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00:01Many Brits have made the journey to foreign shores
00:04to find the perfect home.
00:08It's rather delicious.
00:10But a rare few are deciding to take a path less well-trodden.
00:15Believe it or not, there is quite a large building under that.
00:19They're embarking on a bold mission
00:22to preserve the past and save Europe's lost villages.
00:26800 years of history is a lot to be responsible for.
00:31Sawyer coming to help!
00:33In this series...
00:34Keep clear.
00:37We step into the forgotten villages...
00:40On this beam here, there's some medieval writing.
00:43To meet the brave new visionaries...
00:45This is gonna be fun.
00:48...and seasoned saviours...
00:50On top of the world.
00:52...who are fighting to bring these abandoned settlements back to life.
00:56We're just trying to pick up the pieces, really.
00:59And hope they somehow go back together.
01:01As they turn ruins into homes...
01:03...and rubble into extraordinary businesses.
01:07And you can just lay down and sleep under the stars, literally.
01:10But will they buckle under the strain?
01:14Good way to get it, y'all!
01:15Or find the strength to see it through?
01:19That weighs a ton.
01:21As they restore the past to build their future.
01:25I can't believe it.
01:27I bought a village.
01:35Today in France...
01:37Hopefully this will be done.
01:39...time is of the essence for a Sussex couple turning back the clock
01:42to save a 400-year-old building.
01:45We've got guests in there at the end of the month.
01:48So we need to pull our finger out.
01:51We're gonna have to put in some big shifts.
01:54In Romania, a couple are pulling out all the stops.
01:58Oh, this is fresh. This is full of flavour. This is what we need.
02:02To fund one of Europe's biggest restoration projects.
02:07We just hope that these guys are getting on with it.
02:11And that we'll be able to host people in here by October.
02:16And in Bulgaria, we go property hunting...
02:19It's sad, isn't it?
02:21It's sad. It just looks like people just left.
02:23And they never came back, you know.
02:25In the land of the lost villages...
02:28There is a gaping big hole in the roof, which would need to be done.
02:32So I'm kind of torn now.
02:4880% of Brits dream of a life in the country.
02:52And many of our village saviour's journeys began with a simple property hunt.
02:57Three years ago, Lolly and Sean from Sussex visited France
03:01in search of a characterful home that they could convert into a bed and breakfast.
03:06But when an estate agent showed them the abandoned village of La Galliserie,
03:10they instantly noticed potential, where others saw only weeds and rubble.
03:17Worried that the village would crumble if they didn't answer its cry for help,
03:20the couple paid the asking price of €141,000 and began work restoring it to its former glory.
03:31We thought with our heads first, and my heart was still pounding.
03:36Can I love it?
03:39And, yeah, we just went for it, didn't we?
03:41Yeah.
03:41It's just been, yeah, more than I could have ever imagined, to be honest.
03:46So I'm loving every minute of it.
03:50Part of the building is 500 years old, but the main manoir was built in the 17th century
03:56as the central hub of a large farming community.
04:01It's a very important building.
04:03It was the centre of the area that we are.
04:06There's a very small commune by us, and I think it was...
04:10Or farming.
04:10Yes.
04:11We have a massive bread oven, so that would have been keeping everyone fed.
04:14Yeah.
04:15There would have been a lot of people here.
04:17Yeah.
04:18We often talk and wonder what this property has gone through,
04:24who lived here, all their stories.
04:26So it's kind of a little bit sad that we don't know all of its history at the moment.
04:30We will get there.
04:31Because it would be lovely to find out, yeah.
04:33For now, Lolly and Sean's focus is the future of the village.
04:38Following two and a half years of renovations,
04:40they recently opened two bed and breakfast rooms.
04:44And they're now working to transform this former hay barn into a holiday let.
04:49We've got a business to run now.
04:52Yeah.
04:53So we can earn money.
04:55Every step of progress that we make, it just changes.
04:59It unfolds and it just becomes more magnificent, really.
05:07It's early July and Lolly and Sean are close to opening the second area of their village holiday complex, a
05:14one bed sheet.
05:16Their first guests are due in three weeks, but they're behind.
05:22Converting farm buildings into modern homes is never a straightforward task and every day presents a new challenge.
