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00:00The green, rolling landscapes of Great Britain are home to the jewels in the country's rich heritage.
00:14Our country houses.
00:20Celebrated across the world for their design and decoration.
00:24Their crowns and gardens.
00:34And their centuries of history.
00:41There was a time when owning a grand country house meant a great deal.
00:46These estates were the keys to fortune and power.
00:50But today's country house owners live in a very different world.
00:55The sound of petrol!
00:57No, no, no, wrong way!
00:59These houses are still the grandest in the land.
01:02This is Oliver Cromwell's room.
01:04But the challenge of keeping them in one piece has never been greater.
01:08Spiral of decay, I don't like the sound of that.
01:10Ballpark figures, 350,000.
01:12Gulp.
01:14Gotta get these lights fixed.
01:15Today's owners are becoming ever more imaginative.
01:18Bon appetit.
01:20They're finding ways.
01:22I'm literally ankle deep right now.
01:24To keep the money coming in.
01:26These estates aren't designed to make money, they're designed to eat money.
01:29To keep the ceiling from falling down.
01:32And I turn the corner into here.
01:34Oh my goodness.
01:36We are collecting leaks, as you can see.
01:38And stop their fears becoming a reality.
01:41I think of all the ancestors going back 900 years.
01:45If we fail, it's on our watch.
01:48Of course, being to the manor born has always been a privilege.
01:52But today's owners face challenges as never before.
01:56So, they're rolling up their sleeves and putting their heart and soul into brave new ventures.
02:01The question is, how do you save a country house and see it prosper in the modern world?
02:08MUSIC
02:27From house tours and open days to gardens and cafés, there are many ways in which a country house can earn its keep in the 21st century.
02:35century. But there's one very regular money spinner that can't be ignored.
02:40Weddings. Some houses host dozens each year, often squeezing two into a single
02:47weekend. But at our next house the owners are taking a much more bespoke and
02:53hands-on approach to hosting country house weddings. We're returning to the
02:59Brecon Beacons National Park and the Victorian splendor of Treburfith House.
03:07This magnificent gothic revival home has been owned by the same family since it
03:13was built in the 1840s. Three years ago Sally Martineau took over running the
03:21estate from her parents.
03:24She should have done this about five hours ago. Along with her husband, Hugh.
03:29It is handy to be hands-on, which Hugh very luckily is.
03:35I can be a plumber, an electrician, farmer and a chef all by nine o'clock in the
03:43morning. Tomorrow the family will be hosting their biggest wedding of the year, an event
03:53that's set to take over many parts of the estate.
03:57It's nice for wedding guests not to be cooped up in one space all day long. You've got the
04:01house, you've got the marquee, you've got the gardens.
04:04Every now and again you might find someone asleep in the hammock.
04:07That's been known to happen. It's good fun having everyone here for a wedding. It's just
04:14really, really lovely to see. This is the season plan.
04:18At the heart of tomorrow's event will be Bride Dewany and Groom Gareth, surrounded by their
04:27many guests.
04:28Too many. 174 including the two of us. And then a few for the evening as well. So yeah,
04:35very excited, very excited. Big fat Sri Lankan Welsh wedding. The event is set to be an international
04:43affair with Gareth's Welsh and Dewany's Sri Lankan heritage on full display. We went to
04:52university together in Birmingham. And it's been eight years, eight and a half years and
04:57here we are. So I took my time. Yeah, yeah. It's going to be great. They've got a Sri Lankan
05:05ceremony and they're going to build a platform with an arch. They've got Sri Lankan food,
05:10there's a Sri Lankan caterer coming down from Manchester. So it'll be fun.
05:15Once Dewany and Gareth discovered the freedom that Treberfith offered them, they knew they'd
05:20found their perfect wedding venue. As soon as we spoke to Sally, it was like, it's your
05:26wedding, do what you want. Do whatever you want. She said, yeah, she was absolutely perfect.
05:32We're feeling so lucky to be getting married here. It's incredible.
05:39For Sally and Hugh, however, this wedding is set to push their hosting skills to the next
05:44level. We've got 174 guests in total, of which 38 are staying on site. We've got 10 staying in the
05:54house, which we're doing bed and breakfast for. And then the rest are in our self-catering places.
06:00And with so many guests coming to the wedding, Sally and Hugh have spotted a new income stream
06:07and this summer have introduced a glamping area and a pair of luxury bell tents.
06:16They're just up for the weddings and they're for wedding guests to use. I mean,
06:19it's so convenient just to roll out the marquee and down to your tent at night.
06:24So it's basic, but it's nicer than camping. There's something for everyone. I mean,
06:31not everyone's going to want to stay in a bell tent for a wedding. Other people prefer to have a
06:36shower and a bath and everything.
