- 2 days ago
help we bought a village s04e28 skyfire
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01Buying a home abroad is a big step to take.
00:04This is my piece of heaven now.
00:07But imagine taking that to a whole new level.
00:10I'm down! Amazing.
00:13The ghost villages of Europe are crying out for help.
00:17It's a slot battle of the Somme, isn't it?
00:19And a strong-willed few have answered their calls.
00:23Our whole world, our whole life and belongings are now in Ichaka.
00:27In this series...
00:29There's a real sense of history and you can feel it.
00:32We rediscover the settlement's time left behind.
00:36Like ten people living in the whole of Rabatana now.
00:39Where once it would have been thriving with schools and shops.
00:43And meet the intrepid Brits...
00:45Trying to get this board in the hole without falling through.
00:49...who are trying to save them.
00:51It is more tricky than you imagine.
00:55But can they turn these crumbling villages?
00:58This is going to be a big crash.
01:02...into beautiful homes...
01:04This is no longer a ruin. It is now a chateau.
01:08...and successful businesses.
01:09One are gorgeous.
01:13Or will it all prove to be...
01:15That was a close shave.
01:16...beyond their grasp.
01:18As it stands at the moment, in two years' time, it might collapse.
01:21...as they restore the past to build their future.
01:25The village has come back to life and that's exactly what we set out to do.
01:35Today in central France...
01:37You can still see the bathroom suspended in mid-air, which is a little bit scary.
01:43...we catch up with Dan as he takes his chateau restoration...
01:47You wouldn't believe how much wood we've winched up here.
01:50...to dizzying new heights.
01:52It's been such a struggle to get to the top.
01:55For that to be finally done is going to be a great feeling.
01:58...and high emotions...
02:00The two of us have gone through...
02:02...quite a lot together.
02:04...and drama for an untiring Sussex couple.
02:08Unfortunately, he's caught it with that arm.
02:12So we've got a little dent and a scratch.
02:15In Romania, a water shortage threatens to derail one couple's battle...
02:20...to save a historic Saxon settlement.
02:24I've never been imagining that in my lifetime...
02:27...I'd be having to deal with such challenges.
02:29But it's very much real.
02:31And a former truck driver hits the road...
02:35...as her journey as a village saviour begins.
02:38I can't stay here anymore wasting any more of my life...
02:41...when I could be out living my life.
02:54Across Europe, lost villages stand as silent witnesses to history.
02:59Places that once provided refuge in the darkest of times.
03:07Few, however, can claim a story of protection as profound...
03:11...as the lost French settlement of Chemin.
03:1660 miles from Limoges, hidden deep within the woods...
03:19...lies the ruins of a chateau whose walls echo...
03:22...with whispers of survival.
03:27During the war, it fostered a community of Jewish children...
03:30...and some families fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust.
03:36These walls provided sanctuary for hundreds.
03:40But in the 1980s, fire reduced it to ruins...
03:43...leaving its legacy hanging by a thread.
03:49Now, only one man.
03:51Dan Preston from Portsmouth stands between its past and oblivion.
04:00It played a big part in keeping people safe...
04:03...and a lot of people have gone on to be...
04:05...do amazing things from here who were saved by the chateau.
04:08And I think this is another big step in the history of the chateau.
04:12Not only is it being rebuilt...
04:14...but it's being rebuilt with a real purpose going forward...
04:17...and hopefully that'll save it for future generations.
04:24After a year battling nature's grip...
04:26...in 2023, Dan set his sights on rebuilding from the ground up.
04:32You can still see the bathroom suspended in mid-air...
04:36...which is a little bit scary walking under it.
04:39His goal? To make the structure watertight before winter arrived.
04:46And when the odds and the elements conspired against him...
04:50That's so scary.
04:52A gust of 80 kilometres an hour.
04:54He found strength by delving into its remarkable past.
05:04Meeting a survivor who owed his life to the protection of the chateau.
05:09It means a lot to meet someone who benefited from the chateau.
