Escape To The Country Season 26 Episode 40 takes us to beautiful Sussex, where Denise Nurse helps a couple from a Berkshire commuter town search for a distinctive countryside home full of character. With a preference for quirky features and standout design, the property selection includes some truly impressive homes that deliver plenty of wow factor.
During the journey, Denise also visits the Royal Botanic Gardens at Wakehurst to learn how climate change may influence the future of gardening and plant conservation. This fascinating episode highlights the creativity, charm, and forward-thinking lifestyle that make Sussex countryside living so appealing.
#EscapeToTheCountry #Sussex #CountryLiving #UniqueHome #BritishTV
During the journey, Denise also visits the Royal Botanic Gardens at Wakehurst to learn how climate change may influence the future of gardening and plant conservation. This fascinating episode highlights the creativity, charm, and forward-thinking lifestyle that make Sussex countryside living so appealing.
#EscapeToTheCountry #Sussex #CountryLiving #UniqueHome #BritishTV
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00:02when escape to the country house hunters are fans of unusual properties we go into overdrive
00:08even when the relocation plan seems a long way off I said that I would get our home ready for
00:19you when you retired you can't retire for the next 20 years local experts can offer a fresh
00:27perspective it's a new twist on stop and smell the roses yeah but it's best when we're all in step
01:05Britain can be beautiful whatever the weather but when the Sun shines the colors of the countryside
01:11pop that little bit more meaning Sussex one of the sunniest places in the UK just might be the
01:18prettiest and as for the homes here let's just say you won't be disappointed
01:28now if I were to ask what your favorite part of escape to the country is I'm sure most of
01:34you
01:34would say the mystery house well today you're in for a treat you'll be blown away by our special
01:40selection of extraordinary homes any one of which could be a mystery house and what do they all
01:46have in common well they're all located right here on England's breathtaking South Coast
01:54the counties of East and West Sussex are situated along the English Channel encompassing the South
02:01Downs National Park and two national landscapes there is seven sisters of lots of walks lots of places to
02:09see look at where we are this is absolutely gorgeous
02:16peace haven sits above the coast where the Greenwich meridian meets the sea the town was founded in 1916
02:23by an American entrepreneur to provide new opportunities for those looking to escape crowded cities sound
02:30familiar
02:35moving 30 miles east and back a mere 850 years the town of battle was anything but peaceful and today
02:44many businesses celebrate perhaps the most significant event in British history while the inhabitants of the
02:53nearby towns and villages sing the region's praises most of the time it's sunny and and and bright and it's
03:01a it's a it's a a nice place to live
03:05I like the people here because people is so polite and nice and they look after each other and it's
03:11like a very good community here
03:16out at sea is a wind farm capable of powering 350,000 homes
03:22the county is rich with history but with an eye on the future
03:30so that's the glorious location now let's meet the couple hoping to find a one-of-a-kind home here
03:39hi I'm Alan and I'm Sue and here we are in a local park looking for inspiration for our forever
03:47home garden
03:49IT director Alan and recently retired chemical engineer Sue have lived on the outskirts of the
03:56Berkshire town of Windsor for 20 years where they raised their daughter to Lula and now that our daughter's
04:03left home we are at a turning point
04:09they're finding their neighborhood is getting more built up and their garden is less peaceful it'd be
04:14nice just to listen to nothing or the birds you know just a bit of peace and quiet when you
04:19want
04:20it really sit there and read a book they met at a swimming pool and both loved the water so
04:27somewhere
04:27near the sea would be great ideally within 90 minutes of Tallulah in southwest London we both
04:34are experienced divers so we would like to migrate to the coast but we couldn't decide quite where but
04:42they do have a clear idea about the style of property I love something that has got a tower or
04:48something
04:49different about it something creative and it needs to be big enough to accommodate this creative pairs
04:56numerous hobbies the guitars and too many pedals there's my tapping board it doesn't get used it up
05:07and I'd really like some more space and to experiment with my cooking skills
05:17Alan and Sue want a quirky house with a peaceful wraparound garden where they can grow flowers and
05:23produce Sue would like a bigger kitchen and they both need room for their hobbies they haven't specified