06:40And speaking of hot water, with guests arriving shortly and 24 hours until the wedding itself,
06:47it's really not the time for the house's giant boiler to shut down.
06:56So this is the wood chip boiler. This is what heats the house and two of the self-catering properties.
07:01The cell wheel's blocked and I need to go and see if I can unblock it.
07:07This giant contraption runs on nothing but wood, 40 tonnes a year, to be precise.
07:1570% of which is harvested from the estate.
07:19It is cheap and sustainable to run when it works.
07:24I just need to see if I can get it turning.
07:26It's great from a heating perspective, but just due to the mechanics of it, you still get a few issues.
07:37I'm hoping I'll be able to just pluck out whatever has blocked this.
07:42There we go.
07:44A gnarly bit of wood chip.
07:45Really, the chip should be shorter, but the chipper just failed to do that.
07:50That's the kind of stuff that will ruin my day.
07:52That's it back up and running, so that was a reasonably easy fix, that one.
08:00Sometimes it can be a little bit more challenging.
08:06Back at the house, the bride's friends and family are busy preparing,
08:11blissfully unaware of the trouble that's been averted.
08:17But host Sally has just spotted...
08:20Oh, it's OK.
08:22Another problem in the offing.
08:26I suppose keeping it dog-proof.
08:28Yeah, yeah.
08:28Yeah, sorry.
08:29Let's get the dogs out and the door shut.
08:31Come here, Maisie.
08:32Evie.
08:33Good girl.
08:34Are these Evie?
08:35Evie.
08:35Evie and Maisie.
08:36They're both friendly, but she's the one with the appetite, so she'll go for the cake.
08:42That would be a nightmare if the dog got the cake, so let's not let that happen.
08:48Maisie ruined a Christmas dinner once by eating a lot of ham and turkey out of the larder, so there's precedence.
08:56There we go.
08:58For now, at least, Maisie will have to make do with a shoe and a lot of attention.
09:08There may be a wedding tomorrow, but that doesn't mean that normal work around the estate can stop,
09:20which includes Hugh and the children tending to the livestock.
09:27We're off to move the sheep.
09:30The sheep have been in a field.
09:33When did we move them over, Molly?
09:34It was Sunday, was it?
09:36And we need to get them out of there because they're running out of grass.
09:39Moving sheep along a road is one job.
09:44Right.
09:45Give you a walker, Josh.
09:47Where having four children definitely helps.
09:51Molly, you go up and open the gate.
09:53Where am I going?
09:54You're going to be down there ahead of the sheep.
09:56Yep.
09:57With Molly.
09:58OK.
09:59And with no sheepdog to hand, Hugh will take all the help he can get.
10:06Come on.
10:07A dog would be more effective.
10:10And with preparations for Treberfith's biggest ever wedding in full flow, time is of the essence.
10:19Come on, girls.
10:21So Hugh decides to become his very own motorised sheepdog.
10:28I love sheep.
10:29They never quite do what they're supposed to do.
10:33Head!
10:37Come on.
10:39Up.
10:45That's it, girls.
10:46Up, up, up, up, up, up.
10:52Right, Molly, you can open up the gate now.
10:53It's good to see the next generation of the family working hard to do their bit.
11:02There's a car!
11:04OK, just let the sheep run past it.
11:07To help out on the estate.
11:11They're pretty lucky to do this sort of stuff, I think.
11:13I'm not sure they realise that yet, but they will.
11:22Do you want to check and see if there's any stragglers round the back?
11:25Yeah, go for a run, run, Dunk.
11:26Oh, oh.
11:27There's one.
11:28OK, all clear.
11:30That's a relatively successful move.
11:38Yeah.
11:41Back at the house, more and more people have arrived for the wedding.
11:46But things are falling a bit behind schedule.
11:49Hello.
11:52Sorry, the rehearsal's been pushed back.
11:54Oh, don't worry.
11:55Don't worry, too much to do before that.
11:56Too much to do, yeah.
11:58Everyone didn't arrive till just now, have they?
11:59So, yeah, push it back.
12:01Shall we meet up there at half four?
12:04At half four for rehearsal, yeah.
12:06And there's one other factor that's on everyone's minds.
12:10The threat of rain tomorrow morning.
12:14We've been checking the weather apps every few hours,
12:16and it's been changing every few hours, literally.
12:20Because it's an outdoor ceremony for tomorrow.
12:23The Warriors having, obviously, 175 guests sitting on the lawn,
12:27and then the heavens open.
12:40Oh, how we British love to discuss the weather.
12:45We laugh that it's our national obsession.
12:47But if you're planning an outdoor wedding, as they are at Treberfith House,
12:52then I think a degree of obsession is quite justified.
12:56At another of our houses, weather is also a concern,
13:00not because of any one event, but for the long-term preservation of a most unusual piece of national heritage.
