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help we bought a village s04e32 skyfire
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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, innit?
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.
00:49Who 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.
01:02Into beautiful homes.
01:04This is no longer a ruin.
01:06It is now a chateau.
01:08And 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.
01:21As 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.
01:37Today...
01:37Stand keep clear.
01:42Peeling back the layers at a neglected French hamlet.
01:45And that is why I stand well clear.
01:48Meanwhile in Normandy...
01:50These are the old traditional scales that are dying out now.
01:54A master craftsman breathes new life into his village.
01:58When we're doing any renovations here, we are trying to keep it as traditional as possible.
02:02And in Spain...
02:03We've had massive storms for a good three weeks.
02:07A saviour battles to free his settlement from nature's grasp.
02:12It's the first one out of the way. It's about 155 to go.
02:27When the abandoned villages of Europe are taken over by our saviours,
02:31such has been their decline that many of the buildings are at risk of collapse.
02:35And costly emergency repairs are often required.
02:4170 miles from Caen, in northwest France, lies the hamlet of Le Oud.
02:48Dating back to the 17th century, Le Oud was once a vibrant farming community,
02:53where generations of French families worked the land and reared their livestock.
02:59Falling into disrepair in the latter half of the 20th century,
03:03some of its buildings might have been lost forever.
03:05If not for village saviours Paul and Louise,
03:08who purchased Le Oud in 2020 for 160,000 euros,
03:13and set to work reviving its fortunes.
03:20When you look at it all and you think, we made this.
03:24Yeah.
03:24We created a place where people like to come and stay.
03:29It does give you an awful amount of pride.
03:33We've had people come back more than once, you know.
03:36Several times, yeah.
03:37Several times, some people, you know, and we did that.
03:40We created that space that otherwise would not be there.
03:46Today, Louise and Paul are working in the old farmhouse.
03:50Their dream, to bring it back to life and to be their forever home.
03:54With their builders arriving imminently, their job is to remove the remaining internal structures.
04:00Part of the deal was, they'll keep the price down, we do the demolition.
04:03It's the principal farmhouse for the little village.
04:06And we would like to make it our forever home.
04:09So it's not going to be for rental.
04:12Our place, for us.
04:14We think it's absolutely beautiful.
04:16We think it's a beautiful old stone building.
04:20Bags of character.
04:21Something that's going to be a real pleasure and a joy to live in.
04:25With the 300-year-old building lying empty since the 1960s,
04:29it's not yet clear if those years of neglect have stored up any trouble for the couple.
04:38Stand keep clear.
04:43And that is why I stand well clear.
04:48Don't tell me they've actually nailed a piece on it, my God.
04:51No.
04:52What have you done?
04:53Can you just take that off my foot?
04:57Oh, ball.
04:58It's all right, good job, I've got to take this shot.
05:02Yeah.
05:04Right, I need a hand with this bit, please.
05:09You can take that end.
05:10Yeah, hang on, hang on.
05:11Because I'm going careful, even if you're not.
05:15Ow.
05:17Does that hurt?
05:18It does a bit, yes.
05:18Yeah, I'm sure.
05:20Hang on.
05:23Right, I can't go any further this way.
05:26That's okay.
05:36Hit my fingers.
05:39Ow.
05:45Actually, my finger's okay now, I just whacked it a bit.
05:47Oh.
05:49It's your foot I'm more concerned about.
05:51But don't move in these bits of wood.
05:56Paul?
05:57Yes?
05:58Stop.
05:58We need to have a look at your foot.
06:00Well, I'm going to move this beam first, then we'll have a look at my foot.
06:02We need to stop now and have a look at your foot.
06:07Okay.
06:09We'll stop now and have a look at my foot.
06:11As all our village saviours know, ancient structures hide many hazards.
06:16Paul has sustained a small injury from an old nail.
06:19Thankfully though, he's okay to carry on.
06:22And as the couple get back to work, they uncover more secrets from the past.
06:27We think there, there would have been, in that corner, there would have been maybe an old fireplace or something.
06:34Yes.
06:35I love the little bit of mystery and intrigue.
06:38It's all part of the fun of renovating this kind of house, because you don't know when you're going to
06:43turn up something of interest.
06:45So there could have been another chimney at one point.
06:48Basically, this is your chimney cover here.
06:50Yeah, yeah.
06:51Half cover.
