Escape To The Country Season 26 Episode 28 travels to the heart of Nottinghamshire, where Denise Nurse helps Canadian buyer Shane leave London behind for a peaceful countryside lifestyle. With two cats already part of the family and hopes of adding dogs in the future, the search focuses on homes with spacious gardens and plenty of room to grow.
Among the standout properties is an incredible three-for-one mystery house featuring two annexes, offering exciting possibilities for flexible country living. Denise also visits the iconic Sherwood Forest to explore how climate change is impacting its ancient oak trees and discover the efforts being made to protect this historic landscape. This episode highlights the charm and opportunity of Nottinghamshire’s countryside.
#EscapeToTheCountry #Nottinghamshire #CountryLiving #RuralLife #BritishTV
Among the standout properties is an incredible three-for-one mystery house featuring two annexes, offering exciting possibilities for flexible country living. Denise also visits the iconic Sherwood Forest to explore how climate change is impacting its ancient oak trees and discover the efforts being made to protect this historic landscape. This episode highlights the charm and opportunity of Nottinghamshire’s countryside.
#EscapeToTheCountry #Nottinghamshire #CountryLiving #RuralLife #BritishTV
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:03on escape to the country we get to toast the merits of some stunning period properties I
00:09can see you certainly have a glass of rosie right now but there's always room for some
00:15familiar modern comforts this is pretty close to what I would do if I was designing something
00:21there can be a lot to get your head around I must have absolutely no idea not very helpful Chris
00:30and some tricky decisions to make we've made it harder in a lot of ways so thank you very much
01:02with its sprawling ancient woodlands and stories of heroes passed down through generations
01:08Nottinghamshire is perhaps the world's most legendary county the Amazon forest is known
01:16as the lungs of our planet the giant forest of California is home to the largest trees in the
01:21world if you're looking for a forest for the folklore and legend then this is it Sherwood
01:28Forest because if these trees could talk imagine the tales they could tell the county of Nottinghamshire
01:36is situated in the East Midlands of England the area is synonymous with the legend of Robin Hood
01:44and with epic castles and extensive woodland it's not hard for tourists to imagine themselves following
01:51in the footsteps of his merry men the present residents are pretty merry too people will talk
01:58to each other when they pass each other on the street always happy to have a chat people have
02:02time for people up here so it is a very friendly place to be it's a county of contrast we've
02:08got
02:08Sherwood Forest then you've got Nottingham itself which is sort of a very busy busy city and the
02:14countryside around here it's just lovely to pick up the countryside and the urban side of the county the food
02:20scene in particular is amazing it's so diverse you can literally have anything from casualties to
02:26Michelin star there's literally something for everyone the market town of Southwell is often
02:32referred to as the jewel in Nottinghamshire's crown and is renowned for the two lead-capped spires on the
02:38minster known locally as the pepper pot spires crop well Bishop is a picturesque village with a strong
02:46farming heritage famous for producing stilts and cheese it's surrounded by countryside so if you love
02:53walking and or cheese it's a great spot to explore
03:09after years in the fast-paced world of investment banking today's buyer is finally powering down his
03:16computer for the last time and trading in city life for the peace and tranquility of the countryside
03:24former investment banker Shane was born in Canada but lives in Greenwich South East London I've lived
03:31in a city with less than 3 million people since I was 19 years old but he's found more residents
03:40doesn't always mean more community like guarantee that half of people live in London couldn't tell you
03:47three neighbors that live within a one block radius having taken early retirement he's now looking for
03:54a quieter location I live on a very busy street big city so just want to slow things down a
04:00little bit
04:01we're big fans of the show my mother loves it we've been watching it for years and so I thought
04:07why not
04:07apply I knew I wanted to remain in the UK and I know that I didn't want to be in
04:12London and I travel
04:13quite a lot so I need access to the airport see-through and Gatwick friends have recommended
04:20Nottinghamshire he believes the county should offer what he's looking for as well as a larger garden for
04:26more pets there's currently enough room for my two cats to run around but the plan is along with many
04:35others to adopt a couple dogs he'll be assisted by his friend Chris who made his own escape from