13:07We're returning to Shropshire, and to Rowena Coldhurst and James Nason, owners of Pitchford Hall.
13:18This stunning Elizabethan manor house has been part of Rowena's family history since it was built.
13:24I feel proud and happy, but equally, I do feel a great sense of responsibility.
13:34Inside, it comes complete with a host of Tudor treasures.
13:38From secret doorways...
13:42Door...
13:43..to the odd trapdoor.
13:50It's trapped.
13:51Hello.
13:54It's fun on the tours, because sometimes I do it in the street,
13:58or hiding behind the other side of the door.
14:00We hope you've enjoyed your tour of Pitchford Hall.
14:08But when it comes to entertaining children,
14:11one historic feature of Pitchford was custom-designed for the purpose.
14:18We are off to the Pitchford Treehouse.
14:21It's meant to be the oldest treehouse in the world.
14:24James and his eldest daughter, Georgiana,
14:27are walking in the footsteps of all young visitors to Pitchford
14:31since the treehouse was built in the 1670s.
14:36One of these visitors was a princess by the name of Victoria,
14:41who played here as a 13-year-old, a few years before becoming queen.
14:48We think in the 1600s there was a fashion, you know, for treehouses or follies.
14:54There were three treehouses in Shropshire,
14:59within about, you know, 20 miles, 30 miles,
15:01and those two have now been lost,
15:04so we're the kind of only remaining treehouse.
15:08I think someone did ask you once,
15:10did your father knock it up for you and construct it,
15:14and she had to, you know, gently tell them
15:16that actually it's from around about 1670.
15:18Make sure I've got the key.
15:23Here we go.
15:27The inside is something quite unexpected too,
15:30as the treehouse boasts an ornate 18th-century interior.
15:38Well, I think it's just magical.
15:39When you come inside and see all the 1760s plasterwork.
15:45Apollo, the girl of the sun,
15:47and then a lot of the designs that tie in with designs on the house.
15:51And these same features were once gazed upon by a young princess.
15:58You know, we know that Queen Victoria visited this treehouse
16:02because she writes about it in her journals.
16:05And I bet she looked out of that window,
16:08you know, towards the realm that, at some point,
16:11she was going to roll over.
16:16Evocative though this ancient treehouse may be,
16:19it's not without its headaches for its owners.
16:23The Gothic window frames have entirely rotted away in places.
16:28And on the outside,
16:32restoration work carried out in the 1980s
16:35is now a cause for concern.
16:39They use this hard, you know, sand, cement,
16:43and you see it's almost kind of the panels jut out
16:46and eventually they will just chip chip
16:49and we'll just lose these chunks.
16:52So it's really important for us to replace these panels.
16:58But it is not just the exterior of the treehouse
17:01that is in need of expensive help.
17:04The tree itself often requires urgent attention.
17:08The tree is a broadleaf lime
17:11and it's meant to be the oldest in the British Isles.
17:15Records suggest this lime was planted in 1550.
17:19It was already well over a century old
17:22when the treehouse was added.
17:23The centre of the tree is almost totally hollow.
17:30You know, two or three people could probably hide in that hollow.
17:35Several decades ago,
17:37the tree needed some extra help
17:38in its battle against Mother Nature.
17:40It was a big storm.
17:43So at that point,
17:45they put some kind of steel supports on the treehouse.
17:50But you do worry.
17:51It's got leaves.
17:53It looks OK.
17:56But I know it must be reaching the end of its life.
18:00With that in mind,
18:02eight years ago,
18:03James and the family put a tree succession plan in place.
18:07We know we'll lose the lime at some point.
18:11We've got to have plan B
18:13and plan B is this little lime tree.
18:18One of the first things we did
18:20when we came back to Pitchford
18:21was get this cutting from the lime.
18:25There's six of them
18:26and they're all planted at Pitchford.
18:28But this is the one we hope
18:29will at some point
18:31we'll be able to move the treehouse to this lime.
18:37So I guess you're talking about 100 years from now.
18:40So I don't know how many generations forward that is.
18:43Yeah, we're 21, 25.
18:45Yeah.
18:47But whilst that feels like a project
18:49that will be for the future generations,
18:52James has plans this summer
18:54to give the ancient lime a bit of a makeover.
18:56I always find the history of ancient trees so extraordinary.
19:11The Pitchford lime played host to Queen Victoria
19:14and yet it was already a sapling
19:16before Elizabeth I came to the throne.
19:19Remarkable.
19:20But now, we're travelling to the south-west
19:23where the owners have a habit of preserving the past
19:27by embracing the very modern.
19:30Six miles from Dorset's famous Jurassic coast,
19:34we're paying another visit to Mapperton House.
19:37This is the hall.