06:53The heart of the home, the fireplace that once stood in the farmhouse, would have likely been kept to light
06:59most of the day.
07:00Keeping the residents warm, it would also have been used to cook meals to feed the hungry farm workers,
07:06after spending long days tending to the land and their livestock.
07:26Oh my gosh.
07:27Oh, there we go.
07:28With a crash and a wallop.
07:30Thank God no one was hurt in the process.
07:32Too much anyway.
07:33Just move those bits of wood out the way.
07:35Yeah.
07:36And then we are done.
07:38It's been hard work, but they've made great progress and uncovered more mysteries from the past.
07:45All in a day's work when you're saving lost villages.
07:48I think we're feeling tired but satisfied.
07:51Yeah, yeah.
07:51But I thought it would come down with a bang and the end, and it came down with a bang
07:54and the end.
07:55Today was another big step on the journey actually.
07:57It was.
07:58It was the last bit of the upstairs demolition.
08:00I had a feeling it was going to be one of the nastier bits.
08:02Yeah, it was.
08:03We only had one nail through the foot, didn't we?
08:05Yes.
08:06One nail through the foot, one set of bent fingers and that's about it.
08:09Fortunately, you've already had your tetanus jab, so...
08:12Yes.
08:13Otherwise, we got the house done, died a lockjaw, not good.
08:18So...
08:20I'm glad...
08:21Help we died in the village.
08:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:23Help we died in the village.
08:26But it's all good.
08:27All good.
08:28We're sorted, aren't we, Beb?
08:28Progress.
08:29Well done, you.
08:30And you too.
08:31Now everything has been cleared, it's a waiting game for the couple.
08:34Until the builders arrive, it remains unclear whether their historical structure is sound enough to be saved.
08:52Saving Europe's lost villages is not for the faint-hearted.
08:55Many become bottomless money pits, taking years to bring back to life.
09:01One former Spanish ghost village is almost two decades into its restoration, Arunada.
09:08Located 100 miles west of Gijón, the village is comprised of four stone buildings, a small forest, a mountain stream
09:15and eight acres of land.
09:19Neil Christie, originally from Newcastle, has been lovingly restoring Arunada brick by brick since 2005.
09:30It was a farming community.
09:32These places, they grew bit by bit by bit over a couple of hundred years as the community developed.
09:39And of course, until the end of the last century, they went the opposite way.
09:43Everybody moved out.
09:46So far, Neil has restored the main farmhouse and modernised the water supply.
09:51I'm really pleased to be able to restore the village.
09:55It's certainly been a big adventure, there's no doubt whatsoever about that.
09:59Best part of 20% of my life spent doing this.
10:02And hopefully, it'll last for many years to come.
10:08Now, Neil is focusing on giving more buildings a new purpose in life.
10:13A hundred years ago, these buildings would have been simple homes for farming families.
10:18Soon, they'll begin a new life as holiday accommodation.
10:23Today, the mayor of the local town of Taramundi is on site to catch up with Neil and wife Rosa.
10:30And the restaurator, what's going on?
10:32Yes, yes, yes.
10:34Progressively, a little bit.
10:36Very little bit.
10:39It's very intense.
10:41Yes, yes.
10:41Perfect.
10:42With Taramundi suffering from a shortage of holiday rentals, the mayor is hoping the extra visitors will help boost the
10:49local economy.
10:53Here, eventually, there's a kitchen in the center, in the corner, in the corner, in the bathroom, in the bathroom,
11:03in the bathroom, in the bathroom.
11:04Yes, yes, yes.
11:05And here, the sofa, the sofa.
11:08Yes, yes, yes.
11:09Very good.
11:09Very good.
11:12Very good.
11:15Very good.
11:16Very good.
11:17Very good.
11:17The restauration is that, if not, this would be a village that would be abandoned.
11:22Taramundi benefits, especially in the image we give to the outside and the people who visit us.
11:27Because it's not the same as the visitor to see a beautiful and beautiful village with gardens, flowers, plants, and
11:34houses,
11:36to see ruins.
11:37That, logically, is very different to the image of the village.
11:42We've got intentions of actually helping the tourist industry in one form or another.
11:48It's inspiration for others as well.
11:51I mean, they've sent quite a few prospective purchase of individual buildings.
11:56And they say, why don't you go and see Neil and Rosa?
11:58So, it works in both directions, you know.
12:02By what we're doing, I think, is actually a benefit to them as well as vice versa.