04:43London to raise his family in his hometown of Newcastle I will try keep Shane on track and I'll
04:49try and keep him focused on the job in hand but that is easier said than done Shane likes modern
04:56interiors
04:57and needs a minimum of three bedrooms plus a garden big enough for two dogs he travels a lot so
05:04wants
05:04good transport connections to London and to be in a community all for a maximum budget of 1.1 million
05:11pounds
05:19moving from London out to the countryside Shane does have a very healthy budget but I think even he's
05:26going to be a little bit surprised at just how much you can get for your budget in gorgeous Nottinghamshire
05:33we're kicking off our search with a property near the middle of the county in the village of
05:38Eakering but before we go see it I'm meeting Shane and Chris in one of the county's many forests
05:45one of the few places Shane hasn't visited previously you have been traveling I have a little list here I
05:53have indeed let's have a look so you have been in Calgary Toronto LA New York London twice my I
06:00had
06:00Hong Kong Sydney all of these amazing cities have I missed any that's most of them yeah yeah pretty
06:07much well it's a great county isn't it I mean you're looking for countryside it's all over it
06:20really is you're steeped in lots of forests lots of history so we're going to have a great time
06:25exploring here but it's going to be very different to city life and London life prior to this my real
06:32only experience with Donninghamshire was Trent Bridge for the cricket and that was in stay in
06:38the city center go watch a cricket match and never really exploring the rest of it but yeah friends
06:43will be coming up to go to Trent Bridge and watch cricket and for visit so Chris is that why
06:47you're
06:48here exactly yeah exactly yeah I'm picking the seats I'll be there this is very exciting amazing houses to
06:56show you great but we've also got this beautiful countryside we can just go and walk through the
07:00forest exactly and people to meet as well so let's get on with it indeed that's good
07:08the sought-after conservation village of eating was a Danish settlement in the 9th century and the
07:14name means circle of oak trees there's a community orchard maintained by volunteers and the park has a
07:21play area for kids plus an outdoor gym for grown-ups for the community there's a village hall where people
07:28are encouraged to socialize and less than a quarter of a mile away is our first property
07:34it has an attractive symmetry from the front but there's far more than meets the eye from this
07:39angle well Shane take a look at this property number one and we had to show you a good traditional
07:51farmhouse it's great seeing it from here we're going to get a better view if we stand up there so
07:55follow me sure now this is the reason I wanted you to see it from this angle
08:03yeah there's a lot more to it than you see from the street right isn't there yeah I love that
08:08little terrace area right there for sitting especially on a day like today right yeah I
08:12can see you sitting over the glass of rosé right now yeah there's a couple of wine clubs around here
08:20wow so you'd fit right in with a glass of rosé up on the terrace as long as you invite
08:23other
08:23people you've done your research you're invited thank you it's a gorgeous house let's get inside
08:30perfect great this farmhouse dates to the late 1700s and has been extended over the centuries to now
08:40boast over 4,000 square feet of living space we're starting our tour in the newest part
08:50you like open plan living I understand and this is the big central open plan space of this property
08:59yeah yeah oh it's less modern than I'm used to but it just has a really homey feel to it
09:08right like a
09:09country home do you cook like a lawyer yeah he's very good yeah if you like spicy food I love
09:17spicy
09:17well I guess being from the Caribbean yeah yeah I love some spicy food yeah well you should come over
09:22okay somewhere in Nottinghamshire sometimes a great cooker like that would work for you I love that style
09:28of cooker I was actually saying to Chris last night one thing I forgot to put on my wish list
09:32was a
09:34cooker like that and then turn around and then you're facing out to this they've got this
09:38wonderful light well here is this the heart of the home like many or are you actually I like to
09:43be
09:43in the snug living room we're talking about snugs and I just don't get the concept of snugs
09:48really I think I think they were calling them closets but I think it's a closet when you're buying
09:53and it's a slogan yeah right yeah well this is generous it carries on through there there's a pantry
10:00the boiler's tucked behind there but what I'm going to show you now is a couple of rooms which I
10:05find
10:06very snug like but not closets at all no no no so you get a second area with a dining
10:16table again
10:17doors leading to the outside wow but there's more through here keep coming so a very snuggie cozy room