19:45This has all the portraits, really, of Luke's ancestors.
19:50Mapperton is the home of Luke Montague,
19:5312th Earl of Sandwich,
19:55and his American wife, Julie.
19:58Yes.
19:59And there are some pictures that we prefer more than others,
20:03I think it's fair to say.
20:04That is the great art of Samuel Pepys.
20:10Not a very attractive portrait.
20:13We're constantly bickering as to whether
20:15she should be turned round the other way.
20:20One other portrait, however,
20:23proves that Julie is not the first woman
20:25to cross the Atlantic to join the Montague family.
20:29I'm not alone.
20:31There was an American who came before me,
20:32the ninth Countess of Sandwich from Chicago,
20:35and we have so many similarities,
20:37it's a bit, it's a bit bonkers.
20:41Luke's great-grandmother, Alberta,
20:44was once in the same position as Julie.
20:47A century later, Alberta has become the subject
20:50of a groundbreaking exhibit at Mapperton
20:53that the couple hope will bring in more visitors
20:56and more income.
20:59We've got these wonderful diaries of hers and correspondence
21:02which we've been able to put into and transcribe
21:06into an AI system.
21:08Which, having learnt all about Alberta's life,
21:12is now ready to hold a conversation.
21:15Let's see how she's doing today.
21:16Hello, Alberta, it's Luke, your great-grandson,
21:21and my wife, Julie.
21:23We are in the library at Mapperton.
21:26Luke, dearest, how wonderful to hear your voice,
21:29and Julie's too.
21:31How perfectly delightful to be in conversation with you today.
21:35Indeed, your presence quite lifts the spirit.
21:38Oh, it's quite moving every time, isn't it?
21:39That's wonderful.
21:40It's not obviously her voice,
21:45but it sounds as though she might have spoken in that way.
21:49Mm, definitely.
21:50It feels a little bit like my great-grandmother.
21:51Yeah.
21:53Hi, Alberta, it's Julie,
21:55and from one American to another,
21:57I was just wondering if you could just give me some advice
21:59on how you coped with the move over here to England
22:02and also marrying into the Montague family.
22:06Julie, my dear, from one American countess to another,
22:09I send you all the warmth and strength such a role requires.
22:13When I left America, I carried with me not merely my trunks,
22:17but my upbringing and the spirit of independence
22:19so deeply ingrained in us.
22:24So my advice to you, dear Julie, is this.
22:26Never shrink.
22:27England will try to shape you,
22:29but you too can shape England.
22:32Oh, my gosh.
22:33I got tears in my eyes with that one.
22:36I mean, that was...
22:37It's astonishing.
22:38Yeah, it's really astonishing.
22:40There you go.
22:40That's why I speak to her often.
22:43She's your therapist.
22:44She is.
22:48With AI Alberta up and running
22:51and all set to bring in more visitors,
22:55Julie can concentrate on her new challenge for the summer,
22:58the Mappetan Gardens.
23:02She is taking over from Luke's mother,
23:05who has managed the estate's biggest draw for 40 years.
23:09But Julie is a self-confessed novice gardener.
23:16Firstly, there is a hydrangea that's threatening to take over.
23:21So as a visitor, there is no way you would know
23:25that there is a statue behind this hydrangea.
23:29I'm going to step up here.
23:30This statue's lovely.
23:31It's sort of got a huge beak there.
23:33Look at these lovely wings.
23:35And now that I've seen this griffin,
23:38I want it to be seen by the public.
23:41Let's cut.
23:43So dressed very boldly for the occasion,
23:47Julie is heading for her first morning
23:49with Mappetan's garden team.
23:52Well, the only thing I'll say is
23:53I'm a bit nervous.
23:55I hope I'm not making a mistake.
23:58But Julie is not on her own.
24:00As Mappetan's professional gardeners,
24:03Susie Knight and Lander King
24:04are on hand to stop anyone
24:07getting too reckless with their shears.
24:10I'm really looking forward to it.
24:12Julie's just got boundless energies,
24:14which I think is going to help me.
24:16When I'm feeling tired,
24:17she just lifts you up and she's fun.
24:22The biggest challenge for me personally
24:25that I think taking on a garden like this
24:27is actually learning the Latin.
24:28Hydrangea Aspera.
24:30Hydrangea Aspera.
24:32Velosa.
24:33Velosa with a V.
24:35Yeah.
24:35I mean, if you are a proper gardener,
24:37you know your Latin.
24:38Okay, Hydrangea Aspera Velosa.
24:41You have to say it three times.
24:42Hydrangea Aspera Velosa.
24:45Hydrangea Aspera Velosa.
24:47Ask me at the end.
24:51Now, the name of these,
24:52I couldn't remember.
24:53Loppers.
24:54Loppers.
