Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 2, Episode 11 - Episode #2.11 - full transcript
Dick shows how he maintains his land on with the help of his tractor; three sisters travel to France from Australia in search of the perfect chateau, but they have a long checklist.
Dick, voice-over:
I'm Dick Strawbridge.
And along with my wife, Angel and our two children...
Grape!
Dick, voice-over: we've lived in this magnificent
chateau in France for the last four years.
Angel: 1, 2, 3!
Dick: Woo, look at that!
We are renovating as our home...
Right, so canapes.
And our business.
2, 3 up.
And it seems we're not the only Brits who followed their
dream and have bought a chateau to call home.
Woman: Absolutely stunning.
It's beautiful.
Dick, voice-over: So Angel and I are back guiding a new batch
of adventurous owners.
Angel: I know it's gonna look lovely.
Dick, voice-over: That's bordering on ridiculous.
I've been catching up with some old friends.
Yay!
Dick, voice-over: As they battle to rescue their homes.
Stick it in the hole and let's just see how far we can go.
And try to make them pay their way.
Woman: Well, this has all gone wrong
because 5 was originally there. Pardon.
Dick, voice-over: And we'll reveal more about our
own chateau experience.
Angel: It's a balance, and finding that balance is
really, really hard.
Dick, voice-over: There'll be highs...
- That's it, that's it. - Yes!
Dick, voice-over: ...and lows.
Oh, these stairs will be the death of me, I think.
Dick, voice-over: But however hard the going gets...
Whoa!
Dick, voice-over: For these plucky Brits, nothing beats
life in their very own castle.
[Glasses clink]
Today, ambitious plans for a chateau wedding business.
Woman: It will almost certainly be a last-minute rush.
Dad?
Dick, voice-over: I spy savvy ways that money
grows on trees.
Each one of those could be planted up as an oak tree.
It's a whole business opportunity.
Woman: Aah!
Dick, voice-over: Preparations get highly charged...
I just saw lights.
Dick, voice-over: ...as one couple expect a big
B&B booking.
You've blown all the electrics.
- Let me in. - No.
Dick, voice-over: And a trio of sisters go shopping
for a chateau.
Woman: Do you know if there's any ghosts
in the property?
Dick, voice-over: All over France, incredible chateaus
are getting a fresh lease of life with new owners
from the UK.
Nestling in Normandy in Northern France is the
18-bedroom, 4-story, 19th century Chateau de Montvason.
It was snapped up by couple Emma and Paul for £278,000
2 years ago.
Emma: Well, we still don't quite believe it, do we?
We always go, "Well, someone's going to come and kick us out.
Dick, voice-over: Yeah, I have to pinch myself on a regular
basis, kind of in the morning when I get up, quick pinch.
Dick, voice-over: French-born Emma is a freelance
development consultant and Paul took early retirement
from his job in a car factory so they could make the move from
Luton to Chateau de Montvason, close to the Normandy Coast.
I knew the chateau was the one.
When I walked around the house, it was almost like
the house was asking me to restore it.
Dick, voice-over: After meeting nine years ago,
they discovered a love of doing up homes.
Paul: Together we've done about six or seven
renovations, nothing on this scale, not even the six or
seven places would equal anything this scale.
Dick, voice-over: This may be their biggest property project yet,
but sadly, there's no massive money pot to match.
Emma: We came here with 30,000 budget with 30
rooms to do, that was two years ago.
Now we're left with 10K, a hall of the second floor
and the west wing to do.
Dick, voice-over: So Emma and Paul have opened their home
for business, offering their completed rooms as bed
and breakfast.
They have guests arriving in two weeks' time and there are
still jobs to do.
They've got children and we've got a two-
meter drop from the doors to the pool, to the outside,
so it's really important that we protect that area
and nobody falls over it.
I bought some Victorian-style balustrade, stair spindles.
I think now about a pound--a pound to go.
Dick, voice-over: What a bargain, by fitting
and cutting them himself, Paul reckons he saved a total
of around a thousand pounds.
I served an apprenticeship as couch maker, so I've
got a very, very good knowledge
of timberwork.
I've got one here that's cut to length.
So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to block it out so I
can do all the spindles all in one go.
It's quite an operation.
There's about--probably about 70 spindles in all.
Just give this one a first chop.
[Buzzing]
I get a lot of pleasure out of this sort of stuff.
It's very therapeutic, I feel.
OK.
Dick, voice-over: Emma's also keeping the cost down when it
comes to decorating the guest bedrooms.
I am trying to create a sort
of fairytale bedroom.
I found these on eBay which are two rose ciel de lits bed
crowns, so effectively we'll have crowns over each bed.
I'm going to try and match the original paintwork
on the beds, allow a little bit of the gold to come through
and then I'm going to attach some really nice voile
material that I got, and then the idea is that the voile
will hang down to give a sort of ethereal feel.
Dick, voice-over: Outside, Paul's finished the balusters
for the safety rail and is ready to slot them into position.
Hopefully I haven't miscalculated how many
balusters I need because that would be a bit annoying.
There you go. Ha ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: Fingers crossed, Paul gets his sums right, in time
for the chateau's big B&B booking.
OK, come on, mate.
Dick, voice-over: The spectacular countryside
of Southwest France is the location of 36-bedroom
Chateau du Doux.
This century-old property was run as a hotel when IT
consultant Clive spotted it nine years ago.
I saw this chateau on the internet for sale, and we had
a holiday, and we came up, and we stayed in one
of the apartments here.
Dick, voice-over: Wife Karen had no idea that Clive had
an ulterior motive for the holiday.
I was unaware, but Clive had actually
engineered it to come here purposely, so it wasn't--we
thought this might be a marvelous place to stay,
he'd planned it all.
Dick, voice-over: Clive persuaded Karen to take on this stunning chateau
on the Dordogne Valley as a holiday home for themselves
and their children, Alex, 23, Ross, 22, and
20-year-old Abby.
But nearly a decade later, the reality is very different.
The actual static cost of the chateau are
quite high due to the taxes on the property itself.
We're looking about 50,000 euros
just to do nothing.
Clive: Then you have the maintenance costs on top.
Karen: I mean, we were pretty silly to
purchase a building of this size and think we wouldn't
have to make it work to pay for itself.
Dick, voice-over: They bought it for £900,000
and spent around £440,000 in renovations.
The family sunk their life savings into the property,
whilst Clive's IT income is swallowed up by running costs.
Clive having worked immeasurably hard,
he's still on that treadmill and there's no prospect of him
getting off.
Very much a rollercoaster and lots of ups
and downs, but just to own it is fantastic.
[speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: To balance the books, they're now
offering luxury wedding packages with 20-year-old Abby
as planner and general manager.
Abby: I think we need to do approximately 10
weddings to be able to pay all the bills and have a little
bit of money for renovation as well.
Dick, voice-over: Abby's organizing their biggest
wedding of the year in a month's time.
The entire chateau is booked out, but three rooms aren't
yet ready.
Clive: Take the cord off first, please.
Dick, voice-over: First job is unpacking 300 pounds' worth
of bargained furniture that Clive's bought in the UK.
I pull from the other side, push it.
Yeah, it's very tight, and you just got this in. OK?
- Got it. - Right.
Abby: Thank you.
Clive: The idea is to finish the bedrooms which
haven't been changed because when we bought the place,
it-- the furniture was rather antiquated in the wrong
sort of way.
So basically, we're now replacing it
with shabby chic.
Dick, voice-over: With the lift out of action...
Could you put it over by the table?
Dick, voice-over: and too costly to repair...
OK, but let's put it on the carpet.
Dick, voice-over: All the furniture has to be carried up
and down the six stories by hand.
Building materials, plaster, tiles,
it's all gotta be carried up manually, which
in the chateau is a long way up.
That's going down to the cellar room.
Dick, voice-over: Abby's offered this twin room as
a king-sized double.
So we've got a brand new bedroom suite that
my dad's just brought over in his van and it's going to be
a king-sized bed, so we've got a new mattress
and everything to go in.
One down, one to go.
Ready?
Dick, voice-over: The suite includes a chest of drawers...
[Bumps wall] Oh.