05:20It's now exactly two years since Dan became the king of his humble castle.
05:27And he's made remarkable progress.
05:32For the first time in nearly 40 years, part of the chateau stands fully covered.
05:40Crowned once more with its elegant mansard roof.
05:46Inside, Dan and his team are making great progress reinstating the chateau's floors.
05:53The one thing that has changed is now we've finally got a staircase in.
05:56So before we were scaling the whole place with little ladders in between the rafters.
06:01And it's a rough replica of the staircase that ultimately is going to be there.
06:07And with friends Nick and Brian on site to help, today they're hoping to reach a milestone.
06:13So the main thing we've been concentrating on is a race to get to the top.
06:17To get all these floors back in so we can get to the top to put the roof on.
06:21And today, hopefully, we're putting the very, very last floor back in the chateau.
06:27It's been such a struggle to get to the top.
06:30For that to be finally done is going to be a great feeling.
06:35Landmark days are coming thick and fast.
06:38Today, the chateau's final steel beam is being winched into place,
06:43providing the backbone of its highest and largest room.
06:48What a difference, though, from when we were first lifting these in the chateau.
06:52Seven men on one I-beam wrestling it in.
06:56The stairwell must be fitted with precision.
07:00As eventually, it'll be supporting the full weight of the chateau's grand roof,
07:05which Dan hopes to restore to its original 19th-century splendour.
07:10And every step brings Dan's dream a little closer.
07:15Yeah, that's all right.
07:17That'll hold off the chateau, I reckon.
07:18Very happy with that, yeah.
07:20It was the last kind of thing we needed to really work out and get right.
07:25So now that's up, we can just carry on putting the wood in between,
07:29and this bit is going to actually go in super quick.
07:33Dan's now determined to have every joist and every noggin in place.
07:39You wouldn't believe how much wood we've winched up here.
07:42Because tomorrow, he's hoping to host a celebration to mark its completion.
07:51Inevitably, once again, the elements are doing their best to scupper his plans.
07:56It's absolutely bucking it down. Just stop.
08:03But if the past two years have taught this village saviour anything,
08:06it's how to weather a storm.
08:10We're pretty used to it now, and the fact is this just has to be done.
08:15That's it.
08:24Taking on the task of rejuvenating one of Europe's lost villages requires drive and persistence,
08:30as unmoving as the walls of these ancient buildings.
08:36For Lolly and Sean from Sussex, it was a case of putting heart before head
08:40when they decided to buy the village of La Gallisserie, just north of Poitiers.
08:47I just loved it, and I knew potentially it had everything that we would ever need and more.
08:52So, yeah, we just went for it, didn't we?
08:54Yeah.
08:55So, the purchase was €141,000.
09:00Yeah, I can't quite still believe it, really.
09:04It's 2024.
09:06Lolly and Sean bought this former farming estate two and a half years ago,
09:10and their progress since then has been astonishing.
09:14The couple have created not only a home for themselves,
09:17but also two bed and breakfast rooms and a holiday let.
09:23Their ultimate goal is to establish a wellness retreat here,
09:27the final piece of which will be an outdoor swimming pool.
09:32By the time the pool's gone in, so we've budgeted with all of that,
09:36I think you're looking at, including the purchase, about half a million.
09:41To soften the financial blow of restoring the village single-handedly,
09:45the couple recently agreed to sell one of their biggest barns to Lolly's brother, Greg,
09:51who's also selling up in the UK to move to France permanently.
09:58Financially, it'd be nice to start earning some money.
10:02To keep us afloat and that side of it,
10:05but it's great that Greg wants to come here and invest some of his money into finishing it.
10:10And also then, with that, it moves the project along a lot quicker as well.
10:19It's November, and having spent the summer concluding work on their gite,
10:24Lolly and Sean are beginning the next phase of their plan for La Gallisserie,
10:28hosting yoga retreats.
10:31And they think the top floor of the biggest of their barns
10:34would be the perfect spot for classes.
10:39It's just such a fantastic space, and it just lends itself, obviously, to be a studio.