10:25it's not a closet no no living room how do you feel being in this room it's like it is
10:36cozy I'm not
10:37sure I would lay it out this way but I love the light in it you can imagine just sitting
10:42here and
10:42reading right oh good reading room I like it yeah yeah yeah you can see that and you've got a
10:46room
10:46about the same proportions just the other side it's being used as an office at the moment is that
10:51something you need on going yeah I would like to have an office possibly yeah so you've got those
10:55options Shane is currently writing a couple of books and this home previously belonged to a
11:03children's author so perhaps he'll be inspired upstairs the middle floor has the required three
11:10double bedrooms as well as three bathrooms each with a freestanding tub give the size of this
11:16bathroom well it leads us through to this now what about this for a main bedroom yeah this is very
11:24nice again in the windows I mean it's all very light it's plenty big enough to is it yeah I
11:31think
11:31you need a bit more space go and have a look around there and see what else you get okay
11:34if you thought
11:35that big bathroom was for this room you would be right okay because what's one big bathroom when you
11:44would use this is your ensuite right probably yeah I would think but then it sort of begs a question
11:49what is yeah that for come let's discuss let's think about it so I'm thinking it could be he's
11:57off and he's thinking hmm that could just be one giant wet room sauna right yeah yeah yeah yeah that's
12:07not a
12:07bad idea actually on the top floor there's another pair of bedrooms one with an ensuite then a separate
12:16staircase leads to a sixth bedroom above the main suite the land covers nearly half an acre and includes
12:24a former barn with planning permission to create more living space as if there wasn't enough there are
12:31mature fruit trees vegetable beds and still plenty of garden for Shane's prospective two dogs to run
12:38around in so there's lots of potential you've seen the whole house it is stunning how much do you think
12:44it's on the market for 1.1 so 1.1 million pounds yeah okay I'll just let you more 1
12:52.2 this house is on
12:54the market for offers over 1 million pounds okay well wow okay it's a little bit less than I thought
13:02it
13:02would be well so do the numbers add up to a sound investment for Shane this 18th century property has
13:11a
13:11huge kitchen six bedrooms four bathrooms and almost half an acre of land all available for offers over
13:20one million pounds I was really thinking country type houses I was looking for something more modern
13:28but I like it a lot more than I thought I would like something like this I can see the
13:33attraction of
13:33living in a place like this in a village like this very pleasantly surprised it's a lot of house really
13:39and for what it's on for I think it's something that certainly deserves consideration you've said
13:43the ball rather high looking at this property as Shane has lived in some of the largest cities in the
14:02world including the Big Apple we thought we'd send him to discover not New York but Newark on Trent the
14:11River Trent is its Hudson River Northgate station its Grand Central the spire of St Mary Magdalene would be
14:18its skyscraper and the 12th century castle would be well New York doesn't have castles so Newark wins
14:26hooray and if this do or upper can pull itself together by tomorrow maybe it could be Shane's mystery
14:34house the castle is most famous for being the site of King John's death in the year 1216 Anno Domini
14:43is that light I think so and Shane wouldn't be the first city slicker to settle here before living
14:53here I'd always lived in big cities I've lived in Manchester London Istanbul and I have really kind
14:59of dug myself in over the last eight years it is very typically friendly and sociable as a small town
15:06you get to know everybody and yeah I'm stuck here I'm not moving I love it we got loads of
15:13shops you
15:13got all the cafe and you need to go if you want to go and then you can visit the
15:18countryside very easily
15:19and the travel is quite convenient in addition to the town's rail links it's just off the a1 and within
15:2640 miles of Nottingham Lincoln and Leicester but really there's no need to go anywhere else we have
15:33got vibrant cafes we've got some lovely pubs in Newark some of them I think some of the best in
15:39the area and we have a very good art scene going on with a lot of local artists and some
15:46galleries
15:46that operate in Newark as well which is fantastic one gallery is housed in the town hall along with a
15:55museum and there's another dedicated to the town's importance in the English Civil War so although they
16:02only named it once there are plenty of reasons to be a part of it hair in Newark for our
16:16next stop
16:16we're making our way to the north of the county headed for the market town of Redford at the heart
16:22of the town is the market square lined with Georgian buildings the pedestrianized shopping streets offer a