24:55Okay, brilliant.
24:56And you just go like that, right?
24:58Yeah.
24:58Okay, where should I do it?
25:01This is the big moment
25:02where I'm actually going to start to chop.
25:05It's the height of summer in Dorset.
25:24The gardens at Knapperton House are in full bloom
25:28and being tended to by their novice gardener,
25:33Julie Montague.
25:35Okay, so I'm going to cut here.
25:37I'm going to do the first cut, everybody.
25:38Oh, gosh.
25:41Yay!
25:41Here we go.
25:42Yay.
25:42I'm actually chopping all of it's going, Landa, yeah?
25:48Yep.
25:48Yep.
25:53All right, well done.
25:55That's dead.
25:57Although not everything is as easy as the pruning,
26:01dear Julie,
26:02it's those Latin names that are the tough part.
26:05Hydrangia...
26:07Oh, Hydrangia alpis veloce.
26:11Was that it?
26:12Hydrangia aspera veloce.
26:15Hydrangia acer veloce.
26:17Really?
26:18You've got my...
26:18Hydrangia agris veloce.
26:20Tending to formal gardens
26:28is just one time-consuming part of saving a country house.
26:34Mappetum's wider estate stretches to almost 2,000 acres
26:38of farm and woodland.
26:41So, to manage costs and move with the times,
26:44the Montague family have had to think cleverly
26:46about how to steward the land.
26:48And today, Luke and son William
26:52are on a mission to herd some cattle
26:55as part of a rewilding initiative.
26:59I've not done herding of cows yet,
27:02so I think Mum wouldn't do this.
27:05Yeah, she doesn't like getting close to cattle at all.
27:07No, she doesn't.
27:08No, no, but you've got a stick here.
27:10Yes, I don't know how this would fare against a...
27:13A charging bull.
27:14A charging bull.
27:16And these are not any old cows either,
27:20but a herd of rare white park cattle.
27:24These are large animals.
27:26They've got big, long horns.
27:28You don't want to get on the wrong side of them.
27:32You want to try some stick-waving?
27:33A little stick-waving.
27:34Yeah, well, maybe, yeah, something like that.
27:36Something like that.
27:37I think, you know...
27:38Yeah, we'll give it a go anyway.
27:42Since 2022, the Montagues have been championing
27:46the rewilding approach,
27:48which will see the return of more scrub and woodland to the estate.
27:52Government policy since the Second World War
27:55led to a lot of very intensive farming
27:57because the need was to get inexpensive food on the table.
28:02And really, we need to be getting a balance
28:03between food production and nature recovery.
28:08But despite the name,
28:10rewilding requires some careful management,
28:12which is why today, the cattle are moving home.
28:18We don't want to overgraze,
28:21and we don't want to undergraze.
28:23And so, from time to time,
28:24we need to play the cowboy and move them around.
28:29Luke and William are meeting estate manager Claire Kingston
28:32to formulate a plan.
28:36Hi, Claire. Hi, Claire.
28:39What treats have you got for the cattle?
28:42To encourage them.
28:44Well, it's actually sheep food.
28:45Sheep food?
28:46It's one that's best level.
28:48So it's that noise, is it, that's going to bring them on?
28:52They've heard it already.
28:53They know. They know we're here.
28:55Moving cows from one field to another sounds simple enough,
29:00but White Park are not your typical herd.
29:06They're an ancient English breed.
29:08They are not like domestic cattle
29:10who are very accustomed to people
29:12and very accustomed to being fed by people.
29:16And so, temperamentally, they're in charge.
29:20If they don't want to move, they're not going to move.
29:24Claire, will you start rattling at some appropriate moment?
29:28Our job is to go and get behind them.
29:37Come on, cow.
29:38Come on.
29:40Wrong way.
29:40No, no, no.
29:42Wrong way.
29:43Up this way.
29:45Come on, then.
29:45I'm going to go down the bottom here, William,
29:49and try and get them off the other way.
29:52They clearly don't want to be moved.
29:54So, look, they're already off.
29:55But Luke's not doing a very good job at rounding them up.
30:01Wrong way.
30:03Come on.
30:06Stop for a moment.
30:07Look.
30:08Will's first proper encounter with the White Park,
30:10and they've gone totally in the wrong direction.
30:15They've gone to the complete wrong gate.
30:18Let's go back and regroup.
30:22That was what his generation would call a fail.
30:25It was a massive fail.
30:27That was a total fail.
30:29Yeah, they just clearly like it in here too much.
30:31They've figured our plan
30:32and they've gone to the most inconvenient place
30:35they could possibly go.
30:37Yeah.
30:38But temperamental cattle aside,
30:42the Mapperton rewilding project
30:44is already seeing results.