05:31We've had to raise the floor slightly.
05:33So it's coming off of this board will be the same height as this board.
05:37So it's always playing around a bit tricky, but it's OK.
05:42Whole buildings don't conform to modern rules and the barn's walls are made of limestone, not plasterboard.
05:50Hopefully this will be done.
05:52This means nothing is straight and no job is straightforward.
05:59I probably will have to just chisel out a little bit of that back wall.
06:05Outside, Lolly is preparing one of the exterior walls for another major modification.
06:11We're going to have a doorway opening here, which is the back of the cocktail lounge.
06:15So that will be a nice flow from cocktails to playing pétanque, watching the sunset.
06:22Once cleared, this doorway will eventually lead to an outdoor swimming pool.
06:27But lazy days by the pool currently feel a long way off, as Ajit dominates their every waking hour.
06:35I've never done anything like this, so it's a learning curve.
06:39This is so old, I think the barn's probably been here two, three hundred years, so everything's moved.
06:45A job that should have been wrapped up in a few hours has now taken several days.
06:53Perfect.
06:55So the board is in, which is great.
07:00But with one floorboard finally in, Sean eventually finds his rhythm and the entrance to the bathroom soon slots into
07:07place.
07:11Where farming once provided the landowner with an income to maintain La Galliserie,
07:16holiday accommodation will soon secure the financial future of the village for decades to come.
07:22Very good. It worked. Well done.
07:25But with less than three weeks before their first guest check-in, Lolly and Sean still have a worryingly long
07:32to-do list.
07:34We've got guests in there at the end of the month, so we need to pull our finger out.
07:41We're going to have to put in some big shifts.
07:43Yeah, it's got to be done. It'll be done.
07:51While all our village saviours strive to preserve the history of their settlements, some seek to actively rekindle their spirit.
08:01In the heart of Transylvania lies the village of Kund, one of over 200 surviving Saxon villages in the country.
08:12The Saxons migrated here from the Rhineland in the 12th century, granted land in exchange for a promise to protect
08:20the kingdom from the infidel.
08:24They built a community here and fiercely defended their Germanic faith and traditions until the late 20th century.
08:34But when Jonas and Ulrike, who are originally from Germany but Jonas studied in Scotland, came here on a relief
08:41mission in 1993, the Saxon exodus was well underway.
08:48The German state paid to bring the people back to Germany. They immediately received German citizenship.
08:57For us, it was always very weird that people consider themselves German, even though they haven't been to Germany for
09:06750 years.
09:09But as many Saxon villages departed, the couple embarked on one of the biggest village restoration projects in Europe.
09:1820 years ago, Jonas and Ulrike bought their first property here, which they converted into a holiday let.
09:28Now they run a 92-bed, scattered hotel complex and restaurant, employing more than 30 locals.
09:39So our village is pretty much alive. Everybody is like, sees a purpose, so the people are more optimistic.
09:51Giving hope to a place where people have not necessarily been seeing a future for themselves.
10:02The village now attracts visitors from all around the world.
10:06But Jonas and Ulrike's rescue mission is not over.
10:10Their focus now is restoring Kun's 14th century church.
10:14But this sacred site has protected status, meaning reconstruction will be expensive.
10:21So they're on a fundraising drive.
10:24This is fresh, this is full of flavour, this is what we need.
10:29Jonas is a self-taught chef, with a passion for introducing tourists to local cuisine.
10:35Now this sideline has become the inspiration for an exciting new project.
10:42This is the old vicarage barn and this is where there used to be animals, where there used to be
10:47a stable for the horse of the vicar.
10:51But as we have no more horse and carts, we have thought of repurposing it and now it will be
10:58a cooking school.
10:59Food tourism is one of the world's largest and fastest growing niche travel markets.
11:06And Jonas and Ulrike are keen to cash in.
11:09This will be where the main cooking island will be, so we're going to have two cooking stations.
11:14Here we will have the convection oven and here there will be lots of prep space and stuff like that.
11:24It's hoped the school will be open in eight weeks.
11:27And while renovations are slightly behind schedule, Jonas' vision is already well in place.
11:34A real focus is going to be embracing nature.