10:45I think the boys wanted a gym, but that's not happening.
10:49Clearly.
10:50So, I just love it.
10:54Creating a single space for yoga lessons should be more straightforward
10:57than their previous barn-to-home conversions.
11:01But decades of neglect still need to be undone.
11:05When we first bought the village,
11:07we got a surveyor to walk around with us to have a look at everything.
11:11Because in England, if you can put your finger in a gap,
11:14everyone goes, oh, that's terrible.
11:15But as you can see, we have a huge crack in the wall here,
11:20which we were really worried about.
11:22So, we had someone look at it, and he just turned around and said
11:25that it's perfect, it's fine,
11:27and it's probably been like this for one to two hundred years.
11:31So, I have the duty of repairing it.
11:36All righty.
11:37Let's get going.
11:39Yoga retreats will begin next summer,
11:42giving Lolly and Sean just seven months
11:44to transform this space into a studio.
11:48Hello.
11:49Anything in there?
11:51Because it's a nice little holiday home, isn't it, for somebody?
11:56A little family of mice or something.
11:59Meanwhile, over in England...
12:01There you go.
12:02Lolly's brother Greg has two buyers interested in his London home,
12:05and a sale looks imminent.
12:09The idea really is to get out of here by December this year,
12:14that's 2024.
12:16Cross your fingers.
12:19Greg is swapping this impressive London pad for a barn conversion in the village,
12:24which has buckets of potential, but still requires months of work.
12:31People have said to me, you know, what's the reason for moving to France?
12:36And a part of it is, you know, understandably, the sort of space that, you know, you're afforded to obtain.
12:45But the other thing as well is because of Lorraine, my twin, and it's, it is, you know, it's a
12:49big pull.
12:50Because the two of us...
12:54Oh, you know what? I think I might well up.
12:57So, yeah, the two of us have gone through quite a lot together.
13:02So, I think from my point of view, it's just wonderful to have that connection, you know, which we've always
13:10had.
13:12For Greg, the spiritual call of La Gallisserie was as strong for him as it was for his sister.
13:18But he knows that he's giving up a comfortable life in London for what will initially be a Spartan life
13:24in France.
13:27But I think sometimes you've just got to go for it.
13:30It's fair to say the future of this once forgotten village is in safe hands.
13:41Coming up, at the mercy of Mother Nature, one couple are forced to get resourceful as climate change threatens their
13:49business in Romania.
13:50In the last three weeks, we needed to close a couple of apartments because there was no water.
13:58And a fresh start for a former truck driver trading Bournemouth for Bulgaria.
14:04So, today is the day that I am leaving to drive to Bulgaria.
14:11Yeah, excited. Can't wait.
14:24Romania is a country with a complex and difficult history.
14:29One shaped by centuries of change and, in more recent times, by a brutal dictator, Nikolai Ceaușescu.
14:40Between the 1970s and 80s, his systemisation programme aimed to modernise Romania by demolishing thousands of rural villages, relocating their
14:51inhabitants to state-controlled housing.
14:54It was widely seen as an attempt to weaken ethnic communities and tighten communist control.
15:01To fund the struggling regime, many Saxons were sold in a mutual government scheme to West Germany in exchange for
15:10cash.
15:10Many villages never recovered.
15:14But in Transylvania, the Saxon village of Kund is beginning a new chapter, thanks to the work of a German
15:22couple who fell in love with its story.
15:26Many, many nations used to live together in peace and respect.
15:34And to me, Transylvania was always like a historical showcase of Europe.
15:40So many different cultures, people, attitudes.
15:45Yeah, that diversity, which makes it such a worthwhile place to be in.
15:52Ulrike and Jonas came here more than two decades ago, but stayed to give the village something to not just
15:58survive, but thrive.
16:01Tourism.
16:05Their award-winning restaurant and diffused hotel has welcomed guests from around the world, including long-time admirer of Romania,
16:13King Charles.
16:16It evolved from charity work to becoming the biggest employer in the region, and this is something we are proud
16:25on and we hope we'll be able to do in the future.