16:29range of independent stores plus bars and restaurants to socialize in outside St. Swithin's church is a
16:38grade 2 listed cannon captured at Sevastopol during the Crimean War of the 1850s during that century the
16:47population doubled from 6,000 to 12,000 and the town became linked to London by rail today the station
16:55offers a direct route to the capital in under 90 minutes and just a short 15 minute walk away in
17:01a quiet pocket is our next property
17:07so we're taking you from farmhouse to the grand house
17:12well it just screams open my open plan on the outside I would say it looks very light very airy
17:19it's just a sense of space it's bespoke one of a kind and I think they've done an excellent job
17:35this home was designed by the current owners and completed in 2023 it includes a 10-year build
17:43warranty and is full of cutting-edge features as well as environmentally friendly ones highly insulated
17:50and with underfloor heating it's been given a very favorable EPC rating this is a bit different
17:56isn't it you couldn't get more of a contrast you really couldn't from what you saw this morning
18:03farmhouse and now we've walked into something new but they've kept a lot of natural materials
18:08which is different right so we've got the metals we've got the brickwork it's almost like a loft conversion
18:14in a city where they keep the brickwork and they keep the you know some of the original
18:18thing and just open the light up and cleaned up this makes me think of like sort of lower Manhattan
18:25but then you look there and there was forest through the window you probably wouldn't get
18:29that in lower Manhattan probably not no come on let me show you through here well this is about as
18:35open plan as it comes right I mean look at this I think this hands down goes as one of
18:40the biggest
18:42I can't even call it a breakfast bar you know it's not it's not it's not at all is it
18:47yeah this is
18:47amazing entertaining space it really is cooking music beautiful view to the garden right again the brickwork
18:55the way that everything is laid out is just so clean yeah yeah and this is probably pretty close
19:01to what I would do if I was designing something on the money I can very much they share living
19:06here well
19:07let's keep this good momentum going let me show you the other room over here great great alongside the
19:16kitchen is a utility room a shower room and a study that extends into the garden then back across the
19:23double-height entrance hall is the main reception room and look at this for a living room yeah this
19:30is super nice too again it's just a really open room the way they furnished it the owners the design
19:36is amazing but the way they furnished it is pretty impressive too yeah obviously it gets a lot of light
19:42through here just the way that it's done it's just very modern that blend of clean modern lines
19:52interspersed with the surrounding natural world creates a green glow that continues upstairs up
20:00here sit three bedrooms in a row and at the opposite end of the landing is what I propose as
20:05the main
20:06bedroom now this one is a blank canvas you get that full glazing there looking under the trees high
20:15ceilings yeah and turn around to look up there oh wow there's your bathroom so through there you've got a
20:24shower bathroom toilet dressing area great get up the spiral stairs and that's your bathroom yeah
20:32plenty big right I love these floors I really do I think while it's a modern house it's not cookie
20:39cutter it's not all boxes is it and so it still gives you character still gives you some quirks even
20:46just the shape of the room the fact that it's not square yeah it's a nice touch I think it's
20:50time for
20:51you to get up explore on your own and then come tell me what you think of the whole property
20:56afterwards
20:56great all right thank you thank you very much you are released thank you oh wow it's expecting this
21:05after the master bedroom I think if this is a guest bedroom the guest should be very happy yeah your
21:11bedroom that's for your mother right what a fantastic view these windows that go up into the roof I think
21:20are
21:20magnificent and they really show off those wonderful trees everywhere you go here it's bespoke it's
21:27beautiful it's ultra modern but it's also got so much character I mean this is just a dressing room
21:33right so you don't really need a lot of light but you would just get the aspect of the forest
21:39but this
21:40gives you the top of the trees and the sky I mean it's amazing it opens it out doesn't it
21:45yeah
21:50outside the low-maintenance landscaped gardens wrap around the home and feature multiple zones for
21:57chilling out in the Sun how much do you think this is on the market for hmm I must have
22:05absolutely no
22:06idea that's not very helpful Chris a million offers in the region of a million I would say 850
22:18you're getting better at this all right this one's on for offers over 1 million pounds right okay and