Dick, voice-over: ...to fit in the alcove,
at least that's the plan.
The moment of truth and it...
- Doesn't fit. - Doesn't fit.
Doesn't fit.
Dick, voice-over: The rest of their purchases better measure
up, or this van-load of British bargains could be
a costly mistake.
Becoming a chateau owner often means taking
on a large estate.
Our Chateau de la Motte Husson sits in 12 acres, but when we
arrived, agricultural work wasn't one
of Angel's strengths.
There'll be so much to learn, like...
You're just going to have to, like,
tell me what to do.
He's a country man, and I am a city girl.
Honestly, within a week of meeting me, he sent me
these boots.
Dick, voice-over: Four years on, now everyone in the family
likes to muck in.
Dick, voice-over: Yes, my man's got muscle.
Angel: Oh, yeah. Whoo!
Dick, voice-over: Especially with help from my toys.
It's a standard three-point take off.
Which is a category one three-point take off.
- OK. - I love you so much.
She has no idea what I'm talking about. Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: Crucial to keeping grounds a good nick, is a good path.
And the one I've created needs regular upkeep.
I've been over it once with a tractor last year.
I'm literally going to make sure it's clear so you can
walk around and hopefully it'll be able follow the path,
that's the idea. We'll see.
My path goes around the perimeter of our grounds,
that's over half a mile of mowing.
Along the way, I come across plenty of local plant life
that are bound in this fertile region.
Farmland covers three-quarters of this part of the Pays
de la Loire.
These nuts coming out, these won't be ready
for another short of three months because the youngsters
are gonna pick them, open them up, and nibble the little
nuts, it's a bit like a pine-- a pine nut.
Very nice.
See the big burl on the side of the chestnut there?
That burl will be made into a big bowl or something, they'll
have beautiful sort of patterns in it.
Look at the oak trees, each one of those could be
planted up as an oak tree and sold in a market garden,
it's a whole business opportunity.
With the path mowed, my two girls are keen to check out
my handiwork.
Come on, let's go.
Daddy's not even told us where the trail is.
1, 2, 3. All right. You ready?
- Yeah. - Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
It's lovely coming out and dragging myself away from
the computer.
We do come for nice little walks with the kids.
We'll have lot of rain to start this year, and I'm quite
looking forward to just coming out, being on the grounds,
seeing what we've got, and just loving this even
though I've got a monster on my head.
It's just clearing the mind.
Dick, voice-over: Over in Normandy, Emma's also tackling
their chateau grounds.
And Paul's fixing a safety rail around the pool area.
Been at it pretty much all day today,
and it still doesn't look like I've done much.
You know, these things, when you're doing them
a traditional way take a bit longer.
I have got a new power tool.
Dick, voice-over: One feature the couple want to show their
guests is the chateau maze.
But it's a tad overgrown, so Emma's sorting it with her
hedge cutter.
I've probably used one twice before.
So I should be a bit careful because I get carried away.
Dick, voice-over: First, she has to find a way in.
Ooh, that's very nice.
Good. Right. I'm in.
Let's go.
Dick, voice-over: In the 16th and 17th centuries, mazes were
fashionable for the well-to-do of Europe.
Oh, yeah.
A girl could get carried away.
Dick, voice-over: Slow and steady wins the race.
Emma: Aah!
Dick, voice-over: I did say slow and steady.
Emma: Honey, come here.
You need to come and have a look.
Paul: Oh, my word.
I just saw lights. No, baby, don't touch it.
What do you mean don't touch it?
All the--you've blown all the electrics in the house.
How do you know?
I guarantee you've blown all
the electrics in the house.
Oh, my God. I can't believe I did that.
Yeah, well, I can.
Aren't you happy that I'm not dead?
I'm happy that you're not dead, yes,
but the chances of your dying, all right, were minimal.
Emma: Right. I'm going to go back to painting,
forget about what happened. The shame.
You won't be forgetting about what
happened, I can assure you.
I'm going to keep going, it might need
a couple of coats.
But I do really want it to match the beds.
Dick, voice-over: Safely inside, Emma is carefully
restoring two ciel de lit to rest above the beds in a twin
guest room.
Listen, I've never done this before.
I'm just trying to get the technique of not too much,
not too little so that it looks aged.
Paul: How's the paint going on, then?
- Well, it's taking forever. - OK.
I'm still not 100% sure about the color.
I think it might be a little bit too lemon.
Paul: Well, why not just paint the whole
lot and we've got that gilding wax, and we can go over the--
and highlight it with the gilding wax after?
You know, that's great. I'll do that.
It's classic things that you-- so busy doing stuff, you miss
the obvious.
Paul can just walk in and go, "We've got gilding wax.
Why don't you just paint the whole thing?"
And hey, presto. That's what I call teamwork.
Dick, voice-over: Gilding wax is a cost-effective way to add
a metallic sheen.
Outside, Paul's busy painting the railings
and saving cash, too.
Getting the initial one on it.
And then give it another few coats, no doubt.
Someone's got quite a lot of heat in it now, which means
that my paint is going to dry a lot quicker.
Not too shabby.
A bit of chateau chic.
Dick, voice-over: Paul now needs to make sure he firmly
secures his safety rail around the pool.
That means screwing in still fixtures to the stone tiles.
And what I'm dreading is for something
on the end of here to break.
Some of these have already got the cement cracking a little
bit along the way, so I'm a bit--I'm a bit concerned as to
what's going to happen.
But we'll see, won't we?
Dick, voice-over: With the guests due in 12 days,
Paul needs to get this right, or the pool will be
off-limits.
Dick: Turn. Turn, turn, turn.
Dick, voice-over: Angel and I spent four years back and forth across
the channel on the hunt for our perfect property.
Everything is gorgeous.
But interior designer Julia has crossed the continent to
start her chateau search.
Raised in England, Julia and her sisters moved to Australia
after leaving school.
Dick, voice-over: It's been a dream of my sisters and myself
since we were children to have a chateau in France.
Dick, voice-over: Julia wants a new,
permanent French home with space for family to visit.
She has a budget of £530,000 and support
and advice from older sisters Sarah and Melissa.
We have the same tastes in things, so that
brings us even closer together.
Yes.
Especially looking at chateaus, we're all
very similar in what we like.
I have a thing for staircases.
Large, elegant rooms.
Outbuildings. Need outbuildings.
It has to have towers, Julia knows that.
- A moat would be nice. - Oh, a moat.
- We would love a moat. - Love a moat.
Dick, voice-over: Who doesn't love a moat?
The first place they're looking at is a nine-bedroom
19th-century chateau located in the Occitanie region.
On the market for £348,000 it comes
with 7.5 acres of land, an attached three-
bedroom holiday cottage, and several outbuildings.
There's no moat, but there is a pool in need of attention.
[speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: Time for a tour with the estate agent,
Jean Stefan.
- Lovely. - Follow me.
- Thank you. - Here we go.
Jean: So be welcome.
First of all, here, as you can see, everything original.
- Yeah. - Yes.
- There's the floor... - The floor.
How do you call them in English?
- Tiles. - Tiles.
Jean: The floor tiles in ceramic.
- Yes. - OK.
It's quite of a good size which shows importance
of the house at the time.
- Yes. - Love the staircase.
From what I can see, it looks --it looks really nice.
Yeah. Good first impression.
- Good. - Yeah.
Good character, isn't it?
- Oh, loads of character. - It does, yeah.
Dick, voice-over: Time for the first reception room.
Oh, that's lovely, looking out the window there. Yes.
Now, which is great, this here,
we're facing south.
- Gorgeous. - Oh, yes, and marble.
Nice marble fireplace.
- Beautiful color. - And working?
- Do they work? - They do work.
- Oh good. - Excellent.
- They all do work. - All right. Excellent.
Dick, voice-over: There are even more French features
in a further reception room.
I really love this room.
And another beautiful fireplace.
That fireplace is absolutely gorgeous.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
This room could be really beautiful.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Jean: So ladies, would you like to follow me to the bedrooms?
- Oh, we'd love to. - Ha ha! Oh, Jean!
Dick, voice-over: Upstairs, the nine bedrooms provide
plenty of space for Julia's sisters to visit.