30:46It's been amazing to see what's happened
30:49because I just remember this when I was growing up,
30:52just being quite slightly dull
30:54and seeing all this different flora come alive
30:58and all the animals and everything
31:00has been amazing to watch.
31:02The invertebrates that have come back,
31:04the bird life that's come back,
31:06and the way that the woodlands have recovered
31:08has been quite remarkable.
31:12Back in the gardens,
31:14Julie, Susie, and Lander
31:16have almost finished uncovering
31:19the first of two griffin statues.
31:21Look, this is incredible, this reveal.
31:24This is unbelievable.
31:26This is unbelievable.
31:28Revealing the lost griffins is a magical moment for Julie
31:34as she steps into her new role
31:36in charge of Mapperton's gardens.
31:39We're nearly there.
31:41Yeah.
31:44There's a plaque over there
31:46that lists the names of the gardeners
31:49who worked on this garden from 1920 to 1927.
31:53Of course, they would have seen the griffin.
31:57And to be able to cut back and showcase this again,
32:00I think is wonderful.
32:01And it's a wonderful, in one sense, tribute to them
32:04because they were the ones who literally made this garden.
32:10Okay, should we stand back and look at
32:12the one that's been able to breathe and open up?
32:16Done it.
32:17Done it.
32:17Yeah.
32:20This looks so good.
32:24It's opened up a whole new photo opportunity for visitors.
32:26Yeah, it has.
32:27I'm going to be the first one to take that photo
32:28with the three of us.
32:29Okay.
32:31All right, should we get on to the next one?
32:33There's no stopping you, is there?
32:34All right, let's go.
32:35When your blood's up.
32:38Well, completing this first task,
32:40it's given me definitely some confidence
32:42and I need that moving forward.
32:44But, of course, I'm still, you know, I'm a junior.
32:48But I think for, you know, my first day,
32:50my first big job, it was a huge success.
32:54The griffin may be back on display,
32:57but what was that hydrangea called?
33:01Hydrangea Aspera Velosa.
33:03Yeah.
33:04I got, okay, I got it.
33:06Hydrangea Aspera Velosa.
33:08Oh, okay, great.
33:14For what it's worth,
33:15I think you can be a very good gardener
33:17and still be terrible at Latin.
33:19How interesting, though,
33:21that the future of Mappetons' Wilder
33:23estate is, in some ways,
33:25a return to the past.
33:27Back at Pitchford Hall,
33:29they are looking to the future, too.
33:32Their ancient lime tree
33:33cannot go on forever.
33:35But whilst they plan for the inevitable,
33:38they are doing what they can
33:39to care for this living landmark.
33:41This morning, James Nason has tree surgeons
33:51Dave Thomas and Rob Davis on site.
33:55Every time I see, you know,
33:57the weather forecast talking about a storm
34:00coming across Wales into Shropshire,
34:02I'm absolutely terrified.
34:04With the country's weather becoming more extreme,
34:08Dave and Rob are giving what is believed to be
34:10Britain's oldest broadleaf lime
34:13a spot of geriatric care.
34:17It's almost like a haircut.
34:20Using impressive acrobatic skills
34:22and nerves of steel,
34:25Rob is removing branches
34:27and clumps of mistletoe.
34:33How far can he go up the tree?
34:37He could go within a metre of the top.
34:40Really? Wow.
34:41Yeah.
34:44He looks quite comfortable.
34:45Yeah, you are.
34:46You've got to enjoy it.
34:48You've got to like trees as well.
34:51I've known Rob for over 20-odd years.
34:54He's very safe.
34:58There does seem to be quite a lot of mistletoe
35:00which come out, which from my perspective
35:02is obviously excellent.
35:06Yeah, it's actually more than I expected.
35:12The mistletoe is parasitic, isn't it?
35:14Yeah, definitely.
35:15And it just creates weight
35:16that we don't need in the tree,
35:19in the picture of the iron.
35:20Yeah.
35:20Because of this sail effect, aren't you?
35:22Yeah, yeah.
35:24When the wind's coming through,
35:26it just adds to the volume of stuff within the tree.
35:29The wind can't travel through it
35:30like it would normally.
35:33But by reducing that sail area
35:36by just 10%, you know what I mean?
35:38Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, yes.
35:40Sail area by one heck of a lot.
35:41Yeah.
35:41And important work like this
35:46to save Pitchford's precious natural heritage
35:49is expensive.
35:53Top tree surgeons like Rob and Dave
35:56don't come cheap.
35:57I've had a look around it.
36:03It doesn't look good on parts of the tree.
36:06It's hollow in the middle, isn't it?
36:08But it's still standing.
36:09Yeah.
36:10Depends what nature throws at it.
36:12And nature's throwing quite a lot.
36:15Nowadays it is.
36:16Nowadays.
