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Help! We Bought a Village - Season 4 Episode 25
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00:01Owning a property abroad is the ultimate goal for most Brits.
00:05It's like a dream come true. It's just so magical.
00:09But for some, a conventional home just won't do.
00:13A lot of it was ruins, but we fell in love with it.
00:18They're setting aside their fears.
00:20The key is to never look down.
00:23To do something remarkable.
00:25It's a mammoth task, really.
00:27Resurrecting Europe's lost villages.
00:30I think any sort of rational person would probably not try and do that.
00:35In this series, we meet the brand new pioneers.
00:39I think I'm a bit all over the place. It's like it's a big day.
00:42Delving into their village's past.
00:44I think that's a powder flask.
00:47And we revisit those who already made the bold leap.
00:53And are still battling to keep their dreams alive.
00:57One year. One year without some disaster.
01:00But can they win the race against time?
01:03At the moment, it just feels like everything's falling down and nothing's going up.
01:06To turn crumbling buildings into family homes and successful businesses.
01:11It's a really big moment.
01:14Oh, bless you.
01:15Or will it all fall down around their ears?
01:20Oh, come out, come out, come out, come out, come out.
01:24Oh dear.
01:26as they try to restore the past to build their future.
01:30Because there's a whole village to be built, yeah.
01:37Today, by mapping the wheels, we can deduce the combination.
01:42We can then open it.
01:45In Spain, a locked safe is cracked,
01:48finally giving up its secrets.
01:53Meanwhile, in France,
01:54an old barn makes way for an exciting new venture.
01:59It's going to be part of a big reception hall we want to do.
02:02And we want to keep the style.
02:04And in Portugal...
02:06Look at the size of those trucks down there.
02:09They are huge.
02:11Village saviors go granite shopping as they rebuild their home.
02:15Our stonemason is going to come up here and kind of hand-chews them.
02:19As they get loaded, he'll be saying,
02:20no, yes, no, yes, no.
02:22For many of our village saviors,
02:36bringing back to life these once-lost places
02:39means the villages have to begin to pay their way,
02:42to help provide an income to fund their rebirth.
02:45Our saviors choose many ways to do this.
02:49Cuellar is a former farming community in north-west Spain.
02:53As soon as we went inside,
02:57I was just amazed at just how well everything was kept.
03:01And although it had been unoccupied for many years,
03:03the neighbours were doing their best they could
03:05to keep the house in good shape.
03:07Tony and Lauren purchased Cuellar in 2021 for 160,000 euros,
03:13gaining a five-bedroom farmhouse, four acres of land,
03:17and a number of barns and outbuildings.
03:20Since moving to Spain, the couple have become alpaca farmers.
03:25There was just so much scope for doing real good things with it.
03:30We didn't get into the barns until we bought the property
03:32because it was just so much vegetation overgrown.
03:39It's December, and with their herd now established...
03:45Would you like to come and say hello? Come on, then.
03:48..their plan for the coming year is to open to the public
03:51as an alpaca farm park.
03:54Today, it's washing day for the herd.
03:57Oh, good girl, Petal!
03:59She's like, more, more!
04:03So these guys in full fleece,
04:06they like to have a bit of a cool-down.
04:08Generally, December, not great for splashing them,
04:11but it's a warm enough day today.
04:13Basically, wet their legs, their tummies, never their back,
04:17because you don't want to affect the quality of the wool.
04:20We can't do it too late in the day
04:21just because they're not going to dry off in time
04:23and then they're going to be wet and cold for the evening.
04:25I love being splashed, but then they go and get in the mud,
04:28and then they like to roll in the mud.
04:30Here she goes.
04:32Here she goes.
04:34Yep, this is what she does.
04:37Oh, you're all dirty now.
04:40While preparation for the opening of the alpaca park
04:43keeps the couple occupied,
04:45Tony and Lauren are also keen to get to the bottom
04:48of the mystery of a large locked safe inside their home.
04:51If you go backwards your way...
04:56Yep.
04:57..as it lifted a little bit so the photos don't...
04:59..and it's not the only one.
05:01We also can't get into this safe, neither.
05:04They have a key that appears to fit,
05:06but it still won't open.
05:09But we thought, because it had been painted over,
05:10that maybe the paint had got inside the lock
05:13and that's why it was stuck.