12:08Neil's vision to breathe new life into Arranyada is slowly coming to life.
12:16But, three months later, there's a major blow, with bad weather ripping through the village.
12:22The devastation is widespread, with dozens of trees damaged.
12:27And while the village's buildings are relatively unscathed, a lucky escape was made,
12:31when a huge landslide saw several tons of mud fall within a few metres of one of Neil's houses.
12:38We've had massive storms for a good three weeks on and off with horrendous rain.
12:45Maybe six months of rain in a week or two did cause a bit of upheaval in the normal plan
12:53of action.
12:53With the storm now passed, the clear-up must begin.
13:05It's actually damaged a few trees around the site,
13:09because we've had some horrendous gusts of wind and bushes uprooted, snapped in half.
13:15So many ancient trees were devastated by the winds.
13:19But the geology of Arranyada meant that they were already extremely vulnerable to these kind of weather events.
13:27We're walking on literally a mountainside of rock underneath here.
13:31And it's this pizarra, the rock which has got a sort of grey, shiny surface.
13:37And it's impermeable, the water run over the top of it.
13:41And the next thing you know, of course, is the soil drops on the top with all the leaves, things
13:45grow.
13:46They can't sink their roots into it.
13:49They go horizontally, which is fine if there's not much wind.
13:52But if you get sort of the height of these, plus wind, the momentum of force is going to be
13:57massive.
13:58The clean-up operation will take time.
14:01Only then can Neil get back to his building works.
14:04As all our saviours know, breathing new life into these lost villages is often a case of one step forward
14:11and two steps back.
14:16Well, OK, that's the first one out of the way. It's about 155 to go.
14:27Coming up...
14:31Tracy and Budo ensure nothing goes to waste at La Cloutière.
14:35I don't think I'd fancy doing this by hand with an axe.
14:39And at Le Woo...
14:41Let's lay it in the bucket if you don't mind.
14:43Louise and Paul have concrete plans for bringing the fun to their swimming pool.
14:48It's a bit like making a cake, isn't it?
14:50It is like making a cake, actually, yeah.
15:04When our village saviours take over the stewardship of a settlement,
15:07it's not just the many abandoned buildings that are desperately in need of care and attention.
15:12Often these settlements cover large expanses of land, neglected for years, and crying out for rejuvenation and rebirth.
15:21Such is the case at La Cloutière in northwest France, dating back to the Middle Ages.
15:29Wow, look, it's like butter for a knife.
15:31The village's oldest structure is its medieval barn, but it also boasts a 17th century farmhouse, a bread oven, and
15:42an abandoned cottage.
15:45The four-acre settlement was once home to a thriving farming community who kept herds of dairy cattle and worked
15:52the land to feed themselves and their families.
15:56For the last three years, it's been home to Londoners Tracy and Udo.
16:05I love the untouchedness of everything. Seems to be, you know, left as it was for years.
16:10I'm a carpenter and joiner, and I love everything that's to do with wood.
16:14And here we have an abundance of woodlands, forest.
16:18I mean, our whole land is covered in trees. I just love the countryside.
16:25Much of that plentiful supply of timber has been used for the ongoing renovations of the village's farmhouse,
16:32including the main bedroom, where Master Craftsman Budo has created a cosy hideaway for the couple.
16:38It was important for us to get in this room.
16:41I put a lot of effort into all the joinery to make it luxurious for us.
16:45I thought I'd make up some nice sash windows in oak, and I made the oak doors which I'm making
16:50throughout the property.
16:51This room is our one room of luxury.
16:54We just needed it so badly, and now we're here, we feel so much better.
16:59As well as the bedroom, their work-in-progress kitchen is also being handmade by Budo.
17:06Luckily for the couple, they have a plentiful supply of timber close by.
17:10But it's not just being used to make doors and kitchen cabinets.
17:17So, we're in our woodland, one of our woodlands, we've got two.
17:22And basically this here is our heating, our energy.
17:26It's all in the ground growing ready for us, so it's a win-win situation.
17:31The other good thing about this forest is, well, a lot of the species of trees that are growing here
17:36are what we call coppicing trees.
17:38So you can cut them and they regrow.
17:40You can reuse the wood, so it's an endless supply for the farmers.
17:44Which is perfect.
17:47In centuries past, the families who called La Cloutière home would also have made use of the rich rejuvenating forest.
17:54Chopping timber for both heat and building materials.