22:25I'm getting worse offers over 1 million pounds for this striking contemporary home with supersized
22:35features including an open-plan kitchen and a grand main bedroom with a split-level ensuite it's
22:42energy-efficient with a high EPC rating and has a secure landscaped garden ideal for pets it's just
22:50very clean minimalist new it's a good combination of modern technology fittings a very open plan I love
22:58the exposed brickwork I love the fittings and the bathrooms are amazing everything is just very clean
23:04anyone that knows me and knows my style would say this is much more me clearly it's absolutely
23:09branched back in you it's modern design modern build and it looks incredibly modern it's a very very
23:16impressive property despite its excellent transport links and peaceful countryside Nottinghamshire offers
23:31better value property prices than the national figure the UK average is around four hundred and thirty
23:37eight thousand pounds compared to the county average of three hundred and forty six thousand
23:43but if you like the area you'd better be quick as that affordability means demand is high and rising
23:50particularly for detached properties local estate agent Sara Smith can explain more we've seen a steady
23:58growth this year I think it's a result of regeneration that's in the area and so it's naturally kind of
24:04encouraging people to come to this area I think apart from the obvious like the price and the value yeah
24:10why would they come into Nottinghamshire I think generally because of the regeneration but also because of
24:17what we've got on the doorstep and there's some great cultural and culinary places which is a real draw
24:23for people I think just the location the lifestyle the natural beauty that we've got that's a huge draw I
24:28think for a taste of what else is on the market how about this lovely blend of modern with traditional
24:36it
24:39boasts a shaker style kitchen a good-sized sitting room and three bedrooms upstairs set against a rural
24:47backdrop it's priced at two hundred and eighty thousand pounds or if you fancy something a little older this
24:55delightful Elizabethan cottage has red brick features and exposed beams throughout it comes with four
25:03generous bedrooms a mature garden to the rear hand is on the market for four hundred seventy five thousand
25:10pounds as for the rental market available options include this terraced home in a rural hamlet with
25:18three bedrooms gardens front and rear plus use of a double garage for eight hundred and seventy five
25:26pounds a month
25:34yesterday we introduced Shane to some traditional countryside living with that gorgeous period
25:39property but then we showed him something very modern everything he'd asked for and he seemed to love them
25:45both such a day with our mystery house it's going to be a blend of the two let's see what
25:50he thinks about
25:51that we're traveling to the East Nottinghamshire village of South Clifton the location of our mystery house
26:02the village is a designated conservation area due to the historic importance of many of the buildings yeah
26:09this is a quiet village yeah not Piccadilly circus that's for sure it's surrounded by cycle routes and footpaths
26:21where Shane and Chris are taking a stroll while I go prepare the property in the heart of the village
26:29along a gated drive
26:30is our final offering we do like to mix things up with the mystery house so this is it a
26:37petite house with a living room
26:39and a kitchenette plus an en suite double bedroom upstairs well that could be for when friend Chris visits
26:48of course that's not all there's an even larger annex with a double garage that Shane could use as a
26:54gym
26:55plus a lounge opening to the garden a decent sized kitchen and again an en suite double bedroom upstairs so
27:03that's the weight bench and visiting family sorted to but of course that's not all either for there's
27:10a third building packed with modern finishes wrapped up in character and it's this one that could be the
27:18mystery home for Shane look at this bolted ceilings it's got period features it's got charm and underfloor heating now
27:29that's the modern touch
27:31so it's three for one the kind of deal former investment banker Shane would snap up
27:41to the mystery house
27:42welcome hello to the mystery house
27:44wow it's a bit different isn't it what you've got is a barn conversion yeah okay but the reason it's
27:52a mystery is because this one gives you three for the price of one
27:55we're diversifying your portfolio a little bit okay so you get one two and a third dwelling wow
28:02wow all on this plot wow that's an amazing wraparound acre of land yeah beautiful well it's mysterious
28:09i think it's quite interesting from the road you've got no idea to you correct but yeah i can't wait
28:14to see some more okay
28:16let me show you some more great
28:20this collection of buildings were first raised in 1752
28:24but the interiors are modern as they were only converted to residential dwellings from 2012.