05:16So we've cut into all the grooves, got right inside.
05:20We know it isn't paint that's holding it, that's blocked it.
05:24Desperate to find out what might be hidden behind both these locked doors,
05:27Tony and Lauren reach out for some expertise.
05:32That's it.
05:33OK.
05:34Hello.
05:37John!
05:38Hello, John. Nice to meet you.
05:40And you too, guys.
05:42You look very cosy there.
05:43UK-based John Drake is a specialist
05:45in opening locked safes and vaults worldwide.
05:48The time has come.
05:49Now the time's come, yeah.
05:51We want to open Pandora's box.
05:54Well, I'm both open
05:55and I can't see any reason whatsoever
05:58of not having them up and running.
06:00It's not like the movies.
06:01Things don't go click, click, click.
06:03When doing some research, I managed to find an old advert.
06:07An old sales brochure.
06:09Oh, wow.
06:10From the manufacturer?
06:11From the manufacturer.
06:12And I think, and again, it's very difficult to age,
06:15but I think it's going to be somewhere between 1908
06:18and up to, like, 1930s for the larger safe.
06:22Wow!
06:23So it's old!
06:24That's a real surprise.
06:26At least 50 years older than we had any other...
06:29We just thought it looked old and crusty
06:31because it's been inside the wine bodega for 40 years,
06:34but so it actually looks old and crusty
06:36because it is old and...
06:37Yeah.
06:38...and crusty.
06:39That's it!
06:40The dial...
06:41And that is the safe.
06:42The other safe, the smaller safe...
06:44Yep.
06:45...is 80s.
06:46So...
06:47Ah!
06:48So that is a little younger.
06:51The key the couple have for the safe is hinged in the middle,
06:55and Lauren's keen to find out why.
06:58Hey, look at that.
06:59There we go.
07:00There we go.
07:01It's like it's something out of a fairy tale.
07:03Yeah.
07:04Like, it's...
07:05When we found it...
07:06It means it fits in your pocket a little easier.
07:07Yeah.
07:08That's why they put a hinge on that one.
07:09It's so fascinating.
07:11It's all part of the journey of getting it...
07:13getting them open for you.
07:14And that journey could soon be over.
07:17Speak to you soon.
07:18Bye, bye.
07:19Take care.
07:20Bye.
07:21As John has agreed to come out to Spain
07:23and attempt to open the safes.
07:25If John says,
07:27I've got 100% confidence that I'll get into the safe,
07:30that's...
07:31that's good enough for me.
07:32Brittany, in the far north-west of France,
07:44is a region steeped in the past.
07:47Before the French Revolution,
07:50nobles known as Chevalier ruled these lands,
07:53building impressive manor houses as their family seat.
07:57Le Vaux is such a settlement,
08:00with a history dating back 500 years.
08:11In 2024,
08:12the latest custodians of Le Vaux
08:14took ownership
08:15of the abandoned 12-room manor house
08:17and four outbuildings
08:19set across seven acres.
08:22Anglo-French hypnotherapist Claire
08:24and her French husband Joe
08:26have big plans for Le Vaux
08:28to fund its own restoration.
08:31So much to do,
08:32but it's from scratch.
08:34It gives us opportunities to do
08:36pretty much whatever we'd like to do.
08:39The idea is not just for us to live here,
08:41it's really to create a whole business.
08:43We would like to renovate a big part of the stable
08:46to create a reception area for weddings.
08:50We have a short timeline just to start getting a bit of money in.
08:53It's exciting.
08:59It's March.
09:00Four months into the stewardship of Le Vaux
09:03and today, Claire and Joe are removing the roof
09:05from one of their barns.
09:08There's a lot of work to be done
09:09to turn these historic farm buildings
09:11into a wedding venue and event space.
09:14Joe is going on the roof.
09:16I'm going to be on the ladder below
09:18to make sure it doesn't move.
09:25I did skydiving, so I'm not scared of heights.
09:36First of all, Joe breaks holes in the roof panels
09:41to loosen them from the fixtures holding them in place.
09:50But the loosened panels begin to move.
09:53It moves, it moves, it moves.
09:55Stop, Joe.
09:56It moves to the right.
09:57I'm going to break my head.