16:31It's September, and restoration projects across the village are currently on hold.
16:37Hello there.
16:38Hey, Jonas.
16:39Summer is the busiest time for the resort, and today Jonas and Ulrike are hosting a large group of cyclists
16:46who have been visiting the village since 2007.
16:50Back then, his riders were trailblazers in a country largely untouched by tourism.
16:56These days, cycling tours are big business for Jonas and Ulrike, who today are hosting a team of 20 gravel
17:04bikers.
17:06This is my first time in Romania, so I'm really excited.
17:10We'd heard good things about the gravel riding here, and it's that combined with an adventure in a rural place
17:19that is something quite unlike the UK that appealed to us.
17:25After a long dry spell of weather, conditions are perfect for cyclists, but not for Jonas and Ulrike.
17:33Like everybody in the world, we are really depending on the water, and in the last three weeks we needed
17:41to close a couple of apartments because there was no water.
17:47This is, this is a big issue.
17:51The village's water supply relies on a fragile system of wells.
17:56Some neglected for decades, like much of Romania's infrastructure under communism.
18:01With 39 guests staying tonight, it's a worrying time.
18:07Yesterday and the day before, it wasn't sufficient to ensure the supply for the restaurant and the rooms over here.
18:14When a big group is here, we are consuming about 1,500 litres of water per day.
18:24With the resort well running dry, Jonas and Ulrike's team must transport 1,000 litres of water daily from another
18:31nearby supply to keep the resort running.
18:36But this is only a temporary fix.
18:39Across the village, household wells are nearly empty.
18:45We have always heard that water will be one of the most precious resources that, in our time, we will
18:52have to deal with.
18:54I've never been imagining that in my lifetime, I'll be having to deal with such challenges, but it's very much
19:01real.
19:03For centuries, Kund has fought to survive, from war, dictatorship and abandonment.
19:09Now it faces a new battle against climate change, that could be its toughest yet.
19:20Like its neighbour Romania, Bulgaria experienced rapid rural decline at the hands of a brutal post-war communist regime.
19:30Spearheaded by dictator Todor Zhivkov.
19:34But when the Soviet Union began to collapse in 1989, calls for change rang out across Eastern Europe.
19:40And on November the 10th, 1989, the day after the Berlin Wall was breached, Zhivkov was ousted.
19:51Four decades on, the scars left by 50 years under communist control are still plain to see.
19:58But with a low cost of living and laid-back atmosphere, it recently became a hotspot for relocated Brits.
20:07After losing her husband, Kate from Bournemouth recently joined ten other families in moving to Ores,
20:13a historic village just south of the Romanian border.
20:20For what I want, the type of life I want for myself now, being a single woman going forward,
20:26it absolutely made sense to come to Bulgaria.
20:30I'm just kind of walking away from everything that happened in my past, and it is just a fresh start.
20:36It really is just a fresh start.
20:40Originally built by the Romans as a trading post between the port of Shistov and the fortress of Bellinay,
20:47Ores has a history dating back to the first century.
20:51But over the past two decades, one in three homes here has been deserted,
20:56meaning property prices are some of the lowest in Europe.
21:01For only €11,000, Kate purchased an abandoned estate here with an acre of land,
21:07two farmhouses and multiple outbuildings.
21:12I love the character of the place.
21:14Yeah, it's great. I don't want to bring England to my village.
21:19I want it traditional. I want to live the Bulgarian lifestyle.
21:26It's late January, and back in Bournemouth, Kate is preparing to say goodbye to her home of the past 14
21:33years.
21:35So today is the day that I am leaving to drive to Bulgaria.
21:42The truck's outside, Frank's ready. Yeah, excited. Can't wait.
21:48Joining her on the cross-continent trip will be Davey,
21:52who's offered to drive Kate's car to Bulgaria.
21:55Originally from the northeast, he bought his home in Ores 15 years ago
21:59and helped Kate find hers.
22:03It's a nice little community. We all work together and help each other.