28:31look at this wow wow yes wow indeed love the fireplace yeah the fireplace is very focal
28:39got lots of natural materials again yeah feels open and airy and light all around yeah courtyard here
28:48great floors yeah i was actually saying it feels quite homey yeah it does it's very modern on the inside
28:54the floors are beautiful yeah but you have the period element of the beams and the height of the ceiling
29:01it's rustic and feels comfortable
29:04okay yeah let me show you some more great this building is arranged in an l shape around a courtyard
29:13so from the main living room you turn left into the kitchen
29:18another amazing kitchen i think yeah beautiful isn't it lovely yeah very modern central island again yeah yeah
29:25yeah yeah but look at this i mean the glazing all the way across right yeah straight out into that
29:30courtyard all light in here
29:32that's one thing that strikes me about you know for a kitchen to have windows looking out of the terrace
29:38like that it really is
29:39again i wasn't really expecting this kitchen
29:43after that right it's sort of rustic and again was expecting maybe a slightly older kitchen but it's all very
29:49modern
29:49while keeping with the beams and the stonework you know a lot of houses you walk into and you can
29:55kind
29:55of figure them out right away when you walk in you can go okay i bet you there's two bedrooms
29:59up here
29:59now we're through the main reception room into the kitchen and i still don't know what
30:04it's back there what's over there what's so it's kind of it's still a little bit of a mystery right
30:09i mean
30:10we're getting there bit by bit well the next bit is further along from the kitchen
30:16where beyond a family bathroom is the main bedroom which comes with an ensuite shower
30:23so this is one of the four bedrooms right it's got ensuite and the door right out onto the garden
30:29yeah
30:30nice little quaint yeah these barns used to be stables right ah yes yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
30:37yeah i love how they've kept the beams beams are cool through here well it continues in this sort of
30:43style great throughout the property yeah i can very much see you living here mate and i think it's
30:48um it's a bit more to your sort of needs almost that you don't need to have too big too
30:55many bedrooms
30:57easy living sort of nice kitchen nice room outdoor living i think this i could see you very much being
31:04very comfortable here you take those happy feelings go explore the rest okay i can't wait to hear what you
31:09think when you've seen it all okay we'll see you in a bit off you go above this bedroom is
31:16another with a
31:17window that would amuse the cats then back at the other end of the building there's another ground floor
31:23ensuite bedroom with a room above that's used as an office and features a low opening onto the lounge
31:29mezzanine good luck chris well that was very easy that was fun for you right yeah i'm not gonna do
31:40that
31:40again did you bang your head no no well i like the way it flows onto the kitchen kitchen flows
31:48onto the
31:48courtyard so it's not a super modern open plan but it kind of flows room flows to room nicely it's
31:54not
31:54boxy and you know kitchen over there yeah dining room over there i think flow describes this quite
32:01well actually yeah across the gravel driveway is the largest addicts well similar sort of theme right
32:09high ceilings beams all coming out into another courtyard but it's a good size yeah i mean you could
32:18almost turn this into maybe a office slash study area i don't know and then tucked into the garden
32:26is less of a man cave and more of a man house that could be shane's writing studio or a
32:32self-contained
32:33rental the substantial one acre plot includes the patio areas a vegetable patch and a small paddock
32:41previously used for sheep and alpacas there she is so how much do you think this is on the market
32:49funny
32:49i knew you were going to ask me that and i was thinking about it but i kept getting distracted
32:53by
32:53all the buildings um i would say
32:591.15 okay one million one hundred and fifty thousand pounds correct i'll go i'll go quite a
33:06lot lower i'd say eight fifty it's on for offers over 995 000 pounds almost like right in the middle
33:12exactly yeah yeah that's all right you're a little bit closer yeah offers over 995 000 pounds for this
33:24sprawling three-for-one mystery package boasting a total of six bedrooms and five bathrooms across three
33:32separate self-contained units they are all packed with period features including high vaulted ceilings
33:39with exposed beams and the zoned garden fits a wide range of purposes probably out of all of them
