Escape to the Chateau
Dick Strawbridge and his partner (subsequently wife) Angel Adoree swap their two-bed flat in Essex for an abandoned French chateau. Can they bring its 45 rooms and acres of land back to life?
Dick, Angel, Arthur and Dorothy share more enchanting tales from the Chateau, as they continue the renovation of their 19th-century fairytale home and grounds. With weddings and events on hold for the second year, Dick and Angel bite the bullet and make the big decision to tackle the exterior of the Chateau. The roof and outside walls are their biggest project to date and the Chateau quickly becomes a building site.
Dick and Angel start work on the biggest, messiest and most expensive job they've ever done at the Chateau - repairing, re-tiling and re-insulating the whole of the original roof. They also transform the preserves cupboard and go hunting in the walled garden for ingredients to make home-grown mint tea and rainbow sweetcorn relish
Dick and Angel throw a garden party for Arthur and Dorothy's friends, with traditional games including handmade giant dominoes and a treasure hunt around the Chateau grounds. Angel makes a layered jelly with ice cream and another of her specialities - rose petal and honey sandwiches. Meanwhile, the scaffolding arrives and work can start on re-slating the Chateau roof for the first time in 150 years
Angel comes up with an ingenious plan for more storage space, and as the re-slating of the roof continues, Dick and Angel preserve some old wallpaper and create memory furnishings
Angel discovers that the chateau has a vast attic space running the length of the building and rising to the ridge of the roof. While Dick is glad to have some more storage space, Angel has bigger plans - transforming it into a space-inspired bar complete with balconies from which they can watch the stars. The project will require skylights, a new staircase and unique use of insulation - but proves worth it when a cloudless night provides the perfect chance to look for shooting stars.
Angel sets about restoring the Chateau's walls to their original glory using computer mock-ups to try and match the existing colour. Part of a traditional device used for making cider is discovered while clearing out the piggery, so the hunt is soon on to locate the rest of it. Inspired by the ancient piece of machinery, the family collects apples to make their very own juice.
Work continues on the chateau's roof and exterior walls, but Dick and Angel uncover more issues... And can Papi Steve make a second front door key from the huge 150-year-old one?
Dick, Angel, Arthur and Dorothy enjoy a magical festive adventure in this Christmas episode, with a family celebration inspired by a very special part of France - Colmar in the Alsace region, close to the German border. They discover an enchanting medieval town that makes Christmas feel more magical than ever. It's not long before they are taking part in a festive treasure hunt, sampling local baked delicacies, trying their hand at fondue, and discovering the ice and crémant wines that the region is synonymous with. Back at the chateau, the Strawbridge traditions are not forgotten. Angel, her mum Jenni and Dorothy head out into the chateau grounds to collect the fir and foliage to make the annual Christmas wreath.
Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree’s to-do list is as long as ever, and with no guests, weddings or events at the chateau this year, they use their engineering and design skills to tackle some major projects. First on the list is transforming one of the old outbuildings into a supersized workshop for chateau-sized jobs.
With autumn just around the corner, it’s a chance for the Strawbridge family to make the most of the wild larder on their doorstep. Dick is determined to make sloe gin, while Angel presses on with her plan to create a library in the pepper pot tower
“Wash House, Trench & Vintage Bike” Dick and Angel start work on turning the old wash house into a bathroom for their boat on the moat. Angel’s imagination runs wild when they discover a huge trench. And a vintage bike gets a refurb.
Dick and Angel Strawbridge attempt to renovate the orangery with the help of a roofing expert and some pre-loved slate, all the way from Wales, They also discover some unexpected history beneath their feet, and Angel finds two old daybeds in need of upcycling.
The whole family help to build an open kitchen and create a pop-up restaurant in the orangery to celebrate Dick and Angel's fifth wedding anniversary. Plus: a special fairy-tale carriage delivery.
In this festive special, the Strawbridges take inspiration from Christmases past in a 19th-century ledger they find in the attic, and create a winter wonderland complete with an ice rink.
A look back at the transformation of Dick and Angel's 45-room chateau in France from abandoned ruin to sumptuous family home. The series begins by recalling the technical and engineering challenges they had to overcome to make it habitable for their young family. The couple remember their first winter together, when Dick's ingenious solutions were put to the test.
The look back at the epic transformation of Dick Strawbridge and wife Angel's 45-room chateau continues, focusing on how Angel's creativity bought the chateau back to life, as walls were smashed, exquisitely designed rooms cleverly bought to life and stunning bathroom suites installed.