And the double with dual aspect windows, that Julia
might like herself.
- There's lots of potential. - Oh, for sure.
- Yes. - Yes.
Dick, voice-over: The lower floors also come with a bright
kitchen and something that wasn't on the wish list.
A chapel.
My initial reaction to this one is,
I'm a bit stumped by it.
I think I really love it. but this is a lot of work.
The outbuildings, if you wanted to
use them constructively, you'd have to do something
pretty major.
Yeah. It's got lots of potential.
It's got huge potential.
Could be a bottomless pit of potentials.
Yes. Ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: So Julia likes what she's seen,
but also has worries over renovation costs.
Luckily, she's got more to see.
In the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux...
Paul: Careful.
Dick, voice-over: Abby and family are getting the final
rooms ready for their most ambitious wedding yet, in just
over a month.
[Abby speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: 20-year- old chateau manager Abby has
booked all 32 guestrooms out for the event.
But the first bit of furniture for the room upgrades
didn't fit in.
- And it... - Doesn't fit.
- Doesn't fit.
Dick, voice-over: Time to try item two, a rather large
sleigh bed.
These were all the rage during the 19th-century Napoleonic
Era, when rooms were emperor-sized too.
Oh, no, Dad.
There's no longer a light switch there, that's fine.
- No one will know it's there. - Oh, dear.
Abby: Nobody uses it anyway.
I think it looks like we're going to have
to move the mirror slightly upwards.
It needs to be higher, definitely.
It would look awful otherwise.
All right.
Now let's put this thing together, so.
Dick, voice-over: The massive mahogany assembled, there's
little room to maneuver.
Your chairs are going to have to go, Mum.
- Yeah, that's fine. - It's a bit tight.
Karen: It's fine. It's Chateau du Doux.
Chateau du Doux rhymes with flu, which when
we have found ourselves in that situation quite frequently.
That is one big bed.
Have we got a bigger room this would go in?
Abby: We're not changing it now.
I've told all the guests that this is what's going to be
in this room. - Yup, with the chair.
No, we're not having the chair anymore, are we?
- Yes. - Where?
Here. Then they can...
- It might look... - Yeah, but look--no.
- I'm not sure that works. - You're so clumsy.
- You just go--right? - This is fun.
Yeah, but you can't do anything, I mean, you're kicking the bed.
Dick, voice-over: Seems Mum's chair is out.
Dick, voice-over: There you go.
- That's it. - There we go. That fits.
Dick, voice-over: At least something does, Ross.
Ross: Now, let's try it out.
Karen: Very comfortable.
Oh! That's really nice.
Abby: We'll come back and Ross will be here,
like, this afternoon.
- Right. - Right.
Dick, voice-over: No time for napping, there's plenty
more to do,
including fixing some roof tiles on an outbuilding,
where some of the guests will be staying.
That spare wood there, any water running
down there would go straight behind those tiles and down
the wood, potentially leaking into the apartment.
Dick, voice-over: They can't afford to call a specialist
roofer every time a tile drops from the French stone roof.
They usually use a piece of zinc, a piece
of zinc metal and just bend it up over the top.
Dick, voice-over: To save cash, Clive's developed his
own method using stripped electrical wire.
Dick, voice-over: Twist the couple wire up...
and cut it.
And that--no way is that going to fall out.
Dick, voice-over: With a big wedding in a little over
a month, let's hope he's right.
Dick, voice-over: Owning a chateau means becoming
custodians of the land, as well as the building.
We've shown our ground some love by making a trail
for the family.
We've also planted an orchard.
Angel, in just a bit, I give you one planted mulberry bush.
Daddy, I show you this.
Dick, voice-over: In years to come, our family and others
will be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
And it's all about the long game for another prized crop.
Truffles.
A truffle tree, look at that.
Look, we have a couple of big hurdles before we get to
cook with the truffles.
Growing them, number one.
Stopping the boar eating them, number two.
And finding them, number three.
Dick, voice-over: And if the wild boar don't eat the truffles and we manage to
locate them, we've still got a long wait.
And now we're standing the fact that's it's 5 years away.
Our chateau has stood tall since 1874.
But there's something even older, taller, and just as
majestic within our grounds.
From over there, it looks tiny.
And look at this.
For an oak tree, this is the oldest tree we've got.
What did I say?
They grow for 200 years, live for 200 years, and die
for 200 years, that's an oak tree.
This king of the forest stands over 90 feet tall, and is more
than 300 years old.
I love the fact it doesn't even look big until you get
close to it.
And then you go, "It's huge."
Yeah. That to me is pretty special.
It's been here long before me and I'm betting it'll be here
long after me.
The whole concept of the land, we're only caretaking it
really, well, for our period of life over here.
I only hope my great-great- grandchildren get to enjoy
the natural beauty of this land as much as we do.
Over at Chateau de Montvason in rural Normandy, Emma
and Paul are racing to be ready for their guests.
They're now due in just four hours.
All right, darling.
Dick, voice-over: The precarious poolside drop is
now safely protected by Paul's rail.
And the twin room has been beautified with matching
canopy crowns.
Just in time for our guests.
I'm really, really happy at how this has turned out.
Dick, voice-over: But just when thought they had
everything covered, Paul's made an unwanted discovery
in the dining room.
Ants. That's what's happening.
It's bit of a nightmare, really. Ants.
I think they're coming from outside.
Emma: Sorry, honey. I'm not listening.
I'm just dressing-- - I'm not talking to you, darling.
Emma: All right.
Dick, voice-over: The two guest families have children.
So Emma's got a surprise to get in their good books.
I thought it would be nice as I've sorted
the maze out to kind of add an extra thing and do a bit
of a treasure hunt for the boys.
So I bought them a couple of packs of tanks and soldiers.
Hopefully they'll like it.
I don't know what 10-year-olds like.
I got some silly sweeties well.
French sweeties.
Dick, voice-over: In the dining room, Paul hopes he's
found the solution to the insect problem.
Ah, OK.
So we can hide one of those under there.
* Doo doo doo doo *
And just under there.
Dick, voice-over: And Emma is busy preparing the children's
treasure hunt when she realizes she's missed a call.
[Phone ringing]
Hi, it's Emma here. I think you probably just tried to call me
from the chateaux?
Man: Yeah, I think I'm actually here.
I think I'm looking at it.
Oh!
One hour, ten minutes early.
- Paul! - [Indistinct]
Our guests are here!
Dick, voice-over: Nothing like an early arrival for novice
B&B hosts.
Emma: Look, he's not even got his shoes on. Ha ha ha!
- Hi. - This is Paul.
- I'm Jake. - I'm Paul. Nice to meet you.
Dick, voice-over: The first of two families booked
for a three-night stay are here.
Emma: So come on in. [Sighs]
Dick, voice-over: South in the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux,
20-year-old Abby is getting all the accommodation
ready for a big wedding.
We have no experience in hospitality.
We've just fallen into it really.
Paul: The end game is to get this up and running
as a successful business.
And ideally be one of the best wedding
venues in this area.
Dick, voice-over: They've put new furniture in one room.
Dad?
Dick, voice-over: But they still have another bedroom to
completely refurbish, a family bathroom to finish,
and an ensuite to refit.
And these tiles we're putting on the wall,
are you seeing that?
Oh, yes. there a big lump in the wall.
Man: And they've got real [inaudible]
that room to straighten the wall out.
Yes.
Dick, voice-over: But dad Clive had spotted a serious
concern in the ceiling.
I have a problem over there.
Big leak. We need to fix that.
Dick, voice-over: Yet another leak in the roof and this
time, it's above the renovations.
There's no point going to that effort
if it's going to be damaged by water penetrating.
So I think you need to go up on the roof.
Dick, voice-over: It seems Clive's work as a roofer is
far from done.
So, yes. Cherry picker time, I think?
Abby: Yeah.
Dick, voice-over: Clive sunk £20,000 into this cherry
picker, hoping it will save money of contractors
in the long run.
Dick, voice-over: It's a constant battle, essentially.
Every time you have a storm, you're bound to have
one tile out.
We know roughly where the leak is.
It's somewhere near the chimney.