05:29an exact area but would like to be between the sea and their London-based daughter and with their budget
05:35of 1.5 million pounds I have every faith we'll deliver
05:49Sussex really is a perfect county to move to at any stage of life because it gives you options
05:56you're still going to be connected to you know city life if you want to because you can easily get
06:01to
06:01London and other places with the great transport links but it's quiet it's tranquil and it's rural
06:09so it's really the best of both worlds and the contrast don't end there you've got fabulous
06:14countryside views everywhere you look and a coastline to die for
06:23and it's within one of those fabulous countryside views that I'm meeting Alan and Sue
06:32here we are in beautiful Sussex so nice to meet you both tell me more about the kind of properties
06:38you've been thinking about because that's been the main focus for you hasn't it we've lived in
06:42suburbia most of our lives and we want something really different something quirky and we've looked
06:47at lighthouses and windmills and converted water towers and things like that yeah and we're also up
06:54for a project as well so it's not just we don't want to just walk into somewhere that's perfect now
07:01Sue's retired she's going to do all the heavy lifting yeah I'm learning how to plaster and things
07:06I love it well from the sounds of it every house needs to be a mystery house for you two
07:11and that's ideal for us having watched the program for many years it's the mystery house that we're
07:16really interested in yeah so if you can present us with loads of houses that are totally different
07:20ideal I think we can manage that sounds brilliant thank you shall we get going this way
07:31the village of Nutley is in the East Sussex region of the high wheeled national landscape it's on the
07:37edge of a former royal deer hunting forest but it goes back even further and Roman coins have been
07:43found nearby it could be that some of the Romans descendants run the Italian restaurant there's also
07:52Indian cuisine and a traditional pub as well as a coffee shop and a convenience store the village
08:01hall offers a wide range of activities where Alan and Sue could take up even more hobbies so buckle
08:08up for the short ride to our first house as this week is all about the unexpected they mentioned
08:15they'd be interested in a property with something like a tower and you know how we like to deliver
08:22come and have a look at this well you don't disappoint I give you that goodness me I love the
08:32curves
08:33obviously that's really fantastic I like the modern and the old I think it blends really well this is
08:39quite dramatic well let's see how the drama unfolds fantastic
08:47this former oast house dates back to the 1830s with the glazed lounge extension added in 2007
08:55we're entering behind the roundels and turning left into the central living room
09:00so mystery revealed oh wow into the main living room this is stunning I love all the quirky components
09:11here that's lovely it's got solid oak flooring and given how it looks from the outside I think this is
09:19actually quite snug and warm and comfortable very surprising yes amazing lovely we've stumped you
09:26haven't we yeah absolutely speechless yeah really am wait till they see the views of the south downs
09:34from the extension this is what it's all about isn't it oh it certainly is yes haven't they done a
09:40great job
09:41here it's fabulous it fits in so well with the old building it's seamless it's beautiful it's superb
09:49it's it is breathtaking I should have said that already I think I'll settle into it quite well
09:58I'll be quite fine well let me keep this good vibration going and show you the kitchen
10:07now you are treated to two roundels with this property yes one on either side as you can see
10:13you get that for your kitchen so that's unusual isn't it it really is yes I like this a lot
10:18I like
10:18this the curvature is superb so you've got the fitted kitchen that fits all of those curves recently
10:25done so you've got modern appliances built in it's really good to see it actually in place as opposed
10:31to coming into something like this and thinking how would we manage that yeah so it's fantastic
10:35I feel like we've had a good success down here it's been beautiful so far all right let's see some
10:40more
10:41great in the opposite round door is a formal dining room and the ground floor also boasts a good size
10:50utility room with a shower then stairs lead up to an elevated reception room so this is a bit of
10:58a
10:58surprise as well I think oh yes this is lovely it's been great so you can see they used to
11:06sit here
11:07the couple yeah and enjoy the view before they added the extension I was thinking could be an office
11:12I think if you had a desk there you'd be happy you'd be happy for a while
11:19each roundel has a large double bedroom with an ensuite
11:25oh this is nice this is really different I like that oh it's fabulous and you cannot escape as if