09:58You're going to break my head.
09:59What?
10:00You're going to break my head.
10:01Yes, because we're going to break my head.
10:03It's going to break my head.
10:06It moves to the right.
10:07What are you telling me?
10:08It goes there.
10:09It goes there.
10:10It goes there.
10:12The panels are then slid off the roof.
10:20OK.
10:23OK, OK, OK.
10:29Gravity soon lends a helping hand.
10:35It's unbroken.
10:36Wow.
10:38The rest follow in quick succession.
10:43It's not broken.
10:47At this moment, just be careful.
10:52It's nearly done.
10:55It's looking good.
11:00After four hours, the roof has been stripped of panels.
11:03The long-term plan is to fit a new roof using more traditional materials.
11:19We're going to replace it with a slate so it goes with the manor and the rest of the roof.
11:24So it's all going to be in the same style.
11:25And in Brittany, it's mostly slate on the roofs.
11:29Whereas in other parts of France, it would be more tiles.
11:33And on the inside, Claire is beginning to get a sense of what their event space might eventually look like.
11:40It's true because suddenly there's light.
11:43It's really big.
11:45And we were wondering if we were going to stay with seeing the ceiling, seeing the roof, or creating a floor.
11:52And it does really do a big room.
11:55And leaving it like that is going to be, I think, very great.
11:58It's a nice space.
11:59While work has begun, there's a lot still to be done before Laveau can even begin to start thinking about hosting weddings.
12:15Coming up...
12:16We've had to make a massive shift in the way we were hoping to build the house.
12:20Crumbling granite causes a headache at a Portuguese kinta.
12:24Six years was the rough estimate of how long it would take if we stuck with that stone.
12:30And in Spain...
12:32Now it's the key moment. Are you ready for this?
12:33Yeah, let's go.
12:35Tony and Lauren open a window on the past.
12:39Oh, my God, there's stuff in there!
12:46The fertile mountainous slopes of northern Portugal are dotted with kintas.
13:02Farming hamlets where families have been growing crops for generations, making their living from the land.
13:09This has always been farmed by the local people, and our neighbours have been here since they were kind of kids.
13:15They've always lived on this mountainside.
13:18When John and Tara from Bristol decided to make Kinta das Compras their new family home,
13:23they had a very clear idea of how to make the most of their five-acre site.
13:28We don't live on a flat, open space.
13:32We live on terraces, and it's so beautiful the amount of opportunity it provides us to do different projects
13:39in different locations with different views and different feelings to it.
13:42Since taking ownership of the village in 2021, the couple have made big changes.
13:49The construction of their new four-bedroom home is progressing.
13:53While down at their lower terrace, a biopool, a pond-cum-swimming pool, continues to take shape.
14:00We wanted to take on that challenge. We wanted to create something that's completely ours here.
14:05That's kind of unlike anything that we've ever done before.
14:09Yeah.
14:14It's March, and today John and Tara are paying a visit to a local quarry.
14:19That one looks nice.
14:23That's that blue colour. We definitely don't want the blue, isn't it?
14:27Yeah, definitely not.
14:29Carved out of a mountainside, the quarry supplies granite for construction.
14:34But John and Tara weren't originally planning to use newly quarried granite to build their house.
14:39Things haven't been going quite as we had hoped or expected. Not to plan, anyway.
14:47Yeah. We've had to make a massive shift in the way we were hoping to build the house.
14:52So, we had planned to build it using reclaim stone that had been taken from buildings that had been demolished around us, for whatever reason.
15:00And that first load of reclaim stone arrived on the property last week.
15:05It was jolly exciting.
15:07They started working with them, and as it turns out, super labour intensive to cut them to shape.
15:14But we're also getting about 50% waste, so they're just crumbling and we're wasting so much.
15:21A porous stone, granite that's left unsealed outdoors will, over time, begin to crumble.
15:31John and Tara's reclaimed stone from old, collapsed buildings is likely to have suffered years of exposure to the elements.
15:39So, we're working away with it, and after about three days of hammering and grinding and working with the stone, we've got five stones out of it.
15:50And five stones would cover an area of about that much.
15:54And we are building a house that's the size of a well.
15:58It's a big house.
15:59It's a big house.