17:59Unlike those previous residents of La Cloutière, these days Tracey and Budo have some useful labour-saving devices on hand
18:06to help convert their trees into timber for their fuel.
18:11I don't think I'd fancy doing this by hand with an axe.
18:17We're wasting nothing, you know, everything's being utilised.
18:21It's also given back to the earth where we put the wood chippings down, they rot and the cycle all
18:27begins, you know.
18:27Yeah.
18:28Which is a lovely system, you know, it's the old ways.
18:30It's a bit roughy-toughy, you've got to work a bit hard now and then.
18:33But the rewards?
18:35The rewards are good.
18:36Brilliant, aren't they in the end?
18:37Especially on the pocket.
18:38For a village of this size to stay alive, caring for the land is as important as saving the homes
18:45and crumbling buildings.
18:47And with Tracey and Budo focused on both these aspects, as they rebuild La Cloutière, their village's journey back to
18:54full health improves with each passing day.
19:05Like Tracey and Budo, another English couple living in France are equally focused on the care and maintenance of the
19:12land that surrounds their substantial settlement.
19:15It's June at L'eau.
19:17Louise and Paul are taking a break from their demolition work at the old farmhouse, focusing on landscaping improvements around
19:25their pool.
19:27So today we're going to be making some cute stepping stones as a way up to the pool.
19:32This is our turtle that we use.
19:35I just wanted something that would be a little bit amusing.
19:40It's just a plastic mould which we'll fill with cement.
19:45Making batches of the turtle stepping stones three at a time, this is an ongoing project for the couple, which
19:51they hope to have finished by the end of the summer.
19:53Now, sling it in the bucket if you don't mind.
19:58I'll start mixing it up.
20:03It's a bit like making a cake, isn't it?
20:05It is like making a cake actually, yeah.
20:10I think this is good consistency, this.
20:13This one seems better, yeah.
20:14Yeah.
20:14One more, I think, for now.
20:16Okay.
20:17Give that a bit of a push.
20:21Well, it should be level with the edge of the mould.
20:25Maybe a little bit less, but I have to level it out a bit now.
20:30Yeah, I see it's leveling quite nicely.
20:31And I can see that we're missing a bit in the bottom here.
20:33I'll put a bit more in there.
20:36Down on this bottom pull here.
20:38Yeah, in particular there.
20:40I think that's it.
20:41Yeah, I think that's it.
20:43Since we've started the season and we've had people coming to stay, we've kind of had a bit of a
20:48hiatus and we haven't made many, but now we've got a little bit of a lull.
20:52It's a good opportunity at the moment to try and get some done.
20:55Right.
20:56I'll put this one over here.
20:57Yeah.
20:59We just need to wait until maybe tomorrow morning when they're nice and set and then we can continue the
21:05path.
21:08Drying paving stones using the heat of the sun is not a new process.
21:136,000 years ago, during the time of the pharaohs, the ancient Egyptians were masters of creating pavers.
21:20Mud would typically be dug from a river bank and then poured into a mould.
21:23Workers would then stamp on the mud with straw added to help solidify the mixture.
21:28The hardened final product was then used to cover roads and courtyards.
21:33With the sun doing all the hard work, Paul and Louise's turtle pavers are ready to be laid.
21:40Sadly, the little poor flipper things have broken off, but that's no problem because when I put them in the
21:47ground, I can put some cement in to make sure they're okay.
21:50At least his head's on.
21:52The other one's head came off as well.
21:54That wasn't nice.
21:57So, this is going to be the turtle superhighway to the pool.
22:03So, my next turtle's going to go sort of there.
22:08So, roughly I've got my turtle where I need him to be.
22:15Dip down a bit, sometimes there's rocks.
22:23So, I've done my rough sort of shape that I need to dig out.
22:28And see with this, if there's any stones, I can get them out as well.
22:36It's enjoyable.
22:38You get an opportunity to try new things and get to know stuff about yourself that you didn't know.
22:45Because I didn't think I'd be able to do it.
22:47That's way too difficult for me, putting stepping stones in.
22:52However, I've been doing a good job.
22:54So, you know, I was quite pleased with myself really.
22:56The turtles are good.
22:57They're solid.
23:00Doing this, running the sheets.
23:02I mean, the sense of achievement is enormous.
23:05It's given me sort of like a sense of newfound confidence.
