Escape to the Country - Season 24

A couple hope their £400,000 budget will buy them a slice of rural bliss in Moray in Scotland, where Jules Hudson is eager to show them the very best property on offer.

Jules also chats to some of the residents of an award-winning village recognised as a world leader for sustainable and holistic community living.

Nicki Chapman is on the hunt for a Pembrokeshire property with a holiday let to suit a couple with very different wants and needs.

Nicki also visits some entrepreneurs who've already made the move to the county and have completely changed their lifestyles by turning a derelict farmhouse into a gorgeous home where they welcome B&B guests.

Denise Nurse helps a couple are so fed up with the eight-hour round trip to see their son in Northumbria that they've decided to move there instead.

Denise has the keys to some lovely properties and also pays a visit to the Northumberland National Park to learn how it has come to be known as ‘the land of the far horizon'.

Having spent 25 years in Holland, a retired opera singer and a music teacher approaching retirement have decided that now is the right time to return to the UK and, with Alistair Appleton's help, find a new home in Somerset or Gloucestershire.

Whilst in the area, Alistair drops by a family farm that transforms its fields of golden rape into bottles of rapeseed oil.

Briony May Williams helps to make dreams come true for a buyer with an ambition of moving to the North Yorkshire countryside on a £250,000 budget.

Then, she takes her escapee to a farm, where they are given the special privilege of hand-feeding a five-day-old pet lamb.

Denise Nurse is in Norfolk, with a buyer who wants to move closer to her family, and who has her son in tow for support.

With the popularity of the staycation, Denise also meets someone who has taken the idea of mobile homes on wheels to a whole new level.

Sonali Shah tours the East Midlands in search of a property to suit today's buyers who, for the last 23 years, have been living in the USA.

Sonali also meets another couple who relocated from America and set about renovating their gorgeous Leicestershire home, parts of which date back to the 18th century.

Jules Hudson savours the spectacular scenery and splendid isolation on offer in Scotland's Caithness, as he helps a young family with a house-hunting budget of £270,000 to realise their dream of self-sufficiency.

Whilst there, Jules learns about the life of a crofter with a tenant farmer whose ancestors have lived and worked on the same land for generations.

Seeking a less hectic lifestyle in Yorkshire, a London couple have £425,000 to spend on a new home, and Steve Brown is on hand to help them find it.

Steve also pays a visit to the North York Moors National Park to find out about the work being done to ensure the park is accessible to everyone.

Having lived in the same house virtually all her life, today's ukelele-playing buyer has £280,000 to relocate to south west Wales. Briony May Williams is tasked with helping her to find the perfect property which also needs to accommodate an entourage of animals including a dog, two cats, three parrots, some chickens and thousands of bees.

A pair of artists need Alistair Appleton's help to find an inspiring rural retreat in Somerset where they can further indulge their creativity.

Alistair also meets a young couple who moved to the countryside in search of the good life and never looked back, despite ups and downs along the way.

After 26 years in London, today's couple has headed north to the Scottish Lothians in search of a complete change of lifestyle. They have a house-hunting budget of £475,000 and Nicki Chapman to help them spend it.

We also get insight on life in the beautiful, rural Highlands from another couple who escaped their stressful and high-pressure jobs just over a year ago.

Jules Hudson explores one of the UK's most beautiful locations today as he sets about finding the ideal Wye Valley property for his house hunters. Having put their Portugal home on the market, they've recently been touring the UK in their beloved camper van named Dave and are itching to settle down somewhere with more space inside and out!

Having taken a leap of faith, today's couple from Scotland stuck a pin in a map that landed in lovely Lincolnshire. Sonali Shah tours the county with them, showing them the very best property the county has to offer for their £220,000 budget.

Whilst there, Sonali also learns how best to keep one of the nation's favourite flowers in blooming marvellous condition.

Now back in the UK, a young couple crave the outdoors lifestyle they experienced together for nearly three years in New Zealand. Nicki Chapman's helps them find a new home in the fabulous countryside of North Yorkshire, where they want to spend their spare time running, cycling and walking.

Needing more space for books, as well as an impressive collection of rocks, today's couple from Edinburgh have Alistair Appleton to help them with their rural relocation to Northumberland.

Alistair also meets another couple who, back in 2016, made their own escape to the country from Newcastle and now run yoga and well-being classes.

Jules Hudson is in Perth and Kinross, helping a young couple with a budget of £350,000 to find an ideal country home for them and their two young sons.

Jules also meets a group of keen stand-up paddleboarders who do their bit to keep the waterways free of litter.

In wonderful West Yorkshire, Nicki Chapman is with a young couple from Manchester who have a budget of £270,000 to find a home in the countryside for them and their baby son.

Nicki also meets a pair who've already made their escape when they took early retirement and swapped town life for country life on the edge of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales.

In Hampshire, Steve Brown has some excellent houses in his property shopping bag to show today's couple who, along with their two children and two tortoises, want to live as close as possible to the county's beautiful beaches.

