‘My home is my escape!’

We chat exclusively with archaeologist and TV presenter, Jules Hudson,of Escape to the Country and Springtime on the Farm, about growing up in Colchester, why he loves East Anglia so much, and his top tips for relocating to the countryside.

You grew up in Colchester and went to school in Ipswich – what are your overriding memories of the area, and did you spend much time in the countryside?

When I was born, my parents bought a property in Lexden and ran it as a B&B for 40-odd years, so I grew up in a very eclectic house with different people from all over the world.

My dad was a keen sailor, and I spent a lot of my years at West Mersea. We had a wooden boat that needed constant care and attention, so many summers spent stripping varnish. I always loved art – my dad was an amateur artist – so we’d also often spend time in Constable country, on the River Stour in Dedham Vale.

I have huge romantic memories of the East Anglian countryside and I was very fortunate that I had a horse when I was 11 until the age of 23. She was stabled in Layer de la Haye, near Colchester, so my holidays and weekends were spent cycling through the countryside four times a day to take care of her.

What do you like about East Anglia as a place to live and the properties it offers?

I think one of the great things about East Anglia is the amount of historic housing stock that exists. We had no raw materials like stone in East Anglia, so most houses are