Dick and Angel are warming up for one of the year's biggest events - Angel's parents' 50th wedding anniversary, which involves inviting more than 100 people to a huge party. There's a bespoke menu to plan and prepare, so Dick has called in the cavalry, with his son James arriving from Cornwall. Together with some help from Arthur, the Strawbridge boys have their work cut out as they create dishes they hope will strike a chord with everyone.
There never seems to be much down-time at that sumptuous French château for owners Dick and Angel Strawbridge. Even as the summer ends after their busiest ever season and the last wedding of the year is nearly over, there’s still a lot to do. While most people would put up their feet and have a Pernod, Dick and Angel welcome an armada of vintage Citroëns that call in at the castle for a rest and breakfast during a fund-raising charity tour of France. And the family, including youngsters Arthur and Dorothy, work on their latest project, doing up a 1980s Asquith bus.
As the beginning of autumn arrives, Dick Strawbridge passes on his conker skills to the family, before the serious business resumes and the next phase of the renovation begins. Dick and his wife Angel Adoree get to work converting the old tack room into a grand entrance way. Angel knocks down walls and upcycles an old glass door, while Dick lays a new concrete floor.
As autumn arrives at the chateau, Dick and Angel start a new project, turning a 35-foot eight-tonne riverboat into luxury guest accommodation, with bespoke fabrics and decking.
After another busy year, Dick and Angel prepare for Christmas with an exquisite festive menu; some beautiful Christmas crafts; friends, family, and some special guests.
Dick and Angel throw open the shutters of their French chateau for a new season, as they get to work creating a luxury glamping experience. If it can stop raining, that is.
Angel plans a stunning attic studio. She and Dorothy go on a mother daughter trip to Paris. Dick's busy in the outbuildings And there's a surprise birthday event - with popcorn.
Angel creates a series of rooms bursting with beauty in the chateau's pepper-pot turret. Dick opens up a parkour fitness trail in the grounds, but he hits an unexpected snag.
It's the height of summer and the heat is on for Dick and Angel, with the peak of the events season, wedding cakes melting, school holidays, a boating lake, and a leaky boat.
Before winter sets in, Dick ploughs up the wild flower meadow - a change that Angel doesn't entirely agree with. He then joins with Angel in bringing the dilapidated coach house back to life, in a bid to create 'Cafe Grandma'.
Dick and Angel harvest their pumpkins in the Autumn. But there's still time for family wheelbarrow races, to give the basement a swish makeover, and to convert the old piggery into a chicken coop.
Dick and Angel throw a Christmas party for everyone who has helped them in restoring the chateau, complete with food from the walled garden and homemade wine.
Summer has arrived and Dick and Angel are busier than ever with 7 weddings and 14 food lovers' weekends to prepare for. If that wasn't enough they also must sort out the garden and stables.
It's harvest time and Dick wants to make jam and turn pears into booze. Angel has ambitious plans for a floating geodesic dome over the moat. There is a special birthday treat for Dick.
Dick gets to work on the chateau's crumbling stucco while Angel puts the finishing touches to the floating geodesic dome in the moat, ready for the ultimate family sleepover under the stars.
The couple get cracking on the 20 rooms that still need fixing. Angel buys a clapped-out van. And what have the tree surgeons done to the lime trees?
Dick buys a tractor, with plans to tame the walled garden. Angel designs a boudoir with black walls and mirrors. The couple explore truffle farming. And there's a wedding proposal in the dining room.
As the wedding season comes to the chateau, Dick and Angel's lives are about to get a whole lot busier. Then there's the barn, the van and the lime trees, as tensions start to rise.
It's the first ever paid event at the chateau and Dick tries to make a pig-roaster out of an oil-tank. Angel creates a Versailles-inspired downstairs loo. And it's their son's first day at school.
Keen to expand the business, Dick and Angel Strawbridge consider moat fishing, woodland foraging and installing a lift. Will the chateau survive such a monumental conversion?
As winter descends on the chateau and Christmas looms, Dick and Angel Strawbridge rush to complete a huge to-do list before the arrival of the family from England
Dick and Angel find their fairytale French castle. Dick launches into fitting a monumental heating system while Angel discovers the chateau's vintage secrets.
With just £20,000 left in the coffers the refurb problems feel endless for Dick with time running out. But Angel is on a creative roll. And the family buy some chickens.
Dick and Angel are due to marry in just a few weeks, expecting 200 guests. But room after room still needs to be restored, decorated and furnished, and the moat still needs fixing.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Release | 2016-06-05 |
| Producer | Spark Media |