22:08When everybody found out I was in the cross to England, it was shopping lists at the ready in.
22:13Kate will need to return to the UK within the next 90 days to finalise her visa.
22:18But her mind is made up that her future lies in Bulgaria.
22:23It's a shame I'm doing all this on my own, you know, because that was never the plan.
22:27But it is what it is and it's the way it's got to be.
22:30So, you know, I can't stay here any more, wasting any more of my life when I could be out
22:35living my life.
22:40Once they cross the English Channel, Kate and Davey face a 30-hour drive to Ores.
22:47Kate's horse box, passing through six countries and crossing three time zones.
22:58Four days later, Kate's horse box emerges on a ferry crossing the River Danube, the last leg of her epic
23:05journey.
23:10But the extended European road trip proved too much for Kate's car, which broke down in Hungary and couldn't be
23:17recovered.
23:20The car didn't make it, the car died. Just been chaos.
23:24But we're here.
23:26So I don't care!
23:29Finally, it's time to explore for both Kate and her cat, Frank.
23:36Four days in a truck.
23:38Look, what's this?
23:40Look at your new garden!
23:42Oh, my God! Come see!
23:45He doesn't know what to look at first, as he's like, where am I going?
23:48Right, where's he going to go?
23:50While Frank takes in his new surroundings, after four days on the road, Kate is ready for bed.
23:57I don't have beds and stuff here. I didn't bring them over.
24:02So I'm going to set up my tent.
24:07The start of Kate's life as a village saviour hasn't been without its challenges.
24:12But they do say that from humble beginnings come great things.
24:17The last four nights I've slept in the truck, literally huddled myself into a little corner.
24:24So it's going to be nice to sleep on this tonight and for the foreseeable future.
24:29But it'll be good, it'll be cosy.
24:35Coming up...
24:36This is the very last section of floor joists to cut ever.
24:42It's a landmark day for Dan's chateau restoration.
24:46It's the first time we'll have ever been up that high.
24:50But at La Galliserie, Lolly and Sean find themselves in a tight scrape.
24:56It's like a snowstorm in there. Never easy, these jobs.
25:11In La Galliserie, Lolly and Sean want to make the most of a boom in wellness tourism by hosting yoga
25:18retreats in the village.
25:20They're making headway converting the top floor of the biggest of their outbuildings into a yoga studio.
25:26But today, they need to turn their attention elsewhere.
25:30It's an exciting day. The windows and doors are arriving for our jeet.
25:33And they should be arriving in the next half an hour.
25:36So today, I really want to get all of them in.
25:39But I would like just the window and the door indefinitely.
25:43That's my main goal today is to get those two in.
25:46The interior of the jeet was finished several months ago.
25:49But their window order was delayed.
25:52And they have an added incentive to make sure the jeet is watertight.
25:56Lolly's brother Greg has agreed to sell his home in London and will soon be moving to the village.
26:05He's going to be chasing the solicitors this week for an exchange date.
26:10And this will be his little home with his dog for...
26:15Well, I've got to kick him out, actually, by the end of March,
26:17because that's when we have our first paying guests in the jeet.
26:22Centuries ago, the windows may have had flattened animal skins drawn across them.
26:26But Lolly and Sean have opted for double glazing and brushed aluminium frames.
26:32Oh, it is a big wagon.
26:35At a cost of 12,000 euros, this is the biggest expense of the whole jeet renovation.
26:41Magnifique.
26:43And Lolly and Sean have just been informed that today's driver is in training.
26:49It's good when they've got training day.
26:51Yeah. Why are they doing training day on our delivery of windows and doors,
26:56which we really don't want anything to go wrong.
27:02The delivery makes it to the ground without incident.
27:07But as the operator raises the mechanical arm, there's a problem.
27:12He's caught it at the back a little bit.
27:17They're putting him to task with quite an expensive set of windows and doors.
27:23And unfortunately, he's caught it with that arm.
27:27An awkward conversation with the windows company later, the truck is on its way.