11:32you'd want to the views oh yes that's unbelievable yeah I love it I love it and it'll just be
11:40different
11:41every day rain or shine just be different yes and of course we've got your hobbies to accommodate this is
11:46it we haven't talked about that yet no is that what's playing in your mind where's my tap dancing
11:51room I hear you're a keen tap dancer now is that right well I'm keen but I'm not very good
11:59it's a skill to practice isn't it yeah I do really enjoy it I love the um uh the the
12:06friendships that
12:07I've developed through the tap dancing classes so it's really good fun
12:13to the rear of the house is a family bathroom shared by two more bedrooms one could be Alan's
12:19music studio and the other Sue's tap room oh this could be a nice room but it's more for tapping
12:26fear
12:28maybe not then in which case there's a triple bay carport and if that's still not enough the land
12:36covers around 2.5 acres and includes a paddock so sue and her dance pals could go full busby berkeley
12:46and when they're all tapped out the garden is already well stocked with flowers fruit veg and quirky
12:53ornaments well what do you think of the garden you're the keen gardener it's fabulous they noticed that
13:00we've got some vegetable beds down the side there I think there's a little greenhouse as well that's
13:05right so actually it might have everything that I desire I think it has everything and more
13:10potentially maybe this house comes with two and a half acres it's about two and a half acres which
13:16includes this paddock oh oh my goodness that's amazing that's lovely well you've seen everything
13:24and now it's time to assess how much you think it's on the market for
13:30I'm going to go for 1.2 million pounds okay that's the opening bid what have you got Alan
13:38I'm going to go higher at 1.3 because of this right I think this is just such a big
13:45bonus
13:45it's smack bang in the middle it's on for one million two hundred and fifty thousand
13:51oh wow that's good that's yeah interested that we're so close
13:59inspired first guesses for this 19th century oast house blending new and old with the glazed
14:05extension and packing the quirky punch with twin roundels housing a kitchen diner and two of the
14:12four bedrooms the land covers around two and a half acres and there are views of the south downs as
14:18far as
14:19the eye can see all for 1.25 million pounds it's stunning i love the brick work but just that
14:27it's a
14:28host house it's beautiful and of course the additional feature of the glass room at the front is is fabulous
14:39this house has caught me off guard i did not expect uh escape to come up with the profile that
14:46we
14:46actually asked for i thought you were going to deliver something a bit more ordinary and this
14:52has blown me out of the water to be honest
15:08we're keeping the momentum going and hopping over the border into west sussex
15:13where our next home is located in the village of southwater
15:19potential hobbies are catered for at both the village hall and sports center
15:23and there are also several pubs shops and a surgery just half a mile from the amenities
15:31at the edge of the village is the property in question alan was blown out of the water by the
15:36last
15:37so what will he make of this heavenly victorian vicarage it's stunning isn't it now with this option
15:45alan and sue will feel like the king and queen of sussex
15:52this grade 2 listed property was built in 1854 by renowned gothic revival architect joseph clark who worked
16:01on over 20 churches across england this is a grand house and every grand house needs a library
16:12a dining room
16:16a drawing room
16:19and even if they felt like it their own dedicated wine cellar
16:26with five bedrooms seven reception rooms and even more to get around i just hope alan and sue arrive
16:38soon
16:39that looks magical
16:42hello
16:42look at this it's unbelievable unbelievable yeah i was absolutely speechless
16:49shocked us into silence again again yes oh my goodness me absolutely stunning
16:55big smiles i can't my face is aching what's making you smile so much because it's just so beautiful
17:04well there is an awful lot of house to show you here so let's get started
17:10the pointed arches of gothic doorways actually serve a structural purpose
17:14by redirecting weight downwards lesson over time for the tour
17:21so welcome to the very grand entrance hallway come on in
17:26that is quite stunning and come through here wow now look at this this is the first of many rooms
17:38i
17:38will show you i think this is the library i'd say oh my goodness yes your office maybe maybe i
17:44think
17:45it's inspiring views outside that's quite amazing you've got a real positive from me on this one this
17:51is all positive absolutely
17:57while much of the house has a very traditional feel this is a far cry from suburbia
18:04so a drawing room oh if you please
18:08wow this has got some character it certainly has i get that it's a lot to take in but are