33:45this one's most challenging i would say simply because not only is a mixture of period and modern but
33:52just uh figuring out how how life would be really with two annexes a main building um how you
34:00actually get some use out of them so yeah it's given me different things to think about having
34:06walked around the whole place get a sense of what's going on i really can see shane living here i
34:10think
34:11he'd be very comfortable here he has the flexibility to be his own stamp on the property so put a
34:16gym
34:16where he wants to use annex for the guest room or whatever it may be but i think the flexibility
34:21then he gives them some optionality there's no doubt who the county's best known resident is
34:39as the globally famous robin hood made his own escape to hide out in this wood centuries ago
34:45but today it has another important tale to tell
34:54being here in sherwood forest is like stepping into a storybook that's come to life
35:00the towering ancient trees the daffled sunlight filtering through the leaves
35:04this is home to some of the oldest trees in the uk but with a changing climate some of these
35:10ancient
35:11trees are in need of a helping hand and i've come to find out how
35:18sherwood forest covers more than 420 hectares and it's a unique habitat for all kinds of flora and fauna
35:28the rspb senior site manager for this important reserve is holly drake
35:35this place is magical isn't it holly yeah and the trees you've got everything from young trees
35:41through to the ancients but what are the challenges that these wonderful trees in this forest are
35:46facing now from climate change and everything else that's changing climate change is probably not
35:52just affecting sherwood it's probably affecting everywhere all over the globe sherwood we have seen
35:57it we have had extreme weather events if we have extreme droughts the trees go into stress because
36:01they can't access that moisture and that might potentially affect their growth in future years
36:06stressed out trees i never thought about it i know so what are we looking at around here i mean
36:11what's
36:11the age of these sorts of trees um this one here is a next generation tree so that's not one
36:16of our
36:16oldest ancients next generation i like it sounds quite funky what does that mean how young or how old
36:21would it be yeah so this is the next generation of ancients so it could be up to potentially six
36:26seven hundred years old okay um so they're still quite old trees but they are you know not at that
36:32nine hundred thousand year old so given that you've got trees that are six seven hundred years old and
36:37older they sound quite resilient why do they need our help now we want this space to be as magical
36:42as it
36:43is now in a hundred years time in two hundred years time we want to do everything we can do
36:48to
36:48protect these habitats we provide educational tools in the visitor center and some of the interpretation
36:53to tell people those stories for me we educate people they can go away they can tell their friends
36:59their families you know their loved ones all about what they've learned and that for me that inspire to
37:05educate is the big piece for me there are over one thousand ancient oaks here the largest collection
37:14in europe and much of the wildlife that thrives in this unique habitat is rarely seen outside the forest
37:21deadwood habitats are what make sherwood special so if there is an ancient tree that has deadwood it
37:27could be aerial deadwood what we want to do is preserve that sometimes what we do is we can put
37:32interventions in place where we actually strap the trees so behind us is one of our ancients called
37:37mr split mr split mr split is actually a standing deadwood that is still as vital habitat as a living
37:44ancient tree so what we try and do is make sure we band it and we keep that dead hulk
37:51is what we call
37:52it so the hulk together to stop it collapsing because inside of that is the vital habitat for the
37:58invertebrate species that are here on the site
38:02one current resident of the forest is not quite as famous as robin hood but is probably older
38:09this is our major oak so it potentially is even up to 1200 years old it's been here a very
38:15long time
38:15it is our star icon to bring people here we have a lot of people wanting to visit wanting to
38:22see it
38:22and just understand how we can help protect it for the future
38:25and it looks like there's a bit a lot of work to help protect it even back to the edwardian
38:31period
38:31right at the top of the tree you can see we've got chains that are from the main stem back
38:36to the