27:35They're insured, so they get it sorted, so it is what it is.
27:39We're going to put it in, and then they can work out and replace it how they replace it.
27:44So it's down to them now.
27:45Yeah.
27:46And now there's another problem.
27:50Doesn't go anyhow.
27:51Is it too wide?
27:52Yeah.
27:53But this one isn't caused by human error, but rather the quirks of this centuries-old building.
28:00It might get wider in that corner, actually.
28:02Let's have a little look.
28:04It's still heavy-ish, so just be careful.
28:08But Loll is feeling more confident.
28:11It should go in. It's as tight as anything.
28:13You might need to chisel a bit out there.
28:16They measured where it would go into the recess.
28:20But, of course, the walls going into the recess are 94 and this is 95,
28:25so we're going to have to make a couple of adjustments to get it in.
28:33And by a couple of adjustments, what Sean means is cutting into the stone walls,
28:38showering their newly decorated jeet in dust and dirt.
28:43It's like a snowstorm in there.
28:46I'm just keeping myself to myself.
28:51But Sean has soon removed enough stone to squeeze the window frame into the recess.
28:58Well, that's positive.
29:00It's where I want it to be.
29:02This is level.
29:03So if I can get a screw this side, screw that side, then I know it's level.
29:07Never easy, these jobs.
29:09As the sunlight begins to fade,
29:14what should have been a 15-minute job has now taken three hours.
29:20That's the wrong way round.
29:22That's always good.
29:23But finally, the first jeet window slots into place.
29:27Oh, my gosh!
29:29Yay!
29:29That one, Jean.
29:30That's amazing.
29:31Well done, darling.
29:33I want to go home.
29:35You are?
29:36Oh, yeah.
29:39Sean was determined to get one window and one door in today.
29:45And though the sun may have deserted them, Lolly and Sean battle on,
29:49bringing their jeet one step closer to being watertight.
29:55It just uplifts it again.
29:57It makes such a difference, actually.
29:58Even though there's only half a door on,
30:00but seeing the window as well together looks amazing.
30:03It looks magical.
30:04So it's good.
30:05Sonte.
30:06Cheers.
30:06Have a good day.
30:07Well done.
30:18140 miles away in Chamon,
30:23fellow village saviour Dan is about to reach dizzying heights with his progress.
30:30This is the very last section of floor joists to cut.
30:37Ever.
30:39With the weather finally on their side,
30:41work to finish the chateau's highest floor is just hours from completion.
30:46So we're on the last two little segments of floor now,
30:49so I'm just cutting them down here, passing them up to the boys.
30:52Hopefully in a few hours we'll have that whole floor finished and boarded
30:57and we can stand on the highest point of the chateau.
31:00We're going to have a little celebration,
31:01a little barbecue with a few friends just to celebrate the fact
31:04we finally got them all back.
31:08And after cutting more than 600 joists
31:12and 1,200 noggins,
31:17the lads are ready for a well-earned break.
31:20I am looking forward to just the silence.
31:25No saw sounds in the background.
31:28No noggins.
31:31And in two weeks we'll start it all again.
31:33Yeah.
31:34Fortunately for the moment, the end is in sight.
31:38Well, that's all the wood cut, all the little noggins cut as well,
31:43so all we've got to do is basically put this jigsaw together up there.
31:49Dan has scoured historical records to ensure this grand space is restored as faithfully as possible.
31:57During the war, it's believed to have served as a dormitory for the older girls and the refuge.
32:04Before that, it's likely to have been the boudoir of its original owner.
32:09The chateau was built in 1886 for wealthy opera singer Eugénie Bardet,
32:15who lived here with her daughter Gilberta.
32:18No expense was spared in its design and legend has it it played host to her lavish soirees.
32:27Dan's celebration today may not be as opulent, but for him, it's just as momentous.
32:35It really is, the floor has just gone in party.
32:39Normally when people host parties in chateaus, the last minute stuff is like,
32:42have we got the right forks on the table?
32:44Have we got the floor in?
32:50At last, the job is done.