18:14you looking at
18:14now with like interest or with eyes that are thinking oh what would we do with this i'm on
18:19the what would we do ah yeah because there's obviously i think there's some features that possibly
18:25been added and i think you could stamp your own personality on it yeah so this could be a project
18:32it
18:32could well definitely yes yeah i like the idea have you ever taken on anything like that before
18:38not nothing this substantial you said you had a lot more time now i did and i said that i
18:43would get
18:43our home ready for when you retired well there you go you can't retire for the next 20 years
18:51it might take that long to get around the whole house so let's keep going
18:56so your dining room oh wait oh would you invite for dinner you've got 10 spaces here waiting that's
19:04substantial isn't it substantial i think we could accommodate people in here oh yes a good party room
19:10a good party room good size that's a feel about it so i really like that it's fabulous i think
19:16it's
19:16so much potential you know i'm just thinking ahead about how big a project and how much and oh don't
19:23get ahead of yourself you haven't even seen all the house let me show you the kitchen
19:30so the back of the house faces the garden it's got a lot of light it has it's a lot
19:36of you yeah
19:37yeah i think i'd probably want to address this in terms of its layout
19:42um but it's a good size now don't get lost but i am going to send you off on your
19:50own to explore
19:53with so many rooms we need new names for them so this one is listed as a morning room there's
20:00also a conservatory office studio not currently used but it could house a music room or tap room
20:08while up on the first floor there are three bathrooms each with double sinks and one with a
20:14bath fit for cleopatra oh look what's in here i did not expect that oh goodness me
20:26there are also three of the double bedrooms oh look at this this is grand isn't it very grand
20:36amazing gosh is that a don sweet there let's have a look oh good size oh oh that's lovely
20:49oh oh i think this might be the master then that's wow this is on a stop stand wow yeah
21:02then on the top floor sit two more double bedrooms oh oh oh gosh
21:09it never ends does it oh oh it's lovely isn't it gosh what you do with all that you know
21:16once we
21:17get over this shock then we can think about how we can use it perhaps
21:28outside wraparound gardens cover an acre and include an established koi carp pond
21:38hello hi we completely confused you oh i think you have it's been a joy and a mystery at the
21:44same
21:45time but it all comes at a price yeah how much do you think this gothic dream is on the
21:52market for
21:53so i think it's about 1.1 because i think it needs quite a lot of work doing to make
21:59it
22:00well certainly our dream home i cannot imagine that this is on the market for less than 1.5 million
22:07pounds okay this is on the market for one million six hundred thousand pounds okay so it's a little
22:15over your budget however it's been on the market for about three months i think your points are valid
22:21and that there's room for negotiation and so it's a property we really wanted to show you
22:29a truly remarkable victorian vicarage measuring over five thousand square feet that includes five
22:36bedrooms seven reception rooms and the wraparound garden it's situated on the edge of a village
22:43and on the market for 1.6 million pounds it's very imposing very impressive it's stunningly beautiful
22:56and trying to think of a purpose for each of those rooms as you walk through them i think it
23:01it just for me i need another visit but it does need money and investment and time
23:07but i could see myself living here
23:24properties in the southeast of england and those by the coast often cost more than the national average
23:31so sussex's double whammy means detached homes in east sussex cost about 573 000 pounds over a
23:39hundred thousand pounds more than the 471 000 england average but west sussex is higher still
23:47with an average price of 670 000 pounds
23:54but it's possible to find home significantly cheaper than that such as this grade 2 listed cottage tucked
24:01down a narrow street it offers two bedrooms and desirable features like a belfast sink exposed beams
24:10and a roll-top bath just steps away from amenities of a market town available for 400 000 pounds
24:22for offers over 550 000 pounds this deceptively large four-bedroom home is arranged over four floors
24:29and is presented with a bold and stylish decor that continues outside it's surrounded by greenery
24:37and lies less than half a mile from the sea
24:42or for something a bit different this tree house is accessed via a rope bridge
24:48and offers all the necessary facilities for a comfortable stay plus extra features like a
24:54handcrafted outdoor copper bath with rural views available from 345 pounds a night
25:07we had an incredible selection of houses yesterday and we had the sunshine okay so today it's raining but
