Escape to the Country presenter Jules Hudson once bought a three-bedroom cottage in the Welsh village of Llanddewi Brefi for just £29,000. The property was far from the picture-perfect homes he helps viewers find on screen: when he first came across it, the house was little more than a bare stone shell, with no roof, no floors and only four open walls standing.
Rather than being put off by the scale of the work, Hudson decided to take on the ambitious restoration project. He later described the property as “absolutely knackered”, giving an idea of how much work was required to turn the neglected building into a home. With the roof missing, the sky was effectively the ceiling, and the lack of floors meant there was a long way to go before the building could be considered fit to live in.
Taking on the restoration
Speaking to Country Life, Hudson said: “People often ask me what the perfect house is, and I believe it's the one that makes you want to embrace its imperfections.” After embarking on a series of renovations, he admitted he wouldn't recommend choosing a derelict property. “At no point did I have a survey, and I had to get a scheme that underwrote the mortgage,” he noted.
“Early on, I looked at the four walls with no roof and wondered if I'd bitten off more than I could chew, but I found a brilliant builder called George, and he and his team did a great job. Transforming it was a joy, and after the house, I turned my attention to the garden. You can spend a fortune on a property, but if you don't frame it with a decent garden, you're missing out.”
From cottage to sale
The property was Hudson's first home in the Welsh countryside and became a major project for the presenter, who had an appreciation for older buildings and rural life long before becoming a familiar face on television. His experience restoring the house also gave him first-hand knowledge of the challenges that can come with taking on an old country property.
After living in Wales for several years, Hudson put his cottage, which he named Morfa Isa, on the market in 2012 for £275,000. He now lives in Herefordshire with his wife, Tania Fitzgerald, and their son Jack. Following the sale of his cottage, he purchased his current property for £610,000 and spent a further £100,000 on renovations.
Life on Escape to the Country
His love of old buildings and the countryside has remained a major part of his life, and his own experience of buying and restoring a rural property is particularly fitting given his long-running role on Escape to the Country. The BBC series sees Hudson and his fellow presenters help house hunters searching for a new life away from the cities, often viewing everything from character cottages to sprawling rural properties. Escape to the Country is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