38:36limbs to try and keep it from dropping them we've also got some props so um there were wooden props
38:42in place when the fence was put in place around the 1970s to try and stop people going to the
38:47major
38:48oak because there's a lot of compaction through decades and decades of people enjoying this space
38:52you know the actual ground underneath the major oak is as solid as concrete right because of the
38:56amount of people that have been and looked at it and the kind of footwear that it's had around it
39:01so what we've done is obviously we still keep the fence line in place we let the area be more
39:06wild
39:06because the variation of flora that we can have on here the better because different flora has
39:11different depth roots so that kind of breaks up that kind of concrete pan that we're talking about
39:16we're also doing some work around the base of the oak so we're actually manually aerating the soil
39:22with the support from volunteers and trowels and a lot of hard work um in conjunction with leading
39:28soil and tree specialists in the uk because if we can do that it'll get more nutrients it'll get more
39:33oxygen and the tree hopefully will be able to get all of the stuff it needs to grow easier but
39:39it is still
39:39growing it is still growing we still have leaves um so yeah it's it's still there what we want to
39:45do is try
39:45and preserve it for as many years as we possibly can moving forward absolutely we want this to keep
39:49going it's been so wonderful talking to you here and you have so much knowledge the fact that we're
39:55getting this out for other people to learn from and to carry on this amazing heritage is fantastic
39:59yeah thank you it's been great and thank you for being part of the story
40:05it's almost impossible to imagine what the world will look like in a thousand years time but hopefully with
40:12the help of holly and her successors this mighty oak will still be around to see it
40:22well we've shown shane a great selection of houses this week and had great reactions so let's find
40:28out what he's going to do next
40:33so having spent a couple of days with us how are you feeling about
40:37moving out into the countryside 100 confirms what i previously thought that country living is
40:43definitely for me the first few properties we saw especially property number one um because when i said
40:49i wanted something modern in a country setting i was pretty sure that i wanted modern but property
40:56number one surprised me how much i really liked that um you've given me a lot more to think about
41:02than i
41:02would have previously thought about which has been for me probably the the biggest takeaway you've made
41:07it harder in a lot of ways so thank you very much for that i think next steps are certainly
41:14to
41:14explore the villages around property number one property number two and just get a feel for things
41:20so if you were going back would you have a second viewing yeah absolutely i think house number one and
41:26house number two i would like to see again get a feel for the area get a feel for what's
41:30around it
41:31this is exciting isn't it isn't it you could either go for exactly what you said you wanted
41:35yeah or something completely different yeah exactly yeah and nottinghamshire is the county for you
41:42i think so yeah i'm pretty sure thank you so much for going with us on this journey and letting
41:47us in on
41:48this next chapter of your life thank you very much it's been amazing best of luck and of course when
41:54you buy let us know absolutely we'll keep in touch thank you thank you very much we've had a wonderful
42:04week here in nottinghamshire showing shane a great selection of houses and i think we've given him a
42:09bit of a dilemma he's ended up with not one but two properties that he wants to take a second
42:14look at
42:14for me i've had a chance to get to know this wonderful county and what's not to love the trees
42:21the birds the weather it's had it all now for shane i truly hope that he enjoys those second viewings
42:28and makes a decision and he moves out here very soon and i hope you join us soon for more
42:34escape to
42:35the country having had time to review the homes shane's front runner is now the modern house we showed
42:42him plus another contemporary home in the county but he needs his own house sale to go through first
42:49we hope it all works out for him as soon as possible so he can begin his new chapter in
42:55the countryside
42:56if you would like to escape to the country in england northern ireland scotland or wales
43:01and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:22so
43:31you
43:32you
43:39Transcription by CastingWords
Comments