25:13we are going to keep the energy high as you can see with alan and sue's fantastic budget and the
25:19freedom
25:19that buys we have really thrown the book at this house search still to come we have the mystery house
25:26and shall i say our most mysterious house or perhaps our least mysterious
25:33our final property is near the east sussex border in the village of beckley
25:41in the 1830s many beckley residents accepted financial incentives to emigrate to australia including
25:49the cultivator of the granny smith apple but the villagers who remain here love it it's got a pub a
25:56cricket team it attracts all sorts of families the countryside is beautiful around here and it's
26:01a great location to live we're an hour into st pancreas by train and folkestone is very close so
26:08you can go to france through the tunnel in 35 minutes somewhat closer in a national landscape
26:16formerly an area of outstanding natural beauty we find our mystery house or should that be our most
26:23mysterious house well this is what we have in store for alan and sue it's gorgeous isn't it and for
26:31many people this property epitomizes the english country dream but is it theirs
26:41finding space for alan and sue's hobbies has been a key part of this search and the mystery house has
26:47tons of room for them all plus some new ones this house is full of surprises but any room that
26:54can fit
26:55a full-size snooker table in it has got to be big enough for alan and sue and hopefully i
27:00will get my lucky break
27:09the aim of the mystery house is always to test our house hunters requirements
27:13and normally that's with something unusual but for alan and sue that means testing them with something
27:20less unusual so here we are we're at the mystery house the final mystery of all the mysteries our
27:33actual mystery house there's a quintessential english bathhouse oh it's beautiful oh and the sheep are
27:39here to welcome you it looks fabulous it does look fabulous it looks very traditional and beautiful
27:46it's bringing out the smile oh yes yeah it looks very inviting it's picture perfect it is picture
27:53perfect i think we should get inside oh yes come on jinx it this sizeable farmhouse has a timber frame
28:02construction with red brick walls to the ground floor and was built around 1690
28:10this is a gorgeous welcome to this property and that is an ingle nook i'm sold
28:20that's lovely that is such a nice feature to walk into and there's other wonderful features in here as
28:25well so we've got these windows which mean you get to look out this gorgeous garden so on the 150th
28:30anniversary of the installation of these windows wow a group of friends and neighbors gathered to
28:35drink a toast to the memory of the glacier that was in 1964 that's lovely so i think we're getting
28:42off to a great start in here yeah let me show you some more because as you saw from the
28:46outside it
28:47extends all the way through yes a dining room oh oh this is grand yeah lovely surprise this is a
28:56lovely room
28:57well if you like this come and look at this oh oh oh oh totally unexpected oh
29:09now question is this room big enough for you i know we've had some queries about sizes of rooms
29:14yeah we've talked about the space and i think this is just just a smudge on the big side
29:19for me i would just say it was immense immense i think any room that can fit this in and
29:25have space
29:26around it i think is pretty immense that's a full-size snooker table isn't it exactly
29:32that is stunning the size of the table is a little daunting i don't think i could
29:37manage to get a shot even with the rest but i'd give it a go yeah if i can do
29:42it you can
29:43show us that's done well there's one more room i want to show you on this floor you seem to
29:48have
29:48forgotten about it but the kitchen is also important too that would be useful oh most definitely yes
29:53oh look at this it's a real games room isn't it
30:01located back off the first sitting room is the kitchen oh this is a look look at the extent of
30:13the
30:13plane on that yeah yeah all the while looking out on this gorgeous garden that's beautiful
30:19that view is beautiful you know absorb it's just um mesmerizing take that thought with you
30:29go and explore upstairs i think you're going to enjoy that as much as you've enjoyed down okay
30:33and then i cannot wait to show you what's out there yeah i'm really right take your pick you
30:38go that way or that way let's go that way go on then off you go we can really scope
30:43it out see
30:44you later bye thank you how have we done this it's a mystery house show and yet the mystery house
30:50still does it again also on the ground floor is a library this is interesting yes oh
31:04well that's actually that's quite practical with the steep staircase
31:12and then on the first floor are two of the four doubles both with dressing rooms
31:20gosh that's oh that's a lovely size isn't it it is that's gorgeous gorgeous