16:00So, six years was the rough estimate of how long it would take if we stuck with that stone.
16:05We're not in a massive rush, but six years is a bit long.
16:08So, what we're trying to find is a new stone that can be pre-cut by the quarry to the thickness that we need it to be to save our stonemasons.
16:16Quite literally years of work having to split the reclaimed stone.
16:22But we want to get the colour and the character the same that we would have done had we been able to use that reclaimed stone that we were hoping for.
16:29We are having to make some compromises, which is always disappointing when you've had a dream and you're building your own home, but it is what it is.
16:38Catching up with the boss of the quarry, along with their own head contractor and stonemason, they agree a plan of action for getting just the right colour of granite for their house.
16:48Yeah, what we've decided is that they're going to choose from all the different yellow tones and they're going to get a mix of them so that we get that variety.
17:03So, Marcus, our stonemason is going to come up here and kind of hand choose them.
17:08As they get loaded, he'll be saying no, yes, no, yes, no.
17:11Anyway, can we descend the mountain and get warm again?
17:17It's freezing. Yeah, it's cold. Cold up here.
17:20It's so cold.
17:23Before they leave, John is keen for a glimpse into the heart of the quarry.
17:28Wow, look at that.
17:32That's colossal.
17:36Look at the size of those trucks down there.
17:38They are huge trucks, completely dwarfed.
17:43Amazing.
17:45My boys would love that.
17:47Saving villages is always about making compromises.
17:51And for John and Tara, using freshly quarried granite will ensure that their house will still be standing for many years to come.
17:59Back in north-west Spain.
18:07This has been a long time coming. A really long time coming.
18:11It's March.
18:13And Tony and Lauren are awaiting the arrival of English safe-cracker John.
18:17So to get to a point where the safes could be open in minutes, yeah, it's incredibly exciting. Just some historical documents. Even a few photos, that would be enough.
18:27It could be all sorts of stuff in there. It's big enough to hold a body.
18:31Hola, buenos dias. John.
18:35Good morning.
18:36Welcome to New Horizons.
18:38John gets straight to work.
18:41It's definitely locked, isn't it?
18:43Imagine that. Three and a half years ago, it's going to be open.
18:46Laying the key on the side of the safe shows the thickness of the door.
18:53Next, he listens to the dial, attempting to visualise the locking mechanism.
19:00We're working blind. We're flying absolutely by the seat of our pants.
19:05Drilling a hole in the safe...
19:07..he inserts a tiny camera.
19:12The view that's given me is actually the wheels. By mapping the wheels, we can deduce the combination. We can then open it.
19:30Well, well, well. That's ready to open for you.
19:34Well, er...
19:36That's incredible.
19:38Shall we get your good lady? Yeah, I think so.
19:39Three years after they moved in, their mystery safe is about to reveal its secrets.
19:46Now it's the key moment. Are you ready for this?
19:48Yeah, let's go for it.
19:49Let's go for it.
19:51Oh, my God, there's stuff in there.
19:53Oh, no. Oh, my God, there's briefcases.
19:56There's ammunition. Oh, my goodness.
19:58They're bullets. We said there might be bullets.
20:02There's another safe.
20:04Oh.
20:05Oh, my goodness. There's stuff in there.
20:06What have we got in here?
20:07Photos.
20:08Oh, wow.
20:09No way.
20:10Look at this.
20:11I'm certain this man on the far right is...
20:12Don Manuel Fraga.
20:13Don Manuel Fraga was a controversial politician who served as Minister of Tourism under the Franco dictatorship, remaining in politics as Spain returned to democracy.
20:24Born nearby, he was friendly with the previous owner of Cuellar. He died in 2012 at the age of 89.
20:45There's a lot of significance for being a co-author of the Spanish, the first Spanish constitution after the dictatorship ended.
20:57So to find such a personal item inside the safe is quite something.
21:02He would have valued that. He would have classed this as treasured items.
21:07To know that there's a picture linking someone that is very well known in Spain for many reasons to our house is, I mean, it's incredible to find that.
21:21Within the safe is evidence that the previous owner was a keen hunter.
21:25We have come across some bullets. Here is the box for the original bullet, but the bullets weren't inside the box, believe it or not. They're inside a jar.
21:35We'll probably have to call the authorities to declare that. There's more in here than I anticipated there was going to be.