Steve also finds out what we can all do to help our feathered friends, whether we have a garden or not.

Wanting to leave town life behind them, this episode's couple have their sights set on a new countryside home in Northamptonshire, and Ginny Buckley is on hand to help them find it.

Ginny also discovers a beautiful green space on the outskirts of Kettering, where the town's residents can recharge their minds, bodies and green fingers.

Missing family and the great British countryside, today's couple are heading home to Warwickshire having spent the last six years living and working in the USA. Jules Hudson helps with their house search and visits an 18th century walled garden to meet the volunteers who help keep it in tip-top condition.

Sonali Shah marvels at the majesty of Perth and Kinross, as she helps a couple from a large town on England's south coast to find their dream country escape in Scotland. With their house-hunting budget of £425,000, lots of bookshelves, or places for them, are a top priority.

Denise Nurse delivers the Peak District on a plate as she helps a couple from a town in Oxfordshire to find their dream country home for a budget of £450,000.

Whilst in the area, Denise also visits a family-run hotel and restaurant, where she gets to sample some locally grown, seasonal delights.

On a bid to escape the city, today's couple and their three children are looking for a change of lifestyle for the whole family, and Nicki Chapman is in Norfolk to help them find it. 

Nicki also meets some of the residents of Hemsby, whose homes are at risk from coastal erosion, to learn how the whole village is pulling together to help save them.

A couple from Reading in Berkshire want to escape and set up home in the Welsh Borders, somewhere with enough land to keep a menagerie of animals. Steve Brown helps them with the property search and takes them to an animal sanctuary to meet Burrito, a cuddle-loving donkey, as well as two pampered pigs, Wilbur and Uncle Watson.

Even though the daily commute from London to their Bedfordshire business is taking its toll, Nicki Chapman has her work cut out persuading one half of today's couple to move to the county's borders!

Away from the house-hunting, Nicki visits a farm that opens its gates to disabled people looking for a life in agriculture.

Denise Nurse shows off the magnificent Scottish Borders in all their glory to a young couple looking to make a big countryside escape. One half wants to open a veterinary practice in the region, and the other needs outbuildings for cars and motorbikes, but they are both united by their love of the great outdoors.

On the lookout for a property with potential for a holiday let business, as well as a home, Jules Hudson shows off a gloriously sunny Cornwall to today's entrepreneurial couple. 

Jules also tours a disused china clay quarry, where work has begun to create a sustainable and inclusive garden village by building over 1,000 energy-efficient homes.

Helping a young couple from the city of St Albans, Briony May Williams heads to Buckinghamshire to find a fabulous countryside escape for them and Dexter the dog.

Aside from all the house hunting, Briony pays a visit to one of the county's many National Trust properties, where she finds out what it takes to be a tour guide.

In a bid to move closer to family, today's buyer has Nicki Chapman to help find a home in the Oxfordshire countryside for her and her son.

Whilst in the area, Nicki pops in on friends who recently moved to the county, relocating their business training dressage horses and renovating a house in the process.

Jules Hudson takes in Scotland's stunning Cairngorms as he helps a couple from the Isle of Wight to find a rural property that will fulfill their ambitions for home as well as a new business.

He also drops in on a family who moved to the region to start a fly-fishing school and becomes their star pupil for the day.

With a budget of £400,000, an ambitious young couple from the West Midlands has the help of Sonali Shah to find a renovation project and a couple of acres of land in the Welsh Borders.

Sonali also heads to Hay-on-Wye to meet a couple who escaped London in 2022 and are in the process of transforming a Grade II listed building into their new home.

Steve Brown's escapees from a large Buckinghamshire town want to relocate to the fabulous Fens to start a glamping business, so at least an acre of land is a priority.

Steve meets another couple who are about to start building the house of their dreams by recycling as many materials as they can from a derelict 250-year-old farmer's cottage and barn.

Wanting to move closer to family, Nicki Chapman celebrates the arrival of her buyers' first grandchild by helping them find a new home in Cumbria.

Nicki also meets a young, nature-loving couple who made their own escape from Sheffield a year ago, and who are now raising their daughter in the area's amazing natural landscapes.

Leaving the house they built themselves behind, today's couple has Jules Hudson to help them find the perfect West Country pad in Devon, where they want to start a holiday let business.

Away from the property search, Jules heads to the county's north coast to find out why it's been designated as the UK's first and only World Surfing Reserve.

Ginny Buckley's buyer today is chasing an inspiring landscape. She wants a new Carmarthenshire home that has as much land as her £450,000 budget can muster.

She's also keen to make some green-fingered, like-minded friends in the area, so a trip to meet some volunteers at the National Garden of Wales is also on the agenda.

Today's escapees want to move to Shropshire to be closer to their family and have entrusted Alistair Appleton to help them find a lovely rural retreat for both them and their bees.

Alistair also takes advantage of the glorious weather and nearly bares all as he partakes in one of his passions with a spot of wild swimming.

