s speak in regards to the first evening, we could? We have been sitting within the kitchen and my sister-in-law mentioned to me abruptly, ‘why is the ground transferring?!’ and I appeared down and there was a military of crickets marching throughout the ground. I’m speaking hundreds of crickets, it appeared like the ground was transferring. We picked our toes up and I had somewhat look, then we simply swept them up and chucked them out.
“Next morning it was a hornets’ nest hanging contained in the entrance door so we very calmly drew the curtain throughout and opened the entrance door and off they went. And then that left the wildlife within the roof house. We thought at first it was polecats as a result of it sounded very, very heavy, seemed like clog dancing each evening.
“But we’re advised it was loir, that are quite fairly little rat-sized issues that breed prolifically and so they get in underneath the tiles. I may truly see shadows of them if I appeared up on the ceiling. That was adopted by the snake within the backyard.”
Looking extra apprehensive because the pair have been sitting within the backyard, Alistair rapidly requested, ‘What snakes do you get right here?’. Fran replied: “We get whip snakes, that are a sort of grass snake, however the first one we had was about two metres and it was solely a metre away from us, in order that was somewhat little bit of a bushy second, we weren’t fairly so courageous with that one.”
Alistair was visibly shocked and replied: “Two metres? That’s the size of me! I’ve by no means heard of snakes like that in France, my goodness.” But regardless of the native wildlife welcoming her, Fran advised the presenter that she was very blissful she escaped to a very totally different nation and she or he would not change a factor.
This story was featured on Escaped to the Country collection eight, episode 10, at present available to view on BBC iPlayer.