It's meant over the left-hand side, isn't it?
Dick, voice-over: The area Clive needs to inspect is four
floors up and his cherry picker only reaches three.
- What can possibly go wrong? - Mmm.
Famous last words.
Dick, voice-over: Good luck, guys.
Because if you don't fix the leaking roof, we all know it
will cause even more problems in the long run.
Interior designer Julia is looking for a chateau so she
can make the move to France and have family come
and visit.
With her two older sisters Sarah and Melissa in tow,
she's already viewed a 19th-century chateau
in the Occitanie region.
I think I really love it.
Dick, voice-over: But all three siblings had concerns
about the costs of renovating it.
- It's got lots of potential. - It's got huge potential.
Could be a bottomless pit of potential.
Yes. Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: For the next viewing, they've headed to
the Dordogne.
The five-bedroom Chateau de Crognac was built in the 18th
century on the foundations of a medieval fort.
The asking price is £420,000 and is well within
Julia's budget of £530,000.
- The stonework... - Lovely, yes.
The stonework is gorgeous. The color is gorgeous.
- Yeah. - The shutters...
you know, they're in disrepair,
but they're beautiful the way they are.
But they look lovely like that, don't they? - Yeah.
Dick, voice-over: A big tick for the outside, they head
into the entrance hall.
Originally built for a local surgeon,
this is one of the grandest houses in the area.
- Oh, my gosh. - Oh, wow.
- Let me in. - No.
- Come on, come on. - Let Sarah in.
Oh, that's nice.
There you go, there's your staircase.
- Yeah. - This is beautiful.
Dick, voice-over: A good start.
But talk of medieval foundations has Julia worried
about unwelcome house guests.
Julia: Do you know if there's any ghosts
in the property?
So I did have been many times and I
didn't hear anything.
- OK, OK. - Only the...
Julia: No stories
about the place or the castle that's been built on? OK.
Dick, voice-over: Concerns exorcised.
Now for the kitchen.
I'd put an AGA in somewhere and just
beautiful cabinets.
- Big table in the middle. - Yeah.
It's a very good blank canvas.
So this would be very easy to do in here.
Dick, voice-over: Yeah.
- It's very nice. - It is. It's fabulous.
Dick, voice-over: Upstairs, the magnificent proportions
continue in the first of five bedrooms.
Twin cuts behind curtains may not be what the average 21st
century home offers but the view certainly delivers.
Julia: Oh, my goodness!
Oh! Heaven.
Oh, look at the river.
I can see it, the river, the terrace...
That is gorgeous.
Dick, voice-over: Outside, the grounds include
outbuildings, a swimming pool, and a well.
Julia: It's probably a 9.5 out of 10 for me.
It's stunning.
I don't want to admit it in front
of the agent but I love it. Ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: So Julia is tempted,
But she won't be making any rush decisions.
She still has three more chateaus to see.
You know, we still got more to explore. - Yes.
Dick, voice-over: In the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux,
they're preparing for their biggest wedding
of the year in just over a month.
I hate painting.
Dick, voice-over: With all 32 guestrooms booked
for the event, they still have to finish refitting two
bathrooms as well as decorating a bedroom.
This is going to be a new
double bedroom.
Originally, we used it but after the leak in the ceiling,
we had to stop using it.
Dick, voice-over: The leak in the roof needs to be fixed,
otherwise, there's no point carrying
on with the refurbishments.
But it's in a particularly high spot.
So Clive's wondering how best to inspect the damage.
I might have to crawl over the last part
of the roof and it's really getting up there and see what
the problem is.
Dick, voice-over: Clive is going to assist local
builder, Richard.
So we're going to have to put a ladder
against the roof tiles and potentially climb up the last
little bit.
Dick, voice-over: This could be interesting.
The next storm will come along and all
of the room we've just plastered, there'll be a load more
water damage again.
Dick, voice-over: Be careful placing that ladder, chaps.
That's high.
No, it's not going to go any further.
OK. That's not going to go any further.
Have they located the hole?
Abby: Not yet. They haven't even got up there yet.
Oh.
Dick, voice-over: Builder Richard heads up the ladder
and soon identifies the problem.
Richard: It looks like somebody's repaired it before but not very well.
What we forgot to say is when is it being Chateau du Doux?
Abby: Oh, here we go again.
And in the poo.
It's also run by de fou, which means mad people.
Abby: Chateau for mad people.
- So it's very aptly named. - No, that is you.
Dick, voice-over: Luckily, it's a quick fix for Richard.
And Clive soon takes him safely back down to Earth.
Karen: So that's definitely the source of the leak.
Richard: Definitely the source and definitely fixed.
- Yay. - Fantastic.
- Yay. - Fantastic.
It's so destroying if you do all that decoration and then
it's wrecked.
Cheers, Richard. Thank you very much.
Dick, voice-over: But there's no let-up with bathroom
refits, bedroom redecoration, pool maintenance, and yet more
furniture removals all to be done in the next few weeks.
Karen: It will almost certainly be a last-minute rush,
maybe not the night before they choose to
come in but one or two days before, certainly.
Dick, voice-over: At Chateau de Montvason in Normandy,
the first of two families from Emma and Paul's B&B bookings
has arrived more than an hour early.
Emma: But he's not even got his shoes on.
Oh, dear.
- Hi. - I'm Jake.
- This is Jake. - Paul. Nice to meet you.
- Natasha. - So come on in.
Dick, voice-over: Time to show them the guest accommodation.
Natasha: It looks beautiful.
Emma: So come on-- so this is--this is
the white salon.
So this is our favorite salon.
And this is the chill out salon.
Paul: We'll have a little fire this evening.
Jake: You guys have done a great job.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Well, hopefully, you like the bedrooms too.
It's been a year and a half of hard slog.
So come on through.
This is the downstairs spare bedroom.
So it's 5:00 and our guests have now been
here for three hours because they arrived an hour early. - Yep.
Dick, voice-over: When the second family arrives...
Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Emma.
Dick, voice-over: it's clear there's been a mix-up
in more than just check-in times.
prompting a swift rethink of prizes for the treasure hunt.
I thought I was getting two 10-year-old
boys, instead I got a 10-year-old boy
and a 15-year-old girl.
So I had to do a really fast present change because I don't
think she'd appreciate with the plastic tanks
and the soldiers.
Your present is red, and your present is blue.
So don't go getting the red one if you find it, don't tell
her where it is, and if you find the blue one, don't tell
him where it is, so off you go!
Try and see if you can find your way around.
Oh, I see mine.
Emma: Yay, we got our present. Well done! Cool!
The kids love it, love it, love it.
Oh, these...
Emma: It's French perfume. It's the first perfume I had.
We've had our treasure hunt. The kids loved that.
They liked their presents which is good because I did have
a little last-minute excitement with that one.
This is awesome! Thank you.
Dick, voice-over: Hosting duties successfully
navigated so far.
See, that's cool. Thank you so much.
That's all right, my honey. You're very welcome.
Dick, voice-over: And the new railings mean the guests could
enjoy the chateau's pool.
A lot of people don't have
a heated pool, let alone undercover.
So, it really is a bonus for us to have this.
That's really great, like I'm...
Paul and Emma drew us in.
- Sucked us into their dream. - Drew us in, correct.
So, it was very easy and we will come back as well.
Paul: Already booked in for September.
So that's-- that shows that, you know,
the place is up to scratch and the hosting is obviously
something that they like.
Yeah, they haven't been put off by our bad jokes.
Here you go, sweetheart.
Dick, voice-over: Emma and Paul's new facilities have
been a success but with an entire wing to renovate,
there's still a long way to go to make their chateau business
a going concern.
Next time...
I don't think that's going to reach.
Dick, voice-over: At Chateau Du Doux, there's a problem
with the pool.
Is there a kink in it or is that it?
No, that's it.
Karen: If we can't get the pool up and running,
it will be a total disaster for us.
Dick, voice-over: Julia and her sisters search
for the perfect chateau and are on the lookout for turrets.
Julia: So it's just carpets in here.
Bit of a waste of a tower.
Dick, voice-over: And Paul and I struggle with his art
deco tiles.
Cor! That is hard.