11:39So it will always, all our cooking courses will be connected to going out into the wilderness, to forage, to
11:48find whatever we can find at the time of the year.
11:52We're going to work with pickled ingredients.
11:55Pickling itself is going to be a huge part because this has an immense tradition in rural areas.
12:04Centuries ago, self-sufficient Saxon communities relied on foraging and preserving to endure the changing seasons.
12:13Jonas is hoping the cooking school will mean these ancient skills are brought back to the community.
12:20We just hope that these guys are getting on with it and that we'll be able to host people in
12:27here by October.
12:34Coming up...
12:35Oh, gosh, it's a day of, um...
12:38Busy, busy, busy day today.
12:39A thousand jobs.
12:40With time running out on their renovation, Lolly and Sean are pushed out of their comfort zone.
12:46The plumbing is kind of like a big jigsaw.
12:50I don't know, I always panic over jobs like this.
12:53And it's a buyer's market for a former truck driver in Bulgaria.
12:58This is a big old curveball.
12:59I've just had a phone call now and they are willing to sell me that property again.
13:04Now I don't know what to do.
13:18When it comes to rural decline, Bulgaria has suffered more than most of our European neighbours.
13:24In less than four decades, almost a quarter of its population has been lost to emigration or old age.
13:31The countryside is the worst affected.
13:35At last count, a thousand Bulgarian villages had a population of 30 or less.
13:41Earning it the title, the land of the lost villages.
13:47Now Bulgarians are looking outside of their borders for support.
13:52Since the pandemic, a lot of English, British people are coming here.
13:56And the good thing is that a lot of them are coming mainly to start to live here.
14:00It's good for Bulgaria because it helps our country to put more life in the villages.
14:07In northern Bulgaria, Ores is one village in decline.
14:13Established in the first century as a station between the Roman fortresses of Belenay and Shvistov,
14:19Ores is home to one of the oldest churches in Bulgaria.
14:23But without an injection of life, these streets could soon be deserted for good.
14:29But there's a flicker of hope.
14:32Ten British families recently relocated here.
14:35And following the death of her husband, Kate from Bournemouth could soon follow suit.
14:41I'd actually been watching other people that have made the journey and moved over to Bulgaria
14:46in different areas of Bulgaria because obviously it's a huge country.
14:49And then once I'd started making contact with people within the village,
14:54it just made sense for me.
14:57Since her husband's passing 12 years ago, Kate has battled addiction and mental health problems.
15:04Now she wants to create a sanctuary for others who've experienced similar hardship.
15:10I'd like to see a lot fitter me, you know, physically and mentally fitter.
15:14I'd like to see me being able to help other people, whether that be, you know, in recovery or renovating
15:23a property.
15:24So yeah, five years I'd like to see the village thriving and back to how it really should be.
15:33But having made the decision to move to Ores, Kate's plans have hit a stumbling block.
15:38The house sale fell through and now she's looking at other options.
15:44Today she's viewing another property in Karamanovo, a village 30 kilometres east of Ores with a dwindling population.
15:53I've never seen this property, so I'm hoping that it's going to look as good in person as it does
15:59online.
16:01The estate Kate is here to see is on the market for just seven and a half thousand euros.
16:11Right, okay.
16:14Kate's due to view the property in less than 10 minutes, but now she's received a call that could change
16:20everything.
16:22Hi, okay, hi, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.
16:26And this is a big old curveball.
16:28So I came over in September to look at a property, which I absolutely loved.
16:33A lot of reasons it didn't work out.
16:36Just had a phone call now and they are willing to sell me that property again and take off the
16:41money that I'd already deposited on that property.
16:43Now I don't know what to do.
16:46The estate in Ores is 4,000 euros more expensive than the one she's seeing today.
16:52So Kate's decided to keep her options open.
16:57How you doing?
16:58Oh, not too bad.
16:59So the property actually is, I think we discussed this and you saw on the video, it's about 1,700
17:04square meters.
17:05Yep, yep.
17:06This small farmstead, complete with barn, outbuildings and just under half an acre of land, was built in the 1950s.
17:14Okay.
17:16And it's soon clear that the low price tag reflects the unlivable state of the house.
17:23This is the stuff we discussed, the hole in the roof.