32:55And Dan wants to share the special moment...
32:58Whoa!
33:01This is weird.
33:02..and take his first ever steps on the highest balcony
33:06with the lads who made this happen.
33:09Been looking up at this for two years nearly.
33:13We did it.
33:16Well done, sir.
33:19For Dan, it's the first glimmer of this becoming a home.
33:24Bath, right there.
33:27It's a view we've never seen before and we keep looking around
33:30and every different corner there's something new to see,
33:34which is just amazing and standing underneath that arch,
33:36which we've been looking up at for so long now,
33:39it's just the best feeling.
33:43After two years of solid graft, Dan has experienced his fair share of lows.
33:50This is going to go for miles, this cork.
33:54That's my job.
33:55Whoa!
33:57But as highs go, this could take some beating.
34:07Hello!
34:09What were you?
34:11After months of solitude, Dan finally shares this milestone with friends.
34:16Amazing!
34:17How are you?
34:18It's amazing.
34:19It's the best view.
34:21Look at that view there.
34:24Bringing life back into these long silent walls.
34:28You did it.
34:29Literally no idea, though, of how beautiful it would be looking down.
34:33Heralding the dawn of a new chapter in this chateau's unfinished legacy.
34:39To finally get to this stage is really good.
34:43And we've achieved something between a really small team,
34:45which a lot of people didn't think we could.
34:47So that in itself is a success, I think.
34:50After this, we can now get the roofs on.
34:52We can get it dry.
34:53And that's a massive step in a project like this.
34:56It's no longer a ruin.
34:57It is now a chateau.
35:04Coming up, a breakthrough for Jonas and Ulrike as they battle to restore the village's water supply.
35:10A local community got together on this project and they started to dig.
35:16And then saw the pipe is going in that direction.
35:19And a close encounter for Kate in Bulgaria.
35:22Through the night you could hear scratchy, scratchy.
35:24So obviously there's an animal or something up in the roof, which was interesting.
35:47But yeah, it was good. It was really good. I slept really well.
36:06And then to wake up to just cockerels, it was so peaceful.
36:13This smallholding dates back to the early 20th century and consists of two farmhouses,
36:18one of which is still standing, and multiple outbuildings.
36:22The newest addition to the estate was built in 1959.
36:26And though this house was recently updated, it still lacks many modern essentials.
36:34So I've got no plumbing at the moment.
36:36So I've got no washing machine, I've got no sink, I've got no toilet.
36:39Well, I have got a toilet outside, I've got an outside toilet.
36:43I've got no kitchen, I've got no bathroom and I've got no heating.
36:47So the first things that I want to do is get the plumbing sorted
36:51so that I can put in a little kitchen and my shower and toilet.
36:58Kate has lofty ambitions for this abandoned estate.
37:02This crumbling farmhouse will be rebuilt and together with the outbuildings
37:06will be turned into a collection of holiday cottages.
37:10But her own needs must come first.
37:13So today, Kate's meeting with local electrician Jozef and plumber Ilya.
37:29The house has no running water and is too remote to be connected to the mains sewer network.
37:36So fixing this has just become her top priority.
37:40We have to put a septic tank in for the toilet and the dirty water and we're just trying to
37:44work out where.
37:46Former truck driver Kate has never project managed a major build before and is keen to take baby steps.
37:53Fitting the septic tank will be step one.
37:55An estimate.
37:59For materials, how much?
37:59Yes.
38:00For wages, how much?
38:01And do I buy the toilet, shower and sink or how does that work?
38:09How much?
38:13Yes.
38:15Yes.
38:16Yes.
38:17And then everything is set and then they know and I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
38:21Yes, yes, yes.
38:38The essentials need to go in, you know, you need a bathroom, you need a shower and you need a
38:44little bit of a kitchen area.
38:45It's only me. So, you know, I don't need the best of everything, just the basics and I'm good to
38:51go, you know.
38:53So, yeah, it will be nice to have those bits in.
38:57For now, Kate is really going back to basics, washing her clothes in the same way as the original owners
39:03would have done just after World War One.