36:16A lot more, yeah.
36:17Yeah, a lot more.
36:18You know, these winter storms.
36:21We've got the mistletoe.
36:22It's, you know, it's quite weighty.
36:25What he's also done is
36:27taking out this dead wood
36:30from the tree.
36:32So it's a great job.
36:34Maybe I can sleep slightly better at night
36:36thinking, well, at least we've done our best.
36:40James' plan is to give the lime tree
36:42a haircut like this
36:44every three to five years.
36:47Such an amazing tree, that, isn't it?
36:49Its future may be safe for now
36:52but all James and Rowena can hope
36:55is that under their watch
36:56this important piece of Pitchford's heritage
36:59will reach its 600th birthday.
37:15At Treberfith House in Wales
37:18it's the morning of Dewanee
37:20and Gareth's big wedding.
37:24But as feared
37:25the weather is not looking good.
37:32Your heart will sink
37:33when you see the rain coming down
37:34at breakfast time.
37:36Bit of a moment.
37:37There's always the worry about the weather
37:39particularly where we are in Wales
37:41it's unpredictable.
37:42But the show must go on
37:44and working hard outside
37:46is Alice Vine, the florist.
37:49Here comes the rain again.
37:52I mean, UK wedding
37:53you have to think it's going to rain.
37:56But, you know, like
37:58it's kind of just part of the story of the day
38:00isn't it?
38:00If it rains
38:01there'll be umbrellas
38:02and it'll be really romantic and fun
38:03and it makes a good party
38:05because everyone will stay together.
38:07Right then.
38:08Jolly peonies.
38:08In we go.
38:09With 38 of the wedding guests
38:15staying overnight at Treburfith
38:17homeowners Sally and Hugh Martineau
38:20also have their hands full.
38:23Hugh does the cooking.
38:24Hugh poaches the eggs
38:26and I do this bit.
38:31I think everyone's a bit nervous
38:32which is kind of normal
38:34and everyone's up very early.
38:36I heard people around
38:37sort of six-ish
38:38but, yeah.
38:40No, I think there's definitely
38:41excitement in the building.
38:46Breakfast is out of the way
38:47which is
38:48the main thing.
38:52Now it's putting some bales out
38:53for the fire pit
38:54for later on.
39:00Chairs is the next thing
39:01although they seem to be
39:03making a start on that.
39:04They're putting them out loosely.
39:05Yeah, that's my...
39:06That's...
39:07That's your concern.
39:07That's my problem.
39:09Right, I'd better go and see
39:09what's happening with these chairs.
39:13Come on then, Mizzy.
39:15The good news is
39:16that the rain has stopped
39:18and things are definitely
39:22looking brighter.
39:25It's really quite hot now
39:27and the sun's coming through
39:28burning off the damp
39:30so, yeah.
39:31Still crossing our fingers.
39:32And with the weather
39:35beyond anyone's control
39:36all Sally, Hugh and the team
39:39can really do
39:40is be ready on time.
39:44So, the ceremony's at one.
39:46I normally like to be done
39:47and out an hour before
39:48because I've got to be
39:50speedy, speedy.
39:53The 174 chairs, meanwhile,
39:56have quite a way to go.
39:57There's a sort of
39:59way of doing it
40:00so we kind of create
40:01a fan or a herringbone shape
40:02so they kind of spread out
40:03as you go out
40:04up the hill.
40:05So, it takes a bit of an eye.
40:09How many have you got
40:10in that row there?
40:12This one?
40:13Yeah.
40:13I think the first two rows
40:15need to get up and down
40:15so they'll need a bit of
40:16space for movement around
40:19and then we can be a bit tighter
40:20with the ones behind that.
40:22Just keep the spaces
40:23even between them.
40:24I think you've got
40:25an extra row in there.
40:27You've got more space.
40:29You're always going to have
40:30a little bit of imbalance
40:31because it's never central
40:32to the grass.
40:33It's central to the arch.
40:34So, that lines up
40:35with this one then, does it?
40:37Yeah, broadly.
40:38Ish?
40:38Yeah.
40:39Having now hosted
40:40around a dozen weddings
40:42a year over the last
40:43few summers,
40:45Hugh and Sally have become
40:46experts at their craft.
40:49It's just the right
40:50sort of gradient
40:50where you can sit
40:51on a chair
40:52and look down
40:53but not a top all over
40:54so it's perfect
40:55for weddings.
40:57But this event's
40:58unique touches
40:59are bringing a special
41:00sense of occasion
41:01for Sally.
41:05Well, I was just thinking
41:06that arch is amazing.
41:07It's so beautiful.
41:08That's really transforming
41:10this space
41:12for the ceremony.