23:11Okay, so I'm going to put a layer of sand in here.
23:17Here we go.
23:20There's my turtle turtle.
23:22Because obviously he was an amputee, let's say.
23:27His flipper on there.
23:29But that seems fine to me.
23:31So, there we go.
23:34One turtle.
23:36Pleased with that.
23:37Should like to get them done by the end of July.
23:41Fingers crossed.
23:47Coming up.
23:50Modern technology arrives in ancient Aranyada.
23:54That means I can just stand there and watch it doing the jobs that are me doing it.
23:59And in Normandy.
24:01Need a nice sort of creamy consistency.
24:06Budo's plastering skills defy gravity.
24:09That's the beauty of lime plaster.
24:23Back in France, at the historic farming settlement of La Cloutière.
24:28With the weather dry and bright, Budo is keen to get on with an outdoor job, finishing off the porch,
24:34which he built by hand using locally sourced oak.
24:38We had to build a porch, really, because the winters here can be very cold.
24:42The wind blows from that position at the house and the rain hits that part of the house as well.
24:47So, I built the porch there to give us a barrier between the house and the elements, if you like.
24:53Right, this is my trade on my carpenter and joiner.
24:55You know, it's all made of French oak.
24:57The whole of that porch has cost us about 280 euros in materials.
25:01But if you was having it built in England, you'd be paying, you'd be emptying your bank balance, put it
25:06that way.
25:07With the structure of the porch complete, today, Budo is using lime plaster to finish the base.
25:13A technique used widely by the Romans.
25:19So, I need a nice, sort of creamy consistency.
25:25That's not here yet, but I'll put a tad more water in that.
25:30Just a little bit more.
25:32Another mix-up.
25:39It's good to go.
25:41See the fibres in there?
25:44Put these fibres in.
25:45Gives it a key, so it all locks together.
25:49Traditionally, they would use the horse hair.
25:52When we're doing any renovations here, we are trying to keep it as traditional as possible.
25:58In centuries past, plasterers would have added hair from the manes and tails of horses to bind the mixture together.
26:05These fibres were extremely versatile, used in upholstery, for the bows of stringed instruments, and also paint brushes.
26:14Today, Budo is using synthetic fibres, and with his plaster now at the correct consistency, it's ready to use.
26:25Now, if it's true to form, I'm hoping this don't drop off.
26:30But it should stay on the hawk, and it's staying on the...
26:34That's the beauty of lime plaster.
26:48It's dried out a little bit quick, this plaster, so I'm having to wet it again.
26:52That's the key with lime, is you keep the water going on it very lightly, so the trowel moves and
27:00you don't get suction, too much suction.
27:04The only time I can put this plaster on is when the weather is dry, mild.
27:12You don't want it too hot, because it dries out too quick.
27:15And you don't want it cold and damp.
27:19It takes forever to dry when it's wet.
27:21So we're constantly battling with the elements here.
27:25But now we're in the summer, it's July, and it's a better time for me doing the lime plaster work.
27:32Budo is keen to help his village retain its original charm, so is adopting an age-old finishing technique with
27:40his lime plaster work.
27:41I'm just setting out the panelling I want. I'm trying to mirror these down below to give it some sort
27:48of symmetry.
27:49They say that word, symmetry.
27:52So I'm just setting this out now. I'm going to put a line through level.
28:01It's actually nice work, this plastering, the old-style ways.
28:06In the UK they call it pargeting. I think over here, I believe it's called stacco work.
28:16It's a bit of a slow, laborious job, but it's effective when it's done.
28:24Pargeting is the craft of creating ornamental plaster work.
28:28Italian in origin, its popularity spread across Europe in the 1500s,
28:32as monarchs like Henry VIII in England and Francois I in France desired their palaces to be as opulent as
28:40possible.
28:43These are sort of the old traditional skills that are dying out now.
28:49They don't tend to use too much.
28:53It's about taking your time, you know, it's using different types of tools from the past.
28:57I make a lot of my own tools for lots of different things.
29:00Like I made this little tool here, which is basically mitred at both ends so I can come into the
29:06corners to create this beading.
29:11So that's as far as I can really go with that as it is now.
29:15For Budo, saving La Cloutière is a real passion project.
29:19Step by step and brick by brick, he's slowly taking his village back to how she once looked.
29:25The way we're living now, I have a lot more time to explore my craft and all the other skills
29:30I've accumulated over the many years of working in the building industry.