17:27Yeah, the tree.
17:30This room, I think, could be a nice bedroom and I think the good thing is the two windows.
17:38Two windows, yeah.
17:39It's bright enough, you know.
17:40It is.
17:41The estate once had everything required to be self-sufficient, but it was abandoned more than a decade ago.
17:49So this is, I think, best place for living room.
17:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:54So who are the pictures of?
17:56They are the owners who built the house.
17:58Wow.
18:00So why are the pictures left?
18:03Like, why are personal things left?
18:06Sometimes I feel, when I see the properties like this...
18:09It's sad, isn't it?
18:10It's sad.
18:11It is.
18:11It looks like people just left and they never came back, you know.
18:16While the asking price is low, it's instantly clear that renovating and modernising this estate
18:22would require significant time and investment.
18:26I've got a couple of concerns.
18:29There's, like, the back of the property, I've already just noticed.
18:31There's no fence between myself and the other neighbour.
18:35So it's just, like, open land.
18:37So I'm kind of a little bit concerned about that because it then doesn't become private.
18:44Obviously the roof, you know, there is a gaping big hole in the roof, which would need to be done.
18:49So I'm kind of...
18:51I'm torn now.
18:52So, yeah, I think I'm just going to go away, have a good think and then decide what I'm going
18:56to do.
19:07Even with new custodians shaping their futures, life in Europe's ghost villages can only be sustained
19:14through continued upkeep and investment.
19:18At La Gallisserie, Laurie and Sean hope to generate an income through bed and breakfast rooms and holiday lets.
19:25It's July and the couple are preparing to welcome their first ever Gitte guests.
19:30But it's fair to say they're not quite ready.
19:36Oh, gosh, it's a day of...
19:38Busy, busy, busy day today.
19:39A thousand jobs.
19:42So I'm putting my hand to a bit of plumbing today.
19:45I say a little bit of plumbing, it's all of the bathroom and I have no idea what I'm doing.
19:50And you're...
19:51I think just to take a job off of Sean, I'm going to try my hand at grouting.
19:57But making sure the Gitte has a functioning toilet and shower is only the start of an epic snagging list.
20:04And time is not on their side.
20:07It's Friday and our deadline is Sunday and not even late.
20:14Sunday afternoon.
20:15Sunday midday, actually.
20:18So it will be as finished as it could be.
20:24Lolly and Sean are avid upcyclers and want to use this old English sink in the bathroom.
20:31We've got a little bit of an issue because half of our plumbing stuff is French and half our plumbing
20:37stuff is English.
20:38And we're trying to adapt both together, which is awkward.
20:42And because I have never done plumbing, it's kind of...
20:45It takes me a lot longer to think about and what to do.
20:48Right, let's take this up.
20:50Come on.
20:51Come back and get a few bits.
20:53To make matters worse, the sink waste outlet doesn't line up with the pipe work Sean has already fitted into
20:59the wall.
21:02That's where I originally guesstimated where my pipe was going to come up.
21:07And clearly my pipe needs to be a little bit lower.
21:09While Sean ponders the plumbing, Lolly's receiving a crash course in grouting.
21:14Don't be afraid to make a mess.
21:16Don't...
21:17Don't make a mess?
21:19No, don't be afraid to make a mess.
21:20OK.
21:21It's a case of lathering it in there, I think.
21:25Oh, God.
21:27Oh, God, you put yourself under so much pressure doing these silly jobs, don't you?
21:32This roll-top bath will add a splash of luxury to the jeet, but means tiles are essential in this
21:39section of the bedroom.
21:41Oh!
21:42The pipe is in.
21:43It probably could be trimmed a tiny bit more, but at least it's in.
21:48I don't know, I always panic over jobs like this.
21:53Because I'm not very confident, but it looks OK.
21:56But just when it looks like everything is running smoothly...
21:59I just need to now cut the pipe for the hot and the cold and attach them, and then it's
22:07job done for the day on this sink, so...
22:10Yeah.
22:11Sean makes a rookie mistake.
22:14Obviously the waterworks up here.
22:17Yeah.
22:17Do you want some help?
22:18No.
22:19What happened then?