It's rock-solid.
Come the next nuclear holocaust, this will be
what's left.
And along with my wife, Angel and our two children...
Grape!
Dick, voice-over: we've lived in this magnificent
chateau in France for the last four years.
Angel: 1, 2, 3!
Dick: Woo, look at that!
We are renovating as our home...
Right, so canapes.
And our business.
2, 3 up.
And it seems we're not the only Brits who followed their
dream and have bought a chateau to call home.
Woman: Absolutely stunning.
It's beautiful.
Dick, voice-over: So Angel and I are back guiding a new batch
of adventurous owners.
Angel: I know it's gonna look lovely.
Dick, voice-over: That's bordering on ridiculous.
I've been catching up with some old friends.
Yay!
Dick, voice-over: As they battle to rescue their homes.
Stick it in the hole and let's just see how far we can go.
And try to make them pay their way.
Woman: Well, this has all gone wrong
because 5 was originally there. Pardon.
Dick, voice-over: And we'll reveal more about our
own chateau experience.
Angel: It's a balance, and finding that balance is
really, really hard.
Dick, voice-over: There'll be highs...
- That's it, that's it. - Yes!
Dick, voice-over: ...and lows.
Oh, these stairs will be the death of me, I think.
Dick, voice-over: But however hard the going gets...
Whoa!
Dick, voice-over: For these plucky Brits, nothing beats
life in their very own castle.
[Glasses clink]
Today, ambitious plans for a chateau wedding business.
Woman: It will almost certainly be a last-minute rush.
Dad?
Dick, voice-over: I spy savvy ways that money
grows on trees.
Each one of those could be planted up as an oak tree.
It's a whole business opportunity.
Woman: Aah!
Dick, voice-over: Preparations get highly charged...
I just saw lights.
Dick, voice-over: ...as one couple expect a big
B&B booking.
You've blown all the electrics.
- Let me in. - No.
Dick, voice-over: And a trio of sisters go shopping
for a chateau.
Woman: Do you know if there's any ghosts
in the property?
Dick, voice-over: All over France, incredible chateaus
are getting a fresh lease of life with new owners
from the UK.
Nestling in Normandy in Northern France is the
18-bedroom, 4-story, 19th century Chateau de Montvason.
It was snapped up by couple Emma and Paul for £278,000
2 years ago.
Emma: Well, we still don't quite believe it, do we?
We always go, "Well, someone's going to come and kick us out.
Dick, voice-over: Yeah, I have to pinch myself on a regular
basis, kind of in the morning when I get up, quick pinch.
Dick, voice-over: French-born Emma is a freelance
development consultant and Paul took early retirement
from his job in a car factory so they could make the move from
Luton to Chateau de Montvason, close to the Normandy Coast.
I knew the chateau was the one.
When I walked around the house, it was almost like
the house was asking me to restore it.
Dick, voice-over: After meeting nine years ago,
they discovered a love of doing up homes.
Paul: Together we've done about six or seven
renovations, nothing on this scale, not even the six or
seven places would equal anything this scale.
Dick, voice-over: This may be their biggest property project yet,
but sadly, there's no massive money pot to match.
Emma: We came here with 30,000 budget with 30
rooms to do, that was two years ago.
Now we're left with 10K, a hall of the second floor
and the west wing to do.
Dick, voice-over: So Emma and Paul have opened their home
for business, offering their completed rooms as bed
and breakfast.
They have guests arriving in two weeks' time and there are
still jobs to do.
They've got children and we've got a two-
meter drop from the doors to the pool, to the outside,
so it's really important that we protect that area
and nobody falls over it.
I bought some Victorian-style balustrade, stair spindles.
I think now about a pound--a pound to go.
Dick, voice-over: What a bargain, by fitting
and cutting them himself, Paul reckons he saved a total
of around a thousand pounds.
I served an apprenticeship as couch maker, so I've
got a very, very good knowledge
of timberwork.
I've got one here that's cut to length.
So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to block it out so I
can do all the spindles all in one go.
It's quite an operation.
There's about--probably about 70 spindles in all.
Just give this one a first chop.
[Buzzing]
I get a lot of pleasure out of this sort of stuff.
It's very therapeutic, I feel.
OK.
Dick, voice-over: Emma's also keeping the cost down when it
comes to decorating the guest bedrooms.
I am trying to create a sort
of fairytale bedroom.
I found these on eBay which are two rose ciel de lits bed
crowns, so effectively we'll have crowns over each bed.
I'm going to try and match the original paintwork
on the beds, allow a little bit of the gold to come through
and then I'm going to attach some really nice voile
material that I got, and then the idea is that the voile
will hang down to give a sort of ethereal feel.
Dick, voice-over: Outside, Paul's finished the balusters
for the safety rail and is ready to slot them into position.
Hopefully I haven't miscalculated how many
balusters I need because that would be a bit annoying.
There you go. Ha ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: Fingers crossed, Paul gets his sums right, in time
for the chateau's big B&B booking.
OK, come on, mate.
Dick, voice-over: The spectacular countryside
of Southwest France is the location of 36-bedroom
Chateau du Doux.
This century-old property was run as a hotel when IT
consultant Clive spotted it nine years ago.
I saw this chateau on the internet for sale, and we had
a holiday, and we came up, and we stayed in one
of the apartments here.
Dick, voice-over: Wife Karen had no idea that Clive had
an ulterior motive for the holiday.
I was unaware, but Clive had actually
engineered it to come here purposely, so it wasn't--we
thought this might be a marvelous place to stay,
he'd planned it all.
Dick, voice-over: Clive persuaded Karen to take on this stunning chateau
on the Dordogne Valley as a holiday home for themselves
and their children, Alex, 23, Ross, 22, and
20-year-old Abby.
But nearly a decade later, the reality is very different.
The actual static cost of the chateau are
quite high due to the taxes on the property itself.
We're looking about 50,000 euros
just to do nothing.
Clive: Then you have the maintenance costs on top.
Karen: I mean, we were pretty silly to
purchase a building of this size and think we wouldn't
have to make it work to pay for itself.
Dick, voice-over: They bought it for £900,000
and spent around £440,000 in renovations.
The family sunk their life savings into the property,
whilst Clive's IT income is swallowed up by running costs.
Clive having worked immeasurably hard,
he's still on that treadmill and there's no prospect of him
getting off.
Very much a rollercoaster and lots of ups
and downs, but just to own it is fantastic.
[speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: To balance the books, they're now
offering luxury wedding packages with 20-year-old Abby
as planner and general manager.
Abby: I think we need to do approximately 10
weddings to be able to pay all the bills and have a little
bit of money for renovation as well.
Dick, voice-over: Abby's organizing their biggest
wedding of the year in a month's time.
The entire chateau is booked out, but three rooms aren't
yet ready.
Clive: Take the cord off first, please.
Dick, voice-over: First job is unpacking 300 pounds' worth
of bargained furniture that Clive's bought in the UK.
I pull from the other side, push it.
Yeah, it's very tight, and you just got this in. OK?
- Got it. - Right.
Abby: Thank you.
Clive: The idea is to finish the bedrooms which
haven't been changed because when we bought the place,
it-- the furniture was rather antiquated in the wrong
sort of way.
So basically, we're now replacing it
with shabby chic.
Dick, voice-over: With the lift out of action...
Could you put it over by the table?
Dick, voice-over: and too costly to repair...
OK, but let's put it on the carpet.
Dick, voice-over: All the furniture has to be carried up
and down the six stories by hand.
Building materials, plaster, tiles,
it's all gotta be carried up manually, which
in the chateau is a long way up.
That's going down to the cellar room.
Dick, voice-over: Abby's offered this twin room as
a king-sized double.
So we've got a brand new bedroom suite that
my dad's just brought over in his van and it's going to be
a king-sized bed, so we've got a new mattress
and everything to go in.
One down, one to go.
Ready?
Dick, voice-over: The suite includes a chest of drawers...
[Bumps wall] Oh.
Dick, voice-over: ...to fit in the alcove,
at least that's the plan.
The moment of truth and it...
- Doesn't fit. - Doesn't fit.
Doesn't fit.