21:44Meanwhile, John's begun working on the second safe.
21:48But previous failed attempts to open it have completely broken the combination mechanism.
21:54This is just hopefully going to just give us a little bit of...
21:59The door is stuck solid, so John utilises his powerful magnetic rig to prise it open.
22:13Oh.
22:15I'm just going to take this off.
22:17Oh, you're kidding.
22:18No, there is. There is. There's paperwork and keys.
22:22More keys.
22:24Oh, my God. It's a security deposit box.
22:27Goodness.
22:29Attached to the key is a fob with an address in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
22:35I would suggest both of these keys are duplicates.
22:40Quite unusual.
22:41What kind of applications would you see such an unusual barrel?
22:44For me, in gates and metal doors.
22:49It's an interesting personality that we're starting to unravel here.
22:53I mean, those keys, yeah, that is very interesting.
22:55If they were so important to an address in Madrid, why would they be in an abandoned safe in Galicia?
23:03One mystery closed, another opened.
23:05For Tony and Lauren, the mysteries of their villages past have become an intriguing puzzle that they now feel compelled to solve.
23:14Coming up.
23:15The idea is to try to take the big wooden beam out without breaking anything else.
23:28Claire and Joe's demolishing calls for careful manoeuvres.
23:34Well, that's coming out.
23:38And it takes a family effort at Quinta das Compras.
23:41Will you pass me the hammer?
23:44It's not compact, this is heavy.
23:47It's flipping heck, it is.
24:06Back at Laveau in north-west France, it's April.
24:11And today, Claire and Joe are pulling down a roof from a crumbling barn structure.
24:21With the roof removed, a single stone wall with arched entranceway remains.
24:27Eventually, in this series of derelict farm buildings, the couple hope to establish an event space, hosting weddings and functions.
24:36Yesterday, we fold down the roof and all of this.
24:45And today, we'll have to clean here.
24:47And so the plan today is finish finding that up, and then try to wait to take that big wooden beam down without taking the wall with it.
24:57That's the last piece.
25:09With the debris cleared, it's time to tackle the huge beam.
25:12This wood is very, very, very, very old.
25:15I will make slowly with the digger.
25:20But before Joe gets to work removing the beam, he's concerned by something he spotted on the granite archway, which could bring a halt to any further demolition.
25:30It appears that the keystone in the center of the archway has shifted in position.
25:45Claire decides to review old footage on her phone that she shot of the barn before the demolition began.
25:57It hasn't moved.
25:59Joe was worried because he had the impression that that stone, that granite stone, hadn't moved.
26:04Since we don't have the roof, it's true that you see a shade that we never saw before.
26:08With confirmation that the stone hasn't moved, Joe can return to his digger and begin to remove the large wooden beam.
26:16But to avoid damaging the archway, he'll have to move gingerly.
26:21This grand double-height arch would likely have been built to allow access of carriages and carts piled high with hay from the surrounding farmland.
26:34Joe moves the digger into position.
26:36The idea is to try to take the big wooden beam out without breaking anything else.
26:45It's just stones.
26:47No, no, no.
26:49Oh, my God.
26:51Well, that's coming out.
26:53Oh, my God.
26:55Oh, my God.
27:03Whoa!
27:04Whoa!
27:06With the beam removed, Joe sets eyes on an old concrete door frame.
27:15It doesn't touch the roof!
27:17Clare fixes strapping in place to help Joe lift some heavy old doors out of the way.
27:23It's a playground, isn't it?
27:26Ay, ay, ay. Where's he going to put that?
27:29Some kind of door for animals.
27:32Because there used to be stables, you know, for cows.
27:36Each of the barns on this side of the courtyard would at one time have been filled with livestock.
27:43Cows, horses and hens would all have called these buildings home.
27:47With debris cleared, Clare and Joe now have an even better idea of what their event space might eventually look like.
27:58These old cow stables is going to be part of a big reception hall we want to do, which will go from one bit of room here right up to the end.
28:08And this room in particular, I think we want to do the tavern style.
28:12Keep the walls, because there's only going to be those two little windows.
28:16And we want to keep, try and find a way to keep the style.
28:22Clare and Joe's plan is to take inspiration from the existing historical wall and arch,
28:28when it comes to the design and construction of the new walls for the space.