22:20I just chucked some water down here, and then I remembered that there's holes in the bottom and it's not
22:26sealed.
22:27So I've now plugged the holes, and I'm going to put some water in there and see what happens.
22:32We could be running away very sharpishly because we get too wet, but hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll be alright and
22:39might have a flushing toilet.
22:40We will see.
22:42Oof!
22:47We have a flushing toilet. It may have taken me longer than most people it takes, but...
22:54It's working.
22:56For the first time in its history, this building has a flushable toilet and running water.
23:02We have water to a sink.
23:04But that's not the end of Sean's plumbing list.
23:08The shower still needs fitting and tiling, and the kitchen sink also needs connecting to the water mains.
23:15The plumbing is kind of like a big jigsaw, but it's just making sure that the jigsaw's watertight.
23:24And they now have less than 48 hours before their guests arrive.
23:31Patience, well done.
23:33I didn't have a lot of them.
23:38There's an enormous amount of work to do, but yeah, we were kind of dreading today, really, because it's kind
23:44of that...
23:44It's out of our comfort zone.
23:45Yeah.
23:46Massively out of our comfort zone, so it's kind of, yeah, well, we're not skilled tradespeople like they do it
23:52every day,
23:53so you have to really think about it, and it's kind of worked.
23:56Yeah.
23:57And we'll crack on early tomorrow.
23:59Yeah.
24:09Coming up, running on empty...
24:11We started at nine yesterday, finished at midnight.
24:14We're not as far ahead as we wanted to be.
24:16Can Lolly and Sean summon the energy needed to reach the finish line?
24:20I think adrenaline's kicked in, because we know it's got to be done.
24:23And Jonas and Ulrika wrestle with red tape as they fight to keep their village alive.
24:29The standards are way too high for us, led to an explosion of a budget here.
24:46Back in Transylvania, it's September.
24:50Bonasiva den Noah, salut!
24:53And Jonas is checking the progress of his new cookery school taking shape in the former Vicarage stable.
25:04And after a slow start, the project is progressing at pace.
25:10So we're just witnessing the windows to be delivered.
25:13That's great, because it's going to have us have this place watertight.
25:20That's the good news.
25:21But as with any renovation, progress comes with its fair share of setbacks.
25:27The challenging part here in the cooking school is that in order to get it certified, we were digging into
25:34how to certify it in the first place.
25:36And it appears there is no set of rules for a cooking school teaching amateurs.
25:43So we're just going to have to adhere by the same standards as these professional cooking schools.
25:50The standards are way too high for us, led to an explosion of a budget here.
25:56The adaptations include building showers and office facilities in the building, costing not only money, but time.
26:04Their October deadline is now out of the window.
26:14Jonas and Ulrike need to get creative to raise renovation funds.
26:18This is local, responsibly formed firewood that we're using.
26:23And as summer turns to autumn, they're preserving a harvest practice that has sustained this region for almost a thousand
26:30years.
26:31Today we are prepping about 50 kilograms of vegetables.
26:35And the idea is to preserve them for the winter.
26:39Today they're making zakuska, a beloved Romanian preserve, packed with roasted vegetables and rich smoky flavours.
26:48It's very tasty, it's healthy, it's vegan.
26:52Each family in Romania used to make their own zakuska.
26:57And we tried to keep this tradition.
27:03In the past, for the farmers, this was the only source of vitamins you could get in wintertime.
27:12Where in the past zakuska would have been served to farm workers, today it's sold in both the restaurant and
27:18hotel.
27:20It's an incredibly satisfying aspect of our work to be able to work, first of all, such fantastic produce, to
27:27know that all of this is coming from the village.
27:29When you be able to taste at the end of the day the fruits of this labour, it's just for
27:35me an utter joy.
27:38Jonas and Ulrike hope to keep traditions like these alive at their cookery school.
27:45Whilst the eggplant is being steamed in its own skin, it is also being smoked and that additional smoke is
27:54just for me such a beautiful thing.
27:58It's a labour-intensive process, but in the past this would have been a village-wide event.
28:04Neighbours would gather to share the workload and preserve the abundance of the harvest together.
28:10After hours of slow cooking, the smoked and blended vegetables are ready to be sealed in jars.