Dick, voice-over: The rest of their purchases better measure
up, or this van-load of British bargains could be
a costly mistake.
Becoming a chateau owner often means taking
on a large estate.
Our Chateau de la Motte Husson sits in 12 acres, but when we
arrived, agricultural work wasn't one
of Angel's strengths.
There'll be so much to learn, like...
You're just going to have to, like,
tell me what to do.
He's a country man, and I am a city girl.
Honestly, within a week of meeting me, he sent me
these boots.
Dick, voice-over: Four years on, now everyone in the family
likes to muck in.
Dick, voice-over: Yes, my man's got muscle.
Angel: Oh, yeah. Whoo!
Dick, voice-over: Especially with help from my toys.
It's a standard three-point take off.
Which is a category one three-point take off.
- OK. - I love you so much.
She has no idea what I'm talking about. Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: Crucial to keeping grounds a good nick, is a good path.
And the one I've created needs regular upkeep.
I've been over it once with a tractor last year.
I'm literally going to make sure it's clear so you can
walk around and hopefully it'll be able follow the path,
that's the idea. We'll see.
My path goes around the perimeter of our grounds,
that's over half a mile of mowing.
Along the way, I come across plenty of local plant life
that are bound in this fertile region.
Farmland covers three-quarters of this part of the Pays
de la Loire.
These nuts coming out, these won't be ready
for another short of three months because the youngsters
are gonna pick them, open them up, and nibble the little
nuts, it's a bit like a pine-- a pine nut.
Very nice.
See the big burl on the side of the chestnut there?
That burl will be made into a big bowl or something, they'll
have beautiful sort of patterns in it.
Look at the oak trees, each one of those could be
planted up as an oak tree and sold in a market garden,
it's a whole business opportunity.
With the path mowed, my two girls are keen to check out
my handiwork.
Come on, let's go.
Daddy's not even told us where the trail is.
1, 2, 3. All right. You ready?
- Yeah. - Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
It's lovely coming out and dragging myself away from
the computer.
We do come for nice little walks with the kids.
We'll have lot of rain to start this year, and I'm quite
looking forward to just coming out, being on the grounds,
seeing what we've got, and just loving this even
though I've got a monster on my head.
It's just clearing the mind.
Dick, voice-over: Over in Normandy, Emma's also tackling
their chateau grounds.
And Paul's fixing a safety rail around the pool area.
Been at it pretty much all day today,
and it still doesn't look like I've done much.
You know, these things, when you're doing them
a traditional way take a bit longer.
I have got a new power tool.
Dick, voice-over: One feature the couple want to show their
guests is the chateau maze.
But it's a tad overgrown, so Emma's sorting it with her
hedge cutter.
I've probably used one twice before.
So I should be a bit careful because I get carried away.
Dick, voice-over: First, she has to find a way in.
Ooh, that's very nice.
Good. Right. I'm in.
Let's go.
Dick, voice-over: In the 16th and 17th centuries, mazes were
fashionable for the well-to-do of Europe.
Oh, yeah.
A girl could get carried away.
Dick, voice-over: Slow and steady wins the race.
Emma: Aah!
Dick, voice-over: I did say slow and steady.
Emma: Honey, come here.
You need to come and have a look.
Paul: Oh, my word.
I just saw lights. No, baby, don't touch it.
What do you mean don't touch it?
All the--you've blown all the electrics in the house.
How do you know?
I guarantee you've blown all
the electrics in the house.
Oh, my God. I can't believe I did that.
Yeah, well, I can.
Aren't you happy that I'm not dead?
I'm happy that you're not dead, yes,
but the chances of your dying, all right, were minimal.
Emma: Right. I'm going to go back to painting,
forget about what happened. The shame.
You won't be forgetting about what
happened, I can assure you.
I'm going to keep going, it might need
a couple of coats.
But I do really want it to match the beds.
Dick, voice-over: Safely inside, Emma is carefully
restoring two ciel de lit to rest above the beds in a twin
guest room.
Listen, I've never done this before.
I'm just trying to get the technique of not too much,
not too little so that it looks aged.
Paul: How's the paint going on, then?
- Well, it's taking forever. - OK.
I'm still not 100% sure about the color.
I think it might be a little bit too lemon.
Paul: Well, why not just paint the whole
lot and we've got that gilding wax, and we can go over the--
and highlight it with the gilding wax after?
You know, that's great. I'll do that.
It's classic things that you-- so busy doing stuff, you miss
the obvious.
Paul can just walk in and go, "We've got gilding wax.
Why don't you just paint the whole thing?"
And hey, presto. That's what I call teamwork.
Dick, voice-over: Gilding wax is a cost-effective way to add
a metallic sheen.
Outside, Paul's busy painting the railings
and saving cash, too.
Getting the initial one on it.
And then give it another few coats, no doubt.
Someone's got quite a lot of heat in it now, which means
that my paint is going to dry a lot quicker.
Not too shabby.
A bit of chateau chic.
Dick, voice-over: Paul now needs to make sure he firmly
secures his safety rail around the pool.
That means screwing in still fixtures to the stone tiles.
And what I'm dreading is for something
on the end of here to break.
Some of these have already got the cement cracking a little
bit along the way, so I'm a bit--I'm a bit concerned as to
what's going to happen.
But we'll see, won't we?
Dick, voice-over: With the guests due in 12 days,
Paul needs to get this right, or the pool will be
off-limits.
Dick: Turn. Turn, turn, turn.
Dick, voice-over: Angel and I spent four years back and forth across
the channel on the hunt for our perfect property.
Everything is gorgeous.
But interior designer Julia has crossed the continent to
start her chateau search.
Raised in England, Julia and her sisters moved to Australia
after leaving school.
Dick, voice-over: It's been a dream of my sisters and myself
since we were children to have a chateau in France.
Dick, voice-over: Julia wants a new,
permanent French home with space for family to visit.
She has a budget of £530,000 and support
and advice from older sisters Sarah and Melissa.
We have the same tastes in things, so that
brings us even closer together.
Yes.
Especially looking at chateaus, we're all
very similar in what we like.
I have a thing for staircases.
Large, elegant rooms.
Outbuildings. Need outbuildings.
It has to have towers, Julia knows that.
- A moat would be nice. - Oh, a moat.
- We would love a moat. - Love a moat.
Dick, voice-over: Who doesn't love a moat?
The first place they're looking at is a nine-bedroom
19th-century chateau located in the Occitanie region.
On the market for £348,000 it comes
with 7.5 acres of land, an attached three-
bedroom holiday cottage, and several outbuildings.
There's no moat, but there is a pool in need of attention.
[speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: Time for a tour with the estate agent,
Jean Stefan.
- Lovely. - Follow me.
- Thank you. - Here we go.
Jean: So be welcome.
First of all, here, as you can see, everything original.
- Yeah. - Yes.
- There's the floor... - The floor.
How do you call them in English?
- Tiles. - Tiles.
Jean: The floor tiles in ceramic.
- Yes. - OK.
It's quite of a good size which shows importance
of the house at the time.
- Yes. - Love the staircase.
From what I can see, it looks --it looks really nice.
Yeah. Good first impression.
- Good. - Yeah.
Good character, isn't it?
- Oh, loads of character. - It does, yeah.
Dick, voice-over: Time for the first reception room.
Oh, that's lovely, looking out the window there. Yes.
Now, which is great, this here,
we're facing south.
- Gorgeous. - Oh, yes, and marble.
Nice marble fireplace.
- Beautiful color. - And working?
- Do they work? - They do work.
- Oh good. - Excellent.
- They all do work. - All right. Excellent.
Dick, voice-over: There are even more French features
in a further reception room.
I really love this room.
And another beautiful fireplace.
That fireplace is absolutely gorgeous.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
This room could be really beautiful.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Jean: So ladies, would you like to follow me to the bedrooms?
- Oh, we'd love to. - Ha ha! Oh, Jean!
Dick, voice-over: Upstairs, the nine bedrooms provide
plenty of space for Julia's sisters to visit.
And the double with dual aspect windows, that Julia
might like herself.
- There's lots of potential. - Oh, for sure.
- Yes. - Yes.