31:26so there's a room here let's see if that's the uh on speed let's have a look oh that's quite
31:34modern
31:34it is there's another room in the far corner now oh i think you would like that
31:42oh this is lovely isn't it there's all these little touches that are really very gorgeous yeah
31:51the remaining two bedrooms are on the top floor there's nothing standard there's nothing
31:57predictable no no no even with the wall scones so shall we shall we oh let's have a look in
32:05here
32:05oh this is nice that's a lovely space
32:11watch your head
32:15oh that's a surprise i didn't expect another bedroom no not of this size anyway
32:24adding to the hobby potential there's a tennis court only recently resurfaced and five outbuildings
32:32including this large barn with a workshop at one end and an office at the other i promised you there
32:40was more to this property oh so step into this wow amazing outbuilding oh didn't expect this are you
32:51ready sue could be a bit that oh yes could be doing some tapping in here i love it time
33:00steps going on
33:02perfect it's perfect for a music studio i think you'll find because it's a lovely big space very airy
33:09and it all looks onto that pond see that's inspirational that's it you sit there tapping
33:14away creating music creating art and it will go by yes i'm desperate to get up to close to that
33:22i won't hold you back anymore go on you head out and i'll tell you what else is out here
33:26okay yeah thank you
33:32the grounds cover nearly three and a half acres and although they come with several sitting tenants
33:39most of them stick to the pond and the other group are fairly amenable
33:45so all we need to know now is the price how much it's on the market for okay i think
33:51it's going to
33:51be probably above our price bracket perhaps 1.7 million pounds okay and that's the figure i was
34:01thinking about so just to be different i'll say 1.6 million okay this property is on the market for
34:09one million three hundred and ninety five thousand pounds is it really it is really
34:21this listed 17th century farmhouse is on the market for one million three hundred and ninety five
34:28thousand pounds and comes with four beautiful bedrooms plus a whole lot more with a games room
34:35and a tennis court it's ideal for this active couple and also has five out buildings for more hobbies
34:43plus three and a half acres which include a well-stocked pond this really is the contender to pursue
34:56the whole space is very usable and instantly we could just move in
35:16given this week's incredible properties i might forgive you for thinking this was the next one
35:21but this is wakehurst a 16th century national trust mansion with 500 acres of diverse landscapes
35:30managed by the royal botanic gardens queue it houses the largest wild plant seed facility on earth
35:38and the gardens are a living laboratory for scientists to observe five years ago they introduced an american
35:46prairie which is where i've come to meet head of landscape and horticulture ian parkinson
35:53so here we are this is the american prairie tell me about the origins of this and how it works
35:59we've sown
36:00this with over 100 different prairie plants and we're really pleased that about 80 percent of those
36:06plants have already established and this is very much an experiment so this is us at wakehurst realizing
36:13that the climate is changing and that we need to change the way we garden so this landscape we hope
36:19will be far more resilient to that climate change many of the roots of these plants actually go down a
36:26meter in depth so they'll be really tapping into moisture low in the ground so should be able to cope
36:33better
36:33with the warmer drier summers that we're experiencing the most dominant plant here is the rattlesnake
36:40master which is the sort of lime green plant that you can see all the way through but then we
36:46also
36:46have some coreopsis coming through with real pops of yellow color and a whole range of other colorful
36:53characterful plants as well are these plants that are readily available for us to buy and plant in our own
37:00gardens
37:01for us absolutely um so there's not many surprises here and many of these plants will be familiar to
37:07all of your viewers and that's the beauty of what we're doing we want to make our experiment here really
37:13accessible to other people so they can take away some of these ideas and try them out in their own
37:18back
37:18garden but in terms of the benefits for nature in the summer this is absolutely buzzing with insects so
37:25the value for pollination is immense and we're actually trialing and researching at wake us the
37:31benefits of different types of habitats like a prairie in comparison to our own native meadows
37:40this is the site's coronation meadow created 10 years ago to celebrate the 60th anniversary of queen
37:47elizabeth ii's coronation wildflower meadows have long been essential habitat for our flora and fauna but