29:35In the commercial world, you're rushing, rushing and everything has to be done on a deadline. This doesn't.
29:39We're taking our time and we're hoping that when we're finished here, this will last another couple of hundred years
29:44for the next generations coming along.
29:55Back in Arunyada, Neil is still dealing with the devastation wreaked by the recent storms.
30:01Having dealt with the damage to over 150 trees and bushes, Neil is now turning his attention to the landslide
30:07which nearly washed away one of the village's ancient dwellings.
30:11Such was the massive earth that moved, Neil has been scooping up mud for several days.
30:18This isn't the first lot, no. I've moved about 10, 12 tons of it already. I'm hoping this is the
30:27final time for this.
30:29Luckily, Neil's investment in heavy machinery means that despite the devastation caused, he's not massively out of pocket.
30:37So far, so good. I'll take it away now.
30:40And even though the landslide has seen a cloud descend over the village, Neil still managed to find a silver
30:46lining.
30:49I have a good topside coming out of there. I want to keep it for a future planting and planters
30:54and greenhouse and various other things like that.
30:59Just as he thinks things are beginning to go his way again, Arunyada decides to give Neil another headache as
31:06his digger makes an unfortunate connection with some underground cabling.
31:12These red pipes I put in before are actually for sort of just lighting around the place because it's really
31:22pitch black here. There's no street lights as such.
31:25It's very close to the surface, which I didn't realise how close it was.
31:30It's fixable, but it's another job to add to Neil's never ending to do list.
31:36So I'll cut that off square. You can get couplers. I've got plenty of this pipe, so I'll dig that
31:41out and put a fresh piece in. Problem solved.
31:46Despite the mishap, Neil's passion to save Arunyada never wavers.
31:52Things like this don't frustrate me at all. It's part of the experience of the place.
31:58I mean, if you don't embark on a complete ruin expecting everything to go, it's a plan all the time.
32:06Well, you know, I'm happy now it's the time is to put my spades down and I'm off for a
32:13cup of tea.
32:18Three months later, and despite his best intentions to kickstart the renovation of his potential holiday lets,
32:24Neil's projects are once again put on hold, having recently received surgery to correct an issue with his hand.
32:32The problem was trying to do things like holding nuts and bolts in the right hand in places I can't
32:39see.
32:40You couldn't actually feel where they were.
32:43I'm pleased it's done now. It is actually improving little by little already.
32:47I've got some feeling back in my thumb, which I didn't have before.
32:51Until such time that his hand is fully healed, Neil has hired Wayne to manage all aspects of the maintenance
32:58of Arunyada.
32:59With eight acres of land, it's quite the task.
33:03OK, I've got to the stream.
33:04You've got all the way through?
33:05Yeah.
33:06Well done, that man.
33:08There's a bit in the middle, but I haven't done yet.
33:09You can't get to, no, I'm not surprised.
33:11Around the edges.
33:12Well, next week maybe, eh?
33:14Yeah.
33:16Oh, hey, very good.
33:18Is that you for today then, eh?
33:19Yeah, I reckon so.
33:20Fine.
33:22Good job done.
33:25Neil's not one to let an injury completely stop him from working on his village.
33:33Ever inventive, Neil has built a remote-controlled lawnmower.
33:37Using modern technology, he hopes to tame some of the wilder aspects of his ancient village.
33:43This is a sort of crawling chassis turned into a lawnmower.
33:50I bought it as a sort of semi-kit, I suppose.
33:54A very powerful little tool, actually.
33:55The biggest problem I had with it is it didn't really like the steep angles.
34:00So I built some stabilizers to stop it getting over a certain angle so it won't flip over backwards.
34:07Because it's quite steep in places here.
34:10And I'm a bit frightened of it actually disappearing over the mountainside, something like that.
34:15While he's not able to lift a hand to work on the land or his many properties,
34:20he is able to give his recuperating thumb a good workout.
34:30This is confidence work, you see.
34:34I quite like it, to be honest, because that means I can just stand there and watch it doing the
34:38jobs that are me doing it.
34:48Coming up...
34:49I'm always learning.
34:50I've gone to a high level in carpentry and joinery and I'm still learning.
34:54Budo calls on more ancient skills to stay true to his village's heritage.
34:59If you keep your mind open and you keep learning, you just get better.
35:03And at L'Ou...
35:04We have found a couple of issues.