28:33The idea is, with this arch, to recreate the same style on this side, along here,
28:39and have three or four, which would be windows or doors.
28:44All that would be one single big room in the Celtic style.
28:48Because Brittany is Celtic originally, so to keep that style of all those cultures.
28:54There's all this to clear up now.
28:57It's easy destroying, but cleaning up is something else.
29:00Back at Quinta das Compras in Portugal.
29:12Watch out for your eyes on this, darling.
29:14Oh, thanks.
29:16It's March, and with the builders not on site today,
29:20it gives John and Tara a chance to inspect the progress of their house construction.
29:24You can see the beams and the frameworks ready for cement.
29:29It's started to go into place.
29:31We haven't finished over this side yet, but we've got the beams going up.
29:35Our contrast is saying to us, you know, like, from now it's rapido, rapido,
29:38because the walls are going to go up and it's going to be super fast.
29:41So we were really, really excited about that.
29:42But, yeah, the stones have kind of unrapidoed things for us a bit, haven't they?
29:49They have. I think if we were building a more standard build,
29:52we'd have been finished last week.
29:54And so we're expecting it to take longer and cost a bit more.
29:57But, you know, we want it to be kept within reasonable boundaries, don't we?
30:01Absolutely.
30:03Leaving the house construction to the builders.
30:06This is very wet soil, isn't it?
30:08So muddy. It's like sticky, sticky.
30:10Today, John and Tara are building, putting together raised beds for vegetables,
30:16all part of their plan to become self-sufficient.
30:19I like the idea that we build our first bed here, coming across here.
30:26OK.
30:28Then you guys can fill it up with soil.
30:31Yeah.
30:32And then you can tell me how many more you want me to fill.
30:35As with most things at the village,
30:37the couple's two sons are always keen to be involved.
30:41Can you pass me the hammer?
30:43It's nothing.
30:46Flipping heck it is.
30:50One day, I'm hoping,
30:53that I can say,
30:55hey, Crusoe, your mum wants a raised bed.
30:57And Crusoe will go,
30:59I'm on my way.
31:00Leave it to me, Dad.
31:01How's that?
31:02Does it look good?
31:04Now we've got one box.
31:18We'll see how long that takes to fill.
31:19And if Tara wants more,
31:22I can't build her as many as she wants.
31:26These raised beds are just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for John and Tara since 2021.
31:36This year marks four years since we bought this little village in northern Portugal.
31:42And it's been an epic, epic four years.
31:45We've done a lot of reflecting and it's been amazing to look back at what we arrived to and what we have now,
31:53especially with the big build going on in the background.
31:55It hasn't all been highs.
31:56There's been so many highs, though, hasn't it?
31:59Like, we're literally juggling three massive projects at the same time.
32:03Look after two boys.
32:04And look after our kids.
32:06There's been days where it's like,
32:08gosh, you know, we really are stretching ourselves super thin here.
32:11This is a bit bonkers.
32:13It's been the hardest work I think we've ever done in our lives,
32:17both physically and kind of everything else that comes with it.
32:20It's just been epic.
32:22And all that effort is about investing in a future for their sons, Crusoe and Sawyer.
32:29Those boys are growing up in a wonderland.
32:32Yeah. I think their whole world is adventure.
32:34You know, everywhere is different and everywhere has something new going on.
32:39I wouldn't change a thing for them.
32:41I think they've just loved it and they are thriving.
32:45With their house build, their bio pool and their strive for self-sufficiency,
32:50John and Tara are juggling a lot as they attempt to breathe new life into Quinta das Compras.
32:57You know, not being scared of failing is super important.
33:01We've also had to really dig deep to maintain a really strong work ethic because it is a daily grind.
33:07You've got to wake up every single day and contribute to the vision.
33:09You can't just kind of tap out for a bit.
33:12I can sum it up really quickly in one line.
33:16Be brave. Think big. Explore.
33:19That's it. Done.
33:21Coming up.
33:33I create games like escape games, murder parties.
33:38Claire and Joe are still looking for ways for Laveau to pay for itself.
33:42The manor is good enough to do some kind of game. It would help us further renovation.
33:49And in Spain...
33:51Everybody dreams of opening a safe and finding gold bars.