37:56since the 1930s around 97 of them have been lost we can help by replanting and protecting them but we're
38:05finding more and more that they can help us too we'd already sort of looked at anecdotally how just being
38:14in a meadow being in the woodland affected our children and then we started to look more
38:18scientifically in 2022 in a collaborative study with the royal holloway university where we had
38:24over a thousand children on site and 300 adults and we were looking at the well-being impacts really of
38:32connecting to nature across different biodiverse habitats and it's all about really sort of slowing
38:38down immersing yourselves and using all of your senses and the really beautiful thing was that as we went
38:44through and started to model how to crouch down how to look under leaves how to feel water on leaves
38:50that sort of thing the children just sort of instinctively started to do it and it was almost
38:54as if they'd been given permission to completely immerse themselves we learned that meadows a bit
39:00like here this is in fact this is where we brought the children had the most impact on them in
39:05terms of
39:05their nature connectedness scores compared to other habitats and also for children we noticed that
39:11the lower their well-being scores were before their walk through their habitats the greater the
39:16improvements following we have reports back from teachers who've gone back to their schools and
39:21they've done things like create a sensory garden which they use instead of a timeout room you know how
39:27much better is that that sounds wonderful
39:33now i'm not saying i need the timeout room but julie is going to show me some of the ways
39:38to connect
39:38with nature
39:45so we're just going to stop here okay and look up into the canopy which is what we forget to
39:49do
39:49sometimes when we're in nature just look at all of those tree trunks and the branches and the pine
39:55cones i think i've seen a tree like this for a while and i look at a lot of trees
39:59and all these
39:59things that we just don't notice if we don't take the time to sort of look at things from different
40:03perspectives it's a new twist on stop and smell the roses now stop and look up yeah at the canopy
40:09so if you now just start to tune into your sense of hearing if you're comfortable to shut your eyes
40:15i'm there already and then um start to notice how many different sounds in nature you can hear so
40:21every time you hear a new one you can just raise one finger and we'll see how many we notice
40:31can you hear that wind now yeah that was my four the wind the birds different types of birds yeah
40:40did you find that you can hear more things when you when you've got your eyes shut absolutely
40:44it's one of my favorite things to do when we're on location and we pause for a moment and i
40:50close
40:50my eyes but we can all do that and imagine the sort of magic when children learn to do that
40:55because
40:56they can do that anywhere so if they're starting to feel overwhelmed or anxious you just shut your
41:00eyes or you can stand and look you put your sunglasses on and just concentrate on three things
41:04you can hear it's a grounding technique you can have for anywhere
41:09well here in rural sussex there's a fourth thing i need to hear and that's where my house hunters are
41:16at with their prospective sussex escape so we're reconvening at an organic wine vineyard to discuss
41:22our exciting adventure this week what have you thought about what we've shown you and is there one
41:30that's stolen your heart none of the properties are off the table yet but there's a clear foreign
41:36i would say and that's the property that we've visited adjacent to this vineyard the mystery of
41:43the mystery houses exactly yes yes so what are you going to do next well this evening i'd like to
41:49telephone to lula and i would like to come certainly come back and see this last property
41:56i think escape has speeded up our journey no end and given us the impetus to really make a decision
42:03and and i think really what it's identified in is that we're wasting time when we could be enjoying
42:10so much more and the idea of you two moving and getting into sussex out into the countryside and
42:16to lula turning up to enjoy it with you that would be fabulous glorious let's drink to that cheers to
42:23both can't wait to find out what happens next this week has been a magical mystery house tour for the
42:34ages alan and sue's desire for a quirky property has delivered us a series of houses each one more
42:41memorable than the last now they may not have decided yet which one of our show-stopping homes they want
42:47to buy but one thing's for sure we've definitely sold them on this beautiful county of sussex join me
42:54again for more escape to the country if you would like to escape to the country in england northern
43:02ireland scotland or wales and need our help why not apply online at bbc.co.uk forward slash take part
43:33so
43:37you
43:38you
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