Returning home after eight years of living and working in Abu Dhabi, two teachers want to swap desert sand for the beaches of East Sussex, where Briony May Williams has the keys to what could be the couple's new home.

Keen to get involved in the local community, they visit the Bluebell Railway to see what volunteering opportunities there are on the heritage line.

With a budget of £400,000, Jules Hudson is on hand to make a Sydney couple's dream of an escape to Aberdeenshire come true.

Away from the property shopping, Jules makes friends with some of the region's hairy, horny residents... a herd of Highland cattle.

Having spent the past four years living in the US state of Texas, a couple and their two young children are returning to the UK and have tasked Sonali Shah with helping them find a family home in an Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire village.

Sonali also learns how to make sourdough bread from an ex-solicitor who escaped London several years ago.

A couple want to swap their Cheshire townhouse for the dark skies and beautiful open spaces of Shropshire. Denise Nurse helps them with the property search and also visits a flower farm in full bloom to witness first hand how modern technology is working hand-in-hand with nature.

Living with their baby boy in a one-bedroom flat in south London, today's couple need more space, which they want to find in the lovely Chiltern Hills.

Alistair Appleton has some fabulous houses up his sleeve, and he also takes his house hunters off to soak up the atmosphere of the Bucks County Show.

Looking for a new adventure in South West Wales, a couple have £400,000 to find a new home with at least an acre of land for glamping and a forestry school.

Ginny Buckley helps with the house hunting and meets another couple who, ten years ago, made a life-changing escape when they bought a farm in Carmarthenshire to rear rare breeds.

Motivated by wanting to move closer to family, an escapee has her sister on hand for moral support and Sonali Shah's property know-how to help find the ideal rural retreat.

Sonali also gets to meet some very sleepy baby barn owls and learns what needs to be done to protect these beautiful birds.

It's an emotional homecoming, and a first for Jules Hudson, as he visits County Down and County Antrim for some property shopping in Northern Ireland. He's with a couple who want to relocate there after a lifetime spent in the Canadian city of Toronto.

Jules also visits the region's coast to marvel at the spectacular, world-famous Giant's Causeway.

Briony May Williams teams up with a retired Shakespeare scholar, who with a £300,000 budget hopes to write a new chapter in her life in the Cumbrian countryside.

Away from the house hunting, Briony visits a young couple who made their own country escape and now have a farm with over 100 acres in a tiny Cumbrian village, where they herd sheep with their beloved sheepdogs.

Alistair Appleton is on a property-hunting mission to the beautiful Cotswolds, with a couple who want a location with dog walks on the doorstep, as well as decent dining options for date nights!

Away from potential houses, Alistair visits another young couple who turned their backs on town life to rent on the rural edges of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where they can indulge their passions for photography and gardening.

A young couple want to swap their London flat for something bigger in the East Midlands, where Nicki Chapman opens the front doors to a lovely selection of homes with lovely gardens.

Nicki can't miss the opportunity to meet another young couple who've already made their escape to develop a luxury leather goods business. After all, Nicki does love a good bag!

Denise Nurse is in Suffolk, helping a couple find a new home in a more rural setting, where they can enjoy retired life together, closer to the coast, lakes or waterways.

Also on the shopping list is a large, sociable kitchen, at least three bedrooms for hosting guests and a welcoming community close to hand.

Having been to the Lake District over 50 times, today's couple have decided to stop visiting and start living in one of the UK's most spectacular National Parks.

The about-to-be-retired couple need Steve Brown's help to find them, and their two rescue cats, a new forever home in the Cumbrian countryside.

A house with as much natural light as possible is top of today's property shopping list, and Jules Hudson is just the chap to find it in the region of the Bedfordshire borders.

As well as touring a great selection of potential homes, they also make time to visit a magnificent garden and a collection of vintage aircraft.

Although Nicki Chapman's buyers are currently renting in a Surrey town, they've spent the last 25 years living and working in America. They now want to find their new, forever home in the Aberdeenshire countryside.

Nicki also visits a local farm which grows over 20 varieties of crops, selling many of them in a large, state-of-the-art vending machine.

Living a few miles from Belfast is just too far from family, so now they've retired, today's couple want to move back to England, to Herefordshire, where Briony May Williams shows them what the beautiful county has to offer.

Briony also meets another couple who have already made their escape to the area, to an old mill house and garden, which they open to the public.

A young couple currently living in Manchester are hoping to up sticks to the Cheshire countryside with their young daughter. They have requested a four bedroom, detached family home with a large, private garden, and Nicki Chapman has a very tempting selection of properties that suit the brief, as well as a mystery house that makes them reconsider their wish list.

It's an island escape in Scotland's Inner Hebrides today, where Denise Nurse is tasked with finding a permanent home for a family who've spent the last year travelling around in their camper van, but who now want to settle on the Isle of Skye.

As well as exploring a handful of its properties, Denise also meets a couple already living the Hebridean dream with their elopement wedding business.