33:56Tony and Lauren turn detective.
33:59We're not going to be millionaires, but it's a really interesting story.
34:03Back in Brittany...
34:18Hi!
34:20Hi, Timothy.
34:22Timothy and Joe.
34:24It's spring at Laveau.
34:27With the demolishing of the barn roofs complete, Claire and Joe are looking for ways to bring in money
34:31to help pay for the renovations.
34:35We've got a company which does games in castles.
34:39He's got games in different castles working in Reading.
34:42We're going to explore that.
34:48Timothy Jacqueline started his games business when his parents bought a castle in Brittany.
34:54I create games like escape games, murder parties,
34:59Cluedo, stuff like that.
35:02And it's another way to discover the historical places.
35:06If the manor is good enough to do some kind of game,
35:11we could maybe organise a game over the summer and it would help us further renovation.
35:16The materials have gone up 30% in France.
35:19In the short term, an injection of money would be great. It would really help us.
35:23The good news is, Timothy can see the potential of Laveau.
35:29It's a big castle and you have a lot of different hidden places that we can use for fun scenarios.
35:37First, you obviously have to be sure that everything is safe for the people who will come to play.
35:44While the news is positive, before any games can be staged,
35:49Joe and Claire need to make safe the rooms Timothy has earmarked.
35:53This room and the room behind is going to be the escape room.
35:57And the rooms above are going to be used for Cluedo type murder mystery.
36:00So the idea is not to renovate the whole thing.
36:03I mean, we don't have time to renovate, but making sure that it's all secure.
36:07Part of what has attracted Timothy to using Laveau as a setting for his murder mystery games
36:13are the period details of the house's layout.
36:17Behind these fake walls, you can see that that would have been a cupboard.
36:22You don't want to put anything in it now, though, but...
36:26There's more cupboards here.
36:30Quite a bit of work to do.
36:32What's interesting in an escape game is having rooms, like hidden rooms, secret rooms.
36:36That's what we're going to try and exploit here.
36:40Before the games can commence, the remedial work must begin.
36:45The floor upstairs is bowing into the room below.
36:49So to find out the cause, some of the floorboards and the ceiling need to be removed.
36:53That's been attacked by the woodworms, and that's why it's like that.
37:01The question is, taking off the pieces that are coming down,
37:05and then treat it with that product that I've been using already, which kills the woodworm.
37:10It's no surprise to find woodworm in a 500-year-old building.
37:16But it'll take time to treat the timbers and remove any that are unsafe.
37:21The couple install props to temporarily support the structure.
37:25There's a bit of thinking to do here.
37:33It's been a busy five months for Claire and Jo since taking ownership of Laveau,
37:38where every day is a working day as they slowly breathe new life into their historic settlement.
37:44We've done so much. And here are our big septic tanks. Hey!
37:51That one's the small one, actually, in front, but the one behind is six tons.
37:57We're hoping to put them in ground...
38:00Well, we were hoping before summer, but now we're going into the games,
38:04I'm not too sure we'll have time to do that.
38:06As well as their renovation work for the murder mysteries and locked-room parties,
38:11their biggest project is creating an event space for weddings.
38:17It's one of the areas where the changes are the biggest,
38:21because, I mean, taking down roofs is huge.
38:24While Claire and Jo are focused on the modernisation of Laveau,
38:28through every step of that journey, preserving the past is always at the forefront of their minds.
38:36We've got the responsibility to do what we can do.
38:39I feel like we're really contributing to history.
38:43And I think with this kind of place, it's hard, but at the same time it's satisfying.
38:49We're bringing it back to life.
38:50Back in North West Spain, it's April at Cuellar, where Tony and Lauren's unlocked safe is beginning to unlock the secrets of their village's past.
39:11We've got a checkbook from a bank that hasn't existed for many, many years.
39:21It's weird because there's a feeling of nostalgia for a time that wasn't ours.
39:25We're seeing a true insight into someone here.
39:29When you're thinking about opening a safe, you instantly start thinking about, well, what's important to someone?
39:33You know, what do they class as valuable?
39:36We were hoping to open these safes and have a lot of questions answered, but we've been posed with more questions.
39:43These are the belongings of the previous owner, now deceased.