41:14The flowers frame
41:16a Sri Lankan
41:17ceremonial platform
41:18called a purua
41:20where the bride and groom
41:24will stand
41:24to exchange their vows
41:26with enough chairs
41:29for everyone
41:30laid out
41:30in perfect symmetry
41:32and the weather
41:33just about holding up.
41:37There's enough time
41:38for a last-minute lawnmow
41:40from Hugh
41:41before the guests arrive
41:43in their finery.
41:50And now
41:51for the big moment.
41:53I'm going to ask you
41:54to rise
41:55to welcome the groom.
41:57As Gareth
41:58and Dewany
42:02start their married life
42:06together
42:06at this historic
42:07country house.
42:08with everyone
42:17sitting down
42:18and the wedding
42:19running smoothly
42:20there's no relaxing
42:24for Hugh
42:24as he has to keep
42:26an eye
42:26on the wider estate.
42:29And while yesterday
42:30it was sheep
42:31today
42:32Hugh needs
42:33to check
42:33on the cattle.
42:35This is our small
42:36herd here
42:36and they fit
42:38really well
42:38within this landscape
42:39as well.
42:40These are white galloways.
42:42Big cavies.
42:44They're looking well.
42:47On hot days
42:48like this
42:49you see the benefits
42:49of having trees
42:51in the middle
42:51of the field
42:51as well
42:52because the cows
42:52just congregate.
42:53They find it
42:54far more comfortable
42:55under the shade
42:55of the trees.
42:58I'm just going to
42:58point out this tree
42:59here to you.
43:00It's got an amazing
43:00canopy.
43:02They say that
43:02an oak tree
43:03for every metre
43:04in circumference
43:05is about 100 years
43:07worth of growth
43:07and that tree
43:09over there
43:09is about 8 metres
43:10in circumference.
43:11So we think
43:12that that tree
43:12is probably
43:13somewhere between
43:13600 and 900 years
43:15old.
43:16But yeah
43:16it's a beautiful tree.
43:18There's a pair
43:19of nesting kites
43:20that just sit
43:21on top of that.
43:23Oh there
43:23it's one over there
43:24but with 170 odd people
43:33back at the house
43:34there's little time
43:39for bird spotting.
43:41Hello
43:42congratulations
43:43thank you
43:43thank you
43:43you all right
43:44congrats.
43:46Indeed Hugh
43:47has become used
43:47to finding his house
43:49full of wedding guests.
43:52It's normal man.
43:53The guests are now
44:07in the marquee
44:08which means
44:11it's back to chairs
44:13for Sally and Hugh.
44:15A little weary
44:16I've had a
44:173.30pm coffee.
44:19It'll be better
44:20once all the chairs
44:21are inside.
44:22Just about ready
44:23for a beer.
44:24He's had one already.
44:29Whether it's
44:30a first
44:30or second beer
44:31with another
44:32successful wedding
44:33under their belts
44:34Sally and Hugh
44:36are carving out
44:37a new way
44:37to preserve
44:38an estate
44:39that's been
44:39in the family
44:40since it was built
44:41175 years ago.
44:44Yeah
44:45it's gone great
44:46everyone's really happy
44:47and it's been
44:48really dry
44:49and warm
44:50so that's
44:50a result
44:51everyone's
44:52probably
44:52looking forward
44:53to their food
44:53right now
44:54and it smells amazing
44:56I can smell
44:57the Sri Lankan food
44:57from here
44:58so
44:58yeah
44:59I can't believe
45:04that the rakes of old
45:05would have imagined
45:06that this would be
45:07the way that we live
45:08and run the house
45:09today
45:09but here we are
45:11and this is what we do
45:12I think they're lighting
45:18some sort of candle
45:19it looks like
45:19some Sri Lankan tradition
45:21never had a Sri Lankan ceremony
45:23here before
45:24it's been a lovely atmosphere
45:27and really fun
45:29just watching it all
45:29all the amazing
45:30saris and outfits
45:32it feels lovely
45:34it's a really nice feeling
45:35next time on saving country houses
45:45the mistakes of the 1980s
45:48are revealed at the Pitchford treehouse
45:51this is galvanized steel mesh
45:53it's just your basic sort of builder stuff
45:56but it's just totally wrong
45:57an expert
45:58pays a visit
46:00to the Chavinich attic
46:01good god
46:02and would you say
46:04this is the one
46:05the biggest private attic railway
46:07from my point of view
46:08it is the biggest private attic
46:09I've ever seen
46:10yeah
46:10wow
46:11and we meet
46:14the delightful house
46:15in Wiltshire
46:16where 20,000 visitors
46:17and a septic tank
46:19prove to be
46:20a challenging combination
46:22managed to get
46:25the emergency call out
46:26so we could get it pumped out
46:27everyone's always desperate
46:28when they give you a rig
46:57what's the
47:15exactly?
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