28:18The glasses here have been sterilised before, now we are adding a little bit of local fire water to the
28:25lids.
28:26And it's being set on fire and whilst it's burning, the glasses are being closed and then fire is going
28:33to stop.
28:34But it also kills off all the air that is in there, so it creates a vacuum.
28:39This tradition is about as old as drinking alcohol is.
28:43While preserving an ancient village tradition, today's harvest will also help raise valuable funds needed to restore the village's 14th
28:52century church.
28:54Living with the season, embracing them, harvesting the seeds of what you've been producing for such a long time.
29:01An utterly beautiful period for me.
29:12In France, Lolly and Sean are also battling to boost their bank balance.
29:16They're now hours away from opening their holiday let.
29:20I think adrenaline has kicked in because we know it's got to be done.
29:24But have finally admitted defeat in their battle to have everything ready.
29:31We started at 9 yesterday, finished at midnight.
29:33We're not as far ahead as we wanted to be.
29:35We had wanted the toll, but we haven't got around to doing that as of yet.
29:38But it is what it is, you know, at least they've got baths, flushing toilet and a sink.
29:45They are friends, so there's an element of relaxation with it.
29:51A small element.
29:55But one thing they're not relaxed about is the stairs, which are functional but precarious.
30:01Luckily, their neighbour is a master joiner and has come to the rescue.
30:06We've got guests arriving in about four hours, five hours, so we need a handrail at the top.
30:12So kindly Robert has come round because he's a skilled joiner and a legend.
30:18It enables me to do another job.
30:20They didn't find anybody else.
30:21No, they were all busy, weren't they?
30:22So they just dragged me off the street.
30:26While Robert cracks on with the handrail, Sean has one final job to finish in the bathroom.
30:33With plasterboard walls and a shower that doesn't work, it's never going to be the Ritz.
30:38But Sean does want their guests to be able to use the toilet in comfort.
30:46Have a toilet seat.
30:51Beautiful.
30:54Lolly and Sean's first holiday let has been 12 months in the making.
30:58And they now have just 30 minutes before their guests arrive.
31:03What's left?
31:04What's left to do?
31:04What's left to do?
31:05So it's just clearing away everything for you?
31:07Yeah.
31:14When they bought this abandoned village, Lolly and Sean set up camp in this dark, damp hay barn.
31:20It had no electricity, no running water, and a native population of field mice.
31:28Now this former agricultural space is unrecognisable.
31:32With an inviting open-plan living and dining space and a chic bedroom complete with a roll-top bath.
31:43I can't believe that we've got to this point.
31:45Obviously, you know, you want everything finished, but another few weeks, it'll all be done.
31:53The shower room may be a few tiles away from completion, but the transformation this building has seen is remarkable.
32:02Voila.
32:05Gorgeous.
32:07Arriving today are friends Sarah and Tim, who are staying here overnight together with their daughter on their way to
32:14the south coast of France.
32:21How are you?
32:22Good.
32:24Come, come, come through.
32:26So this is, um, this is your little spot for the evening.
32:30I can say till it's yours.
32:35And then this is your bedroom.
32:37I'll have a look at the nearly finished.
32:39Yes, yes, nearly finished en suite.
32:42Oh, it'd be great though, wouldn't it?
32:43Yeah.
32:44The toilet works and the sink works.
32:46So we've made you rush to get this ready, basically.
32:48We've had a few 13-hour days, and then last night we finished at midnight.
32:52We're going to have a drink on the terrace, shall we?
32:54I think that sounds like a very good bathroom.
32:58It may not be perfection, but Sarah and Tim are impressed with what Lolly and Sean have achieved.
33:05The sheet's lovely.
33:06It's very Lolly.
33:07You can very clearly see her style and all those little touches are absolutely beautiful and very much looking forward
33:14to staying in it.
33:15Absolutely.
33:16And in the end, the setting outweighs the lack of functioning facilities.
33:22We're not worried about the bathroom not working.
33:24We built our own house a few years ago and know how difficult these things can be, especially when you're
33:29up against it.
33:30So, yeah, for one night, it really isn't going to worry us at all.
33:32No problem.
33:34They're very generous in nature knowing that things weren't finished for tonight's stay.