35:06Well, they're quite big issues.
35:08Louise and Paul's builder delivers some bad news.
35:11What we really need to do is underpin it.
35:13This sounds expensive.
35:26Back at the farming settlement of La Cloutière in Normandy,
35:30today Tracy is making cuttings in the lavender field,
35:34as the couple slowly begin to establish a blossoming agricultural venture.
35:39Because they're young plants, I'm going to actually cut all the flower heads off.
35:46That helps the actual plant itself to put the energy back in,
35:50so it's not concentrating on the flowers, it's concentrating on making the plant stronger.
35:57This lavender will not go to waste.
35:59I'll dry this and it will probably be turned into little lavender sachets or even tiny bouquets.
36:06All these cuttings that we've done here have actually come off the,
36:09what we call the mother plants.
36:11These were planted a year and a half ago,
36:15so hopefully next year these plants will look very similar to this.
36:19It's such a lovely feeling to know that we can look and plan to the future.
36:25Meanwhile, as Tracy looks to the future,
36:28Mudo is concentrating on the past,
36:31continuing his decorative plaster panelling work on the porch
36:34while still respecting the village's past.
36:40Everything old is just lovely to me.
36:43Tracy and me love the old stuff, you know, we don't want nothing modern and too new.
36:49I like this style.
36:50I liken it to maybe a Georgian period with the windows.
36:54It always reminds me on the inside when we look out, it reminds me of the victory,
36:58the HMS victory in Portsmouth.
37:00It's got that feel as if you're on the back of the ship.
37:02But I don't know, I just love all this.
37:04I love anything old and period.
37:06Putting the panelling on here, it sort of gives it a more classical style,
37:10but an aged style as well, you know.
37:13I think it looks good.
37:14Another thing, I mean, it's this world blending lovely with the old buildings we've got around here.
37:18They built in them days with what they had.
37:21The abundance here was stone, wood, oak and, you know, lime and clay.
37:28And slates would have come later on these houses.
37:31You'll see loads of houses in Normandy, you've got a slate on,
37:34but originally they would have been thatched.
37:35And this would have been thatched.
37:37And we could tell there's telltile signs of that on the chimney
37:40that show little ledges where the thatches used to sit up to.
37:46Normandy is a region renowned for its thatched buildings,
37:49a labour-intensive roofing method using locally sourced materials like straw and reeds,
37:55which were tied in place with wicker.
37:57The move away from thatch as a roofing choice coincided with the Industrial Revolution.
38:02Throughout the 19th century, as canals and then rail developed,
38:07this infrastructure allowed for heavier and cheaper roofing materials
38:11to be more easily transported,
38:13with slate becoming a popular and easier-to-maintain option.
38:17Just give me a little guiding area to go with to set my panel out,
38:22and I'll just build it up as I go.
38:31It's so therapeutic.
38:36Now that I'm semi-retired,
38:39I could spend lots of time doing things a little bit slowly, you know?
38:45Bearing in mind this is more sort of my hobby, really.
38:48I'm a joiner, cabinet-maker, playing around with another trade.
38:54Classrooms will be watching out there, and they'll say,
38:56what's he doing?
39:00So I put it on like that,
39:02and then I let that set up for a little while,
39:05just to pull the air, the air will blow on it,
39:08and then I'll mould it with the other tool.
39:11I'm always learning.
39:12I've gone to a high level in carpentry and joinery,
39:14and I'm still learning, you know?
39:16And I've been doing it since I was a teenager.
39:18If you keep your mind open and you keep learning,
39:21you just get better.
39:24Doing other trades as well, for me,
39:26it's practice, practice, practice,
39:28but listening to the old-timers and how they do things,
39:31and you pick up more information,
39:33and you learn something new every time.
39:35Budo's philosophy of lifelong learning
39:38is beginning to pay rich dividends for their village.
39:41With such dedicated and mindful custodians,
39:45La Cloutière's rebirth and its long-term legacy
39:48look far more assured.
39:5817 miles away at Le Où, it's now September.
40:01Inside the old farmhouse,
40:03all the debris from the demolition work has been cleared.
40:07Outside, Paul and Louise's builders are on site,
40:10shifting mountains of earth away from the back of the house.
40:13Once removed,
40:14they should be able to give the couple an indication
40:16of the property's structural integrity.
40:19Unfortunately,
40:20some historic structures on the ground
40:22will have to be demolished.