39:48Tony and Lauren are keen to piece together some of his life story.
39:52These keys at first, I mean, they looked for us to be far too elaborate to be just a set of spare keys.
40:03When we opened the sleeve, we could see on the back, on the reverse, there was a written address.
40:10So at that point we realised, OK, so this must be the residence in Madrid.
40:15We did a Google search, did a street view and you could see gates.
40:18So although this needs further investigating, it must be that.
40:23We won't entirely say it's that for sure just yet until we've done a bit more further investigating, but it does appear to be.
40:30Some of the items unearthed by the couple need to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
40:36Yeah, there really is only one thing you can do with the ammunition and that's a trip to the Guardia Civil in Villalba.
40:42They deal with it responsibly and the good thing is, because we've got supporting documentation, hunting license, we can demonstrate there's no nefarious action taking place here.
40:54This isn't just a safe where we're unraveling valuable stuff and treasures.
41:00These are personal artefacts of a person who lived here.
41:02It's really fascinating because here you've got all different facets of a character and this just kind of adds to it really.
41:09Everybody dreams of opening a safe and finding gold bars or silver or jewels and we've got some of what we hoped for, but it kind of feels like we've been teased.
41:21It still feels like there's more of the story to uncover, but we've found some incredible places to start.
41:25Two weeks later, and with the summer season around the corner, Tony and Lauren's historical research has been put on hold.
41:40Well, we're on day two of shearing, so today we're getting the boys done. Yesterday the girls were sheared, but as you can see, they're all looking like aliens now without their fleeces.
41:55Now, Olaf's going to get excited because the only time he goes this way is for mating.
42:00Come on, Bubba.
42:01Fabulous.
42:02Oh, you look very disappointed.
42:04Yeah, he's like, hang on.
42:05But then we're girls here.
42:08The shearer restrains each alpaca to avoid any injuries as they're cut.
42:16Well done.
42:20With the fleece collected ready for processing into wool, Tony and Lauren can begin to look forward to the summer and the opening of their alpaca farm park.
42:29We're here for the long run and we'll do the best that we possibly can to get our alpaca farm open and ready for the public.
42:38Galithia is a place of tradition. So for us to bring alpacas here, which is such a different animal, you can see like it's it's people are excited for it.
42:49We're so close in so many areas. Yeah, exciting times.
42:53Tony and Lauren hope that the alpacas will bring in an income to help keep their village alive.
42:58And in turn, allow them to continue to solve the mysteries of Cuellar's past.
43:08Whilst there's not much visual history, the stories, the explanations of how the land was in Cuellar's era.
43:17We've been really lucky in that respect. So we probably know 10 times more than we would have done had we just arrived in the middle of a village.
43:25It was a culture shock to begin with. It was. And we're now three and a half years in.
43:30And yeah, we're not regretting any of it. We're so happy we did this.
43:34Our next big priority is getting everything ready for opening.
43:38But that doesn't mean that we now neglect the history of the house.
43:43We're still truly fascinated with the things that we found in the safe.
43:46We want to follow up on them.
43:48I still feel like this house has more secrets to give us.
43:51It's like the gift that keeps on giving.
43:55I feel really happy being here and I think I perhaps wouldn't say it feels like I've always been here, but it definitely feels like we should be here.
44:03Next time we meet the former truck driver joining an army of Brits fighting for the future of a forgotten village.
44:18You've seen all around the village. What do you think?
44:21I'd pay £10,000 for the views, to be honest.
44:24We take you on a journey to one of the biggest village restoration projects in Europe.
44:28We do our best to leave a decent mark on this village and the people we live with.
44:35And in France, we catch up with Lolly and Sean.
44:39It's come on leaps and bounds and she's looking rather fabulous, isn't she?
44:43Yes, isn't she?
44:44Yes, isn't she?
44:45Yes, isn't she?
44:47We have a tough two village.
44:49We have a different village점.
44:51We have been talking.
44:52We have a decent village island.
44:53We are friends that are guessing.
44:54It is really you.
44:56We start to wave a young motherfucker.
44:57wins after Harvard.
44:59In age 20, he's asking for example.
45:02It's my favourite books and interesting relationship.
45:05Thank you so much!
45:07Además here, we have something and beautiful.
45:11We spread everyone over very much.
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