33:40But, yeah, all in all, a good few days.
33:44So we are now really looking forward to sitting down and not doing it.
33:49I'm not sure I need to.
33:49I don't think it would be good for me to sit down.
33:51I might fall asleep.
33:53I know.
33:55The sheet's completion marks another important milestone in La Glicery's journey from dereliction to salvation.
34:02Now, Lolly and Sean can move on to the next stage of the rescue plan.
34:10Cheers!
34:15Coming up in Romania...
34:17It's like an Easter egg hunt, but in a culinary manner.
34:20Jonas and Ulrika go in search of nature's bounty.
34:24So we'll go and hopefully find some of the black gold in the Transylvanian wilderness.
34:29And Kate dares to dream in Bulgaria.
34:33As you can see, there is no roof. We have no windows.
34:36We have a doorway.
34:37But this will be brought back to life.
34:49In northern Bulgaria, the rural population is rapidly dwindling.
34:54But as locals depart, Brits are snapping up properties here,
34:58helping to stem the tide of rural decline.
35:01Former truck driver Kate recently viewed two abandoned estates
35:05and now needs to decide if this is where her future lies.
35:10The property that I looked at in Karamanova, I think that's how you pronounce it,
35:14that was a lovely property.
35:16It had a huge barn. You could do a lot with it.
35:19It had really nice views.
35:21The other property that I looked at in Oresh had amazing views, stunning views.
35:27It was more contained. It had a lot more outbuildings.
35:31And that property was pretty much done, ready to move in.
35:36And in as much as it had electric done, it had, you know, lights done, it had double glazing.
35:42So I'm just weighing up what to do, really.
35:50The estate in Karamanova is 4,000 euros cheaper than the one in Oresh.
35:54But in the end, Kate decides to buy the first house she viewed.
36:01A few hours later, a deal is agreed for the farmhouse in Oresh
36:05and Kate visits the local notary to sign on the dotted line.
36:14Lured by low property prices and a simpler way of life,
36:18in recent years, ten British families have relocated to Oresh.
36:22Kate will join a blossoming expat community
36:26fighting for the future of this storage settlement.
36:30The deed was read to the parties.
36:33The text was translated by the translator to the buyer in English.
36:40All searches and legal checks on the plot have already taken place,
36:44meaning the sale is a simple process.
36:5912 years ago, Kate lost her husband Darryl.
37:02And for more than a decade, she's lived in a one-bedroom flat in Bournemouth,
37:06battling her demons.
37:09I remember this gate from last time.
37:13On England's south coast, 10,000 euros wouldn't get you a garage space.
37:18But for that price, Kate now owns a half-acre estate
37:21complete with two houses and multiple outbuildings.
37:26What I'd like to do is have, like, a little retreat.
37:28So these are perfect for if guests come over.
37:32Um, they're just sweet little rooms.
37:35And they're all double-glazed as well, ready.
37:38The first dwelling constructed on this site was a humble single-storey farmhouse.
37:43Built in the 1930s, part of the house still remains,
37:47together with cattle sheds erected at the same time.
37:52As you can see, there is no roof.
37:54We have no windows.
37:56We have a doorway.
37:57But this will be brought back to life.
38:01A second home was built on the estate in 1959.
38:05Like the original farmhouse, it had only one bedroom and one living space.
38:11But it was recently modernised, adding a shower room plus modern electrics.
38:17So this will be my forever home.
38:22Wood floors.
38:24I love the wood floors.
38:26So this will be my bedroom.
38:28I'm thinking this will be my bedroom.
38:31And then this room will be my kitchen lounge.
38:39But the beginning of her life as a village saviour is tinged with sadness.
38:44As it's one journey, Kate would rather not be making a loan.
38:49The money that I had was because of the loss of my husband.
38:54So to be able to buy a property, in his memory, going forward with my life now on my own,
39:01yeah, it's really emotional.
39:02But because of him, you know, I've got this.
39:05And obviously he's here with me.
39:08And the property will be called Daryl's Spirit, in memory of him.
39:15Rescuing Europe's ghost settlements requires selflessness, strength and willpower.
39:21Virtues Kate has in abundance.
39:24But one person alone cannot save Oresh.