Dick, voice-over: The lower floors also come with a bright
kitchen and something that wasn't on the wish list.
A chapel.
My initial reaction to this one is,
I'm a bit stumped by it.
I think I really love it. but this is a lot of work.
The outbuildings, if you wanted to
use them constructively, you'd have to do something
pretty major.
Yeah. It's got lots of potential.
It's got huge potential.
Could be a bottomless pit of potentials.
Yes. Ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: So Julia likes what she's seen,
but also has worries over renovation costs.
Luckily, she's got more to see.
In the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux...
Paul: Careful.
Dick, voice-over: Abby and family are getting the final
rooms ready for their most ambitious wedding yet, in just
over a month.
[Abby speaking French]
Dick, voice-over: 20-year- old chateau manager Abby has
booked all 32 guestrooms out for the event.
But the first bit of furniture for the room upgrades
didn't fit in.
- And it... - Doesn't fit.
- Doesn't fit.
Dick, voice-over: Time to try item two, a rather large
sleigh bed.
These were all the rage during the 19th-century Napoleonic
Era, when rooms were emperor-sized too.
Oh, no, Dad.
There's no longer a light switch there, that's fine.
- No one will know it's there. - Oh, dear.
Abby: Nobody uses it anyway.
I think it looks like we're going to have
to move the mirror slightly upwards.
It needs to be higher, definitely.
It would look awful otherwise.
All right.
Now let's put this thing together, so.
Dick, voice-over: The massive mahogany assembled, there's
little room to maneuver.
Your chairs are going to have to go, Mum.
- Yeah, that's fine. - It's a bit tight.
Karen: It's fine. It's Chateau du Doux.
Chateau du Doux rhymes with flu, which when
we have found ourselves in that situation quite frequently.
That is one big bed.
Have we got a bigger room this would go in?
Abby: We're not changing it now.
I've told all the guests that this is what's going to be
in this room. - Yup, with the chair.
No, we're not having the chair anymore, are we?
- Yes. - Where?
Here. Then they can...
- It might look... - Yeah, but look--no.
- I'm not sure that works. - You're so clumsy.
- You just go--right? - This is fun.
Yeah, but you can't do anything, I mean, you're kicking the bed.
Dick, voice-over: Seems Mum's chair is out.
Dick, voice-over: There you go.
- That's it. - There we go. That fits.
Dick, voice-over: At least something does, Ross.
Ross: Now, let's try it out.
Karen: Very comfortable.
Oh! That's really nice.
Abby: We'll come back and Ross will be here,
like, this afternoon.
- Right. - Right.
Dick, voice-over: No time for napping, there's plenty
more to do,
including fixing some roof tiles on an outbuilding,
where some of the guests will be staying.
That spare wood there, any water running
down there would go straight behind those tiles and down
the wood, potentially leaking into the apartment.
Dick, voice-over: They can't afford to call a specialist
roofer every time a tile drops from the French stone roof.
They usually use a piece of zinc, a piece
of zinc metal and just bend it up over the top.
Dick, voice-over: To save cash, Clive's developed his
own method using stripped electrical wire.
Dick, voice-over: Twist the couple wire up...
and cut it.
And that--no way is that going to fall out.
Dick, voice-over: With a big wedding in a little over
a month, let's hope he's right.
Dick, voice-over: Owning a chateau means becoming
custodians of the land, as well as the building.
We've shown our ground some love by making a trail
for the family.
We've also planted an orchard.
Angel, in just a bit, I give you one planted mulberry bush.
Daddy, I show you this.
Dick, voice-over: In years to come, our family and others
will be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
And it's all about the long game for another prized crop.
Truffles.
A truffle tree, look at that.
Look, we have a couple of big hurdles before we get to
cook with the truffles.
Growing them, number one.
Stopping the boar eating them, number two.
And finding them, number three.
Dick, voice-over: And if the wild boar don't eat the truffles and we manage to
locate them, we've still got a long wait.
And now we're standing the fact that's it's 5 years away.
Our chateau has stood tall since 1874.
But there's something even older, taller, and just as
majestic within our grounds.
From over there, it looks tiny.
And look at this.
For an oak tree, this is the oldest tree we've got.
What did I say?
They grow for 200 years, live for 200 years, and die
for 200 years, that's an oak tree.
This king of the forest stands over 90 feet tall, and is more
than 300 years old.
I love the fact it doesn't even look big until you get
close to it.
And then you go, "It's huge."
Yeah. That to me is pretty special.
It's been here long before me and I'm betting it'll be here
long after me.
The whole concept of the land, we're only caretaking it
really, well, for our period of life over here.
I only hope my great-great- grandchildren get to enjoy
the natural beauty of this land as much as we do.
Over at Chateau de Montvason in rural Normandy, Emma
and Paul are racing to be ready for their guests.
They're now due in just four hours.
All right, darling.
Dick, voice-over: The precarious poolside drop is
now safely protected by Paul's rail.
And the twin room has been beautified with matching
canopy crowns.
Just in time for our guests.
I'm really, really happy at how this has turned out.
Dick, voice-over: But just when thought they had
everything covered, Paul's made an unwanted discovery
in the dining room.
Ants. That's what's happening.
It's bit of a nightmare, really. Ants.
I think they're coming from outside.
Emma: Sorry, honey. I'm not listening.
I'm just dressing-- - I'm not talking to you, darling.
Emma: All right.
Dick, voice-over: The two guest families have children.
So Emma's got a surprise to get in their good books.
I thought it would be nice as I've sorted
the maze out to kind of add an extra thing and do a bit
of a treasure hunt for the boys.
So I bought them a couple of packs of tanks and soldiers.
Hopefully they'll like it.
I don't know what 10-year-olds like.
I got some silly sweeties well.
French sweeties.
Dick, voice-over: In the dining room, Paul hopes he's
found the solution to the insect problem.
Ah, OK.
So we can hide one of those under there.
* Doo doo doo doo *
And just under there.
Dick, voice-over: And Emma is busy preparing the children's
treasure hunt when she realizes she's missed a call.
[Phone ringing]
Hi, it's Emma here. I think you probably just tried to call me
from the chateaux?
Man: Yeah, I think I'm actually here.
I think I'm looking at it.
Oh!
One hour, ten minutes early.
- Paul! - [Indistinct]
Our guests are here!
Dick, voice-over: Nothing like an early arrival for novice
B&B hosts.
Emma: Look, he's not even got his shoes on. Ha ha ha!
- Hi. - This is Paul.
- I'm Jake. - I'm Paul. Nice to meet you.
Dick, voice-over: The first of two families booked
for a three-night stay are here.
Emma: So come on in. [Sighs]
Dick, voice-over: South in the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux,
20-year-old Abby is getting all the accommodation
ready for a big wedding.
We have no experience in hospitality.
We've just fallen into it really.
Paul: The end game is to get this up and running
as a successful business.
And ideally be one of the best wedding
venues in this area.
Dick, voice-over: They've put new furniture in one room.
Dad?
Dick, voice-over: But they still have another bedroom to
completely refurbish, a family bathroom to finish,
and an ensuite to refit.
And these tiles we're putting on the wall,
are you seeing that?
Oh, yes. there a big lump in the wall.
Man: And they've got real [inaudible]
that room to straighten the wall out.
Yes.
Dick, voice-over: But dad Clive had spotted a serious
concern in the ceiling.
I have a problem over there.
Big leak. We need to fix that.
Dick, voice-over: Yet another leak in the roof and this
time, it's above the renovations.
There's no point going to that effort
if it's going to be damaged by water penetrating.
So I think you need to go up on the roof.
Dick, voice-over: It seems Clive's work as a roofer is
far from done.
So, yes. Cherry picker time, I think?
Abby: Yeah.
Dick, voice-over: Clive sunk £20,000 into this cherry
picker, hoping it will save money of contractors
in the long run.
Dick, voice-over: It's a constant battle, essentially.
Every time you have a storm, you're bound to have
one tile out.
We know roughly where the leak is.
It's somewhere near the chimney.
It's meant over the left-hand side, isn't it?
Dick, voice-over: The area Clive needs to inspect is four
floors up and his cherry picker only reaches three.