40:25This is the ex-pig shed here
40:29that will actually have to be toppled.
40:31It's a bit of an eye-saw.
40:34So, it'll be good to get that gone.
40:38Well, that didn't take much, did it?
40:40While the pig shed was beyond salvage,
40:43Paul and Louise hope that the farmhouse,
40:45their potential dream home,
40:46is built of stronger stuff.
40:49Their builders should be able to tell them soon enough.
40:53It's an amazing structure,
40:54and we want to keep it as authentic as we can.
40:57The amount of money that we need to plough into this project
41:02means that it's much better to do it for us than for Ajit.
41:06When it's done, it's going to be a lovely little home for us.
41:10It's exciting.
41:12With much of the earth now moved away from the rear of the property,
41:16builders Keltson and Stuart have been able to inspect
41:19the structural integrity of the farmhouse's back wall.
41:23For Paul and Louise, it's not good news.
41:28Come and have a look.
41:31Basically, there's no foundations.
41:33This building was built straight on this ground.
41:38So, there's nothing to stop it from sinking more.
41:42We've got to deal with it, make it safe and strong.
41:46Yeah, look at that.
41:54Keltson has the unenviable task of breaking the news to Louise.
41:59Okay.
42:00I'm back.
42:01Good, okay.
42:02Sorry.
42:04We have found a couple of issues.
42:06Well, they're quite big issues.
42:09This building is built directly on this soil.
42:14Right.
42:15Which is super, super soft.
42:17Right, okay.
42:19What we really need to do is underpin it.
42:22It's the only way of saving it.
42:25What does that mean?
42:26What do you actually do?
42:26Okay, so what we have to do is, every metre, we have to do a pocket, which we have to
42:31go under the wall and fill it with concrete.
42:34And then once that pocket has set and dried, then we have to dig next to it and do the
42:41same again, and we fill that with concrete as well.
42:44So, basically, we've put a new foundation in.
42:46Right, okay.
42:47This sounds expensive.
42:49Well, it takes time to do it.
42:53I mean, we need to do what we need to do, because if we don't do this, then we're going
42:57to have issues, aren't we?
42:59Massive, yeah.
43:02Yeah.
43:02Either you do it, or we scrap a whole project.
43:05Exactly.
43:06I mean, if you could let us know what the cost will be.
43:10We'll give you an estimate figure later.
43:12Yeah.
43:12Okay, a ballpark.
43:13Yeah.
43:14If you ever speak with Paul, we'll get a 100% price for you after, if you're happy.
43:19If it's going to be massively expensive, then we're going to have to have a major rethink.
43:25Yeah.
43:25Nightmare.
43:26See what we can do.
43:27Yeah.
43:27We'll have to leave it at that for now, then.
43:29Yeah, okay.
43:30And then I'll have a big chat with Paul when he finishes work, and, you know, we'll sort something out.
43:35Yeah, okay.
43:36Okay.
43:36Right.
43:37Yeah, super.
43:38A devastating blow to Louise and Paul's plans for the old farmhouse.
43:45I would be extremely loath to abandon this project at this point.
43:50I would be very, very, very upset.
43:54It's not great, you know, so hopefully it will be a price that we can work with.
44:00It's all up in the air at the moment, but we'll find a way.
44:04We generally find a way, you know.
44:07Sadly, these are the realities when you become the custodian of one of the ancient villages of Europe.
44:13300-year-old buildings are full of surprises, and not all of them are nice.
44:24Next time, Neil juggles the multiple demands of his lost village.
44:30Any one time there could be eight to ten different jobs running in parallel here.
44:34While in France, Tracy and Budo's Hamlet calls out for help.
44:38I wake up every day, do the job, go to bed, think about a job, wake up, do another job.
44:42And that's my life.
44:46Elsewhere in Normandy...
44:47We've just bought a money pit here. This is never going to end.
44:51Louise and Paul have to dig deep.
44:54Abandoning the project really isn't an option for us at this point.
44:57We've got a lot of stuff.
44:59We've got food and food.
45:04People are pretty much.
45:05You know?
45:16We don't.
45:16We've got food and food in the country, there's a lot more.
45:16We've got food and food, but I'm not sure.
45:16But it's not too much of the stuff.
45:16We'll let go.
45:18We need a food here.
45:18You know, the world will 나오�ly help you have.
45:27We'll allow you to find different ways.
45:27We'll let go.
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