39:27Now Kate joins a legion of local Brits determined to breathe life back into another of Bulgaria's lost villages.
39:35There is a lot of renovations that need doing, but the actual accommodation side of it, the house,
39:41there isn't a lot that needs to be done.
39:44So it is a case of I could move straight into it.
39:47So now, the next step is to just move over, drive, I'm driving over.
39:55And, yeah, to get settled and start my new life over here.
40:12Back in Kund, Jonas and Ulrika are on a mission to raise the funds needed to restore the village's 14th
40:19century church.
40:21Food tourism is central to their plans.
40:24And beyond the meadows, hidden beneath these ancient forests, lies the region's most elusive, lucrative delicacy.
40:33So here we are in one of my favorite places of all of Transylvania.
40:38This is a piece of forest about four kilometers away from the Valle of Edda where we are finding truffles.
40:44So as a chef, this is like winning the lottery to have a place so close by where you can
40:49find truffles.
40:51At this time of the year, Jonas regularly hosts truffle hunting tours, giving guests a taste of this deep-rooted
40:58tradition.
41:00Sharing this experience with them is something that we are really, really known for and what people just really enjoy.
41:07So we'll go and hopefully find some of the black gold in the Transylvanian wilderness.
41:12Local hunter Sandru is leading the group.
41:15He comes from a long line of truffle hunters with skills passed down through generations.
41:22His highly trained pointers sniff out these pungent delicacies which grow underground near the roots of ancient trees.
41:34My old age.
41:37My old age.
41:39My old age.
41:40My old age.
41:41My old age.
41:42This is a old species.
41:45This is a melanosporum, a perigot truffle.
41:50It's a very powerful, very powerful.
41:53It's a double.
41:55Truffles have been hunted in these forests for centuries.
41:59Their culinary fascination began in the 18th century when French chefs introduced them to the aristocracy of Europe.
42:07Today, some varieties command prices of up to 5,000 euros per kilo.
42:13Making this, centuries-old practice, a vital source of funds for the village.
42:20First of all, people are enjoying a walk in nature and then, with the excitement of going to look for
42:26something,
42:26it's like an Easter egg hunt but in a culinary manner.
42:29And it's the first time for everybody who's here.
42:31They've never been truffle hunting, so I think it's an experience everybody really enjoys.
42:36Each guest has paid 50 euros for today's hunt, which includes a glass of wine and lunch prepared on-site
42:44using fresh truffles.
42:47What a beautiful day.
42:49And as pop-up restaurants go, this takes some beating.
42:56So this is where we're going to have our wilderness lunch.
43:01As you can see, the guys have already started to set everything up in this really, really nice spot.
43:09Ovidio is cooking a risotto on the open fire, so a risotto is a traditional dish from Italy.
43:15The background of this creamy rice is the perfect platform for a truffle to shine on top.
43:25That's just perfect.
43:28So it actually looks like all our guests are arriving from the truffle hunt now.
43:33These experiences have become a key part of Jonas and Ulrike's business.
43:38The platchel of you?
43:42When it comes to reversing decades of decay, there's no set formula for our village saviours.
43:48Each project presents different challenges.
43:52But for Jonas and Ulrike, bringing back traditions from the past is helping them build the strong foundations needed for
43:59the village to survive and thrive.
44:03Being out and foraging for your own ingredients really deepens your own relationship and in a way surely also appreciation
44:10of the food that you're eating.
44:12So I think that is something that we like to introduce our guests to and that we are passionate about.
44:24Next time, Dan takes his chateau restoration to dizzying new heights.
44:29It's been such a struggle to get to the top. For that to be finally done is going to be
44:34a great feeling.
44:36High emotions and drama for Lolly and Sean.
44:40Unfortunately, he's caught it with that arm.
44:43A water shortage threatens Kund.
44:46I've never been imagining that in my lifetime I'll be having to deal with such challenges.
44:51And Kate hits the road.
44:54I can't stay here anymore wasting any more of my life when I could be out living my life.
45:01Please, thank you.
45:06Thank you very much.
45:08Thanks guys.
45:09Thanks, Dad.
45:09Bye.
45:12Bye.
45:12Bye.
45:15Bye.
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