- What can possibly go wrong? - Mmm.
Famous last words.
Dick, voice-over: Good luck, guys.
Because if you don't fix the leaking roof, we all know it
will cause even more problems in the long run.
Interior designer Julia is looking for a chateau so she
can make the move to France and have family come
and visit.
With her two older sisters Sarah and Melissa in tow,
she's already viewed a 19th-century chateau
in the Occitanie region.
I think I really love it.
Dick, voice-over: But all three siblings had concerns
about the costs of renovating it.
- It's got lots of potential. - It's got huge potential.
Could be a bottomless pit of potential.
Yes. Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: For the next viewing, they've headed to
the Dordogne.
The five-bedroom Chateau de Crognac was built in the 18th
century on the foundations of a medieval fort.
The asking price is £420,000 and is well within
Julia's budget of £530,000.
- The stonework... - Lovely, yes.
The stonework is gorgeous. The color is gorgeous.
- Yeah. - The shutters...
you know, they're in disrepair,
but they're beautiful the way they are.
But they look lovely like that, don't they? - Yeah.
Dick, voice-over: A big tick for the outside, they head
into the entrance hall.
Originally built for a local surgeon,
this is one of the grandest houses in the area.
- Oh, my gosh. - Oh, wow.
- Let me in. - No.
- Come on, come on. - Let Sarah in.
Oh, that's nice.
There you go, there's your staircase.
- Yeah. - This is beautiful.
Dick, voice-over: A good start.
But talk of medieval foundations has Julia worried
about unwelcome house guests.
Julia: Do you know if there's any ghosts
in the property?
So I did have been many times and I
didn't hear anything.
- OK, OK. - Only the...
Julia: No stories
about the place or the castle that's been built on? OK.
Dick, voice-over: Concerns exorcised.
Now for the kitchen.
I'd put an AGA in somewhere and just
beautiful cabinets.
- Big table in the middle. - Yeah.
It's a very good blank canvas.
So this would be very easy to do in here.
Dick, voice-over: Yeah.
- It's very nice. - It is. It's fabulous.
Dick, voice-over: Upstairs, the magnificent proportions
continue in the first of five bedrooms.
Twin cuts behind curtains may not be what the average 21st
century home offers but the view certainly delivers.
Julia: Oh, my goodness!
Oh! Heaven.
Oh, look at the river.
I can see it, the river, the terrace...
That is gorgeous.
Dick, voice-over: Outside, the grounds include
outbuildings, a swimming pool, and a well.
Julia: It's probably a 9.5 out of 10 for me.
It's stunning.
I don't want to admit it in front
of the agent but I love it. Ha ha ha!
Dick, voice-over: So Julia is tempted,
But she won't be making any rush decisions.
She still has three more chateaus to see.
You know, we still got more to explore. - Yes.
Dick, voice-over: In the Dordogne Valley at Chateau du Doux,
they're preparing for their biggest wedding
of the year in just over a month.
I hate painting.
Dick, voice-over: With all 32 guestrooms booked
for the event, they still have to finish refitting two
bathrooms as well as decorating a bedroom.
This is going to be a new
double bedroom.
Originally, we used it but after the leak in the ceiling,
we had to stop using it.
Dick, voice-over: The leak in the roof needs to be fixed,
otherwise, there's no point carrying
on with the refurbishments.
But it's in a particularly high spot.
So Clive's wondering how best to inspect the damage.
I might have to crawl over the last part
of the roof and it's really getting up there and see what
the problem is.
Dick, voice-over: Clive is going to assist local
builder, Richard.
So we're going to have to put a ladder
against the roof tiles and potentially climb up the last
little bit.
Dick, voice-over: This could be interesting.
The next storm will come along and all
of the room we've just plastered, there'll be a load more
water damage again.
Dick, voice-over: Be careful placing that ladder, chaps.
That's high.
No, it's not going to go any further.
OK. That's not going to go any further.
Have they located the hole?
Abby: Not yet. They haven't even got up there yet.
Oh.
Dick, voice-over: Builder Richard heads up the ladder
and soon identifies the problem.
Richard: It looks like somebody's repaired it before but not very well.
What we forgot to say is when is it being Chateau du Doux?
Abby: Oh, here we go again.
And in the poo.
It's also run by de fou, which means mad people.
Abby: Chateau for mad people.
- So it's very aptly named. - No, that is you.
Dick, voice-over: Luckily, it's a quick fix for Richard.
And Clive soon takes him safely back down to Earth.
Karen: So that's definitely the source of the leak.
Richard: Definitely the source and definitely fixed.
- Yay. - Fantastic.
- Yay. - Fantastic.
It's so destroying if you do all that decoration and then
it's wrecked.
Cheers, Richard. Thank you very much.
Dick, voice-over: But there's no let-up with bathroom
refits, bedroom redecoration, pool maintenance, and yet more
furniture removals all to be done in the next few weeks.
Karen: It will almost certainly be a last-minute rush,
maybe not the night before they choose to
come in but one or two days before, certainly.
Dick, voice-over: At Chateau de Montvason in Normandy,
the first of two families from Emma and Paul's B&B bookings
has arrived more than an hour early.
Emma: But he's not even got his shoes on.
Oh, dear.
- Hi. - I'm Jake.
- This is Jake. - Paul. Nice to meet you.
- Natasha. - So come on in.
Dick, voice-over: Time to show them the guest accommodation.
Natasha: It looks beautiful.
Emma: So come on-- so this is--this is
the white salon.
So this is our favorite salon.
And this is the chill out salon.
Paul: We'll have a little fire this evening.
Jake: You guys have done a great job.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Well, hopefully, you like the bedrooms too.
It's been a year and a half of hard slog.
So come on through.
This is the downstairs spare bedroom.
So it's 5:00 and our guests have now been
here for three hours because they arrived an hour early. - Yep.
Dick, voice-over: When the second family arrives...
Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Emma.
Dick, voice-over: it's clear there's been a mix-up
in more than just check-in times.
prompting a swift rethink of prizes for the treasure hunt.
I thought I was getting two 10-year-old
boys, instead I got a 10-year-old boy
and a 15-year-old girl.
So I had to do a really fast present change because I don't
think she'd appreciate with the plastic tanks
and the soldiers.
Your present is red, and your present is blue.
So don't go getting the red one if you find it, don't tell
her where it is, and if you find the blue one, don't tell
him where it is, so off you go!
Try and see if you can find your way around.
Oh, I see mine.
Emma: Yay, we got our present. Well done! Cool!
The kids love it, love it, love it.
Oh, these...
Emma: It's French perfume. It's the first perfume I had.
We've had our treasure hunt. The kids loved that.
They liked their presents which is good because I did have
a little last-minute excitement with that one.
This is awesome! Thank you.
Dick, voice-over: Hosting duties successfully
navigated so far.
See, that's cool. Thank you so much.
That's all right, my honey. You're very welcome.
Dick, voice-over: And the new railings mean the guests could
enjoy the chateau's pool.
A lot of people don't have
a heated pool, let alone undercover.
So, it really is a bonus for us to have this.
That's really great, like I'm...
Paul and Emma drew us in.
- Sucked us into their dream. - Drew us in, correct.
So, it was very easy and we will come back as well.
Paul: Already booked in for September.
So that's-- that shows that, you know,
the place is up to scratch and the hosting is obviously
something that they like.
Yeah, they haven't been put off by our bad jokes.
Here you go, sweetheart.
Dick, voice-over: Emma and Paul's new facilities have
been a success but with an entire wing to renovate,
there's still a long way to go to make their chateau business
a going concern.
Next time...
I don't think that's going to reach.
Dick, voice-over: At Chateau Du Doux, there's a problem
with the pool.
Is there a kink in it or is that it?
No, that's it.
Karen: If we can't get the pool up and running,
it will be a total disaster for us.
Dick, voice-over: Julia and her sisters search
for the perfect chateau and are on the lookout for turrets.
Julia: So it's just carpets in here.
Bit of a waste of a tower.
Dick, voice-over: And Paul and I struggle with his art
deco tiles.
Cor! That is hard.
It's rock-solid.
Come the next nuclear holocaust, this will be
what's left.