Alan Titchmarsh has revealed that the garden gate at his new Surrey home has become a source of frustration. Writing in a column for Country Living, the TV presenter described how the gate "sticks and then has to be lifted a bit to open or close it," inspiring "nothing more than irritation."
A Gate That Should Be a Fanfare
Titchmarsh, who recently moved from a historic Hampshire home to a smaller Surrey property, mused on what a garden gate should represent. "Garden gates are more than mere portals," he wrote. "They are a fanfare, an introduction of the glories to come – or they should be."
He contrasted his current gate with an ideal one, noting how refreshing it would be if it "opened smoothly and silently on robust, well-oiled hinges and shut with a pleasing click or clang against a sturdy pillar, be it of oak, stone or mellow brickwork."
Plans to Fix the Problem
The presenter is eager to address the issue sooner rather than later. "All this will come to pass, and I am eager to make sure that it happens sooner rather than later, instead of leaving it until everything else has been designed, constructed and planted," he added. "By then I will have been irritated beyond belief, and my knuckles skinned for the umpteenth time as I fight to open or close it."
Titchmarsh recalled the gate at his previous home, a Grade II listed Georgian farmhouse, where he had wrought-iron entrance gates installed with an 'A' and a 'T' entwined at the centre, reflecting the shared initials of him and his wife, Alison.
Downsizing to Be Near Family
Alan and Alison spent over 20 years at their Hampshire home before deciding to downsize in 2025 after discovering a single-storey property in the same Surrey village as their two daughters, Polly and Camilla. "We weren't intending to move, but we found this amazing house, so we're all now in the same village. I'd like to say we're not chasing them – they're hauling us in," Titchmarsh told House Beautiful.
Describing the new dwelling, he said: "The house is wonderfully modern and completely different from the Georgian farmhouse where we were before. We're refusing to use the B word. It's a single-story dwelling that's quite long, but we're refusing to use the B-word because we have five steps! It's a different way of life and quite exciting. It's liberating."