39:08This to me is heaven. No noise, no people. It's so nice, honestly, so nice.
39:17Kate moved to Ores for a fresh start following the death of her husband.
39:22And though her first few days here have felt like an extended camping trip, today marks the start of a
39:27bright new future for both herself and this forgotten corner of rural Bulgaria.
39:34This is my piece of heaven now. This is it, you know. All the pain that I've been through, it
39:40was worth it just for this piece, you know.
39:43So, it's just lovely. It's stunning here.
39:48I don't want a lot in life. I really don't.
39:59In Kund, Jonas and Ulrika are facing a similar battle to Kate as they fight to boost their village's fragile
40:06post-communist infrastructure.
40:09Wells across the village recently ran dry. But luckily, as a group of cycling guests set out on a five
40:16-day tour, the couple are breathing a sigh of relief.
40:20Last night, the resort's water supply held out.
40:26There is something that we learned, which basically is things always work out in the end.
40:33But the recent drought weighs heavily. The challenge now is to find a lasting solution.
40:39We want to develop infrastructure in the village, so running water, sewage system. It would be pioneering. It would involve
40:49getting many people together, which still is a huge issue in many rural communities, unifying a community.
40:58Since the fall of communism, many villages have been wary of collective projects.
41:04But with the water shortage threatening the health of their livestock, they recently came together to search for new water
41:13sources.
41:15What we knew was there is a pipe from here that is connected to a spring somewhere.
41:21So the local community got together on this project and they started to dig and then saw the pipe is
41:30going in that direction.
41:32What they uncovered was an old groundwater well.
41:36Now pipes have been laid to reconnect the spring to the village's water system.
41:42Next week we will be able to connect also the resort back to this spring and we will not have
41:48to bring over a thousand litres in by tractor every day.
41:54By working together, the villagers revived the spirit of their forefathers.
41:59The Saxons fostered strong social bonds within their settlements, forming organised groups known as Nachbarschaften, who tackled communal tasks like
42:10well construction.
42:14For Jonas, rebuilding that deep sense of community is essential for the village's future.
42:22One thing that this crisis has shown us is the power of doing things together, of a community getting together
42:31and solving a problem that threatened the lives of so many animals and our business.
42:43The wells are slowly replenishing, just in time for the cyclist return and another group enchanted by this land of
42:50beauty and mystery.
42:53It's definitely my first time in Transylvania.
42:56I think a bike trip is a great way to see a wide swath of both villages but also the
43:02countryside.
43:03You know, I could be definitely encouraged to come back.
43:05It was such a lovely time and so I would love others that I love to also come and experience
43:10it.
43:11Tourism in Romania is rapidly growing, now welcoming more than 13 million visitors each year.
43:17It's great news for Jonas and Ulrike, but as the last few days have shown, it comes with great responsibility.
43:27As one grows, it's very important to not forget that we also have to create an infrastructure that supports all
43:37our new ventures.
43:41Sustainability is something that is very close to our hearts.
43:47And I think we have to see possibly at some point how far we can push the boundaries in order
43:56to still, in order to not affect village life.
44:01Saving Europe's lost villages is a delicate balancing act.
44:05A lasting solution to the region's fragile infrastructure may take gears.
44:10But like the Saxons before them, they won't give in without a fight.
44:20Next time, it's the dawn of a new era for Lolly and Sean.
44:24It's the first day, what I would say to me anyway, in paradise.
44:29Dan turns content maker.
44:32We're able to use social media and gain attention.
44:35In Romania, it's a case of delicate demolition.
44:39If we could save this original organ, this would be such a joyous experience.
44:44And has Kate's journey hit a dead end?
44:48I have to leave after 90 days, unless I can sort my visa, which isn't going to happen.
44:54It's going to happen.
44:56That's all right.
44:57So I'm not sure I can.
45:02I'm not sure of myself.
45:02It's going to happen.
45:23And, if we can see you in a new era for Lolly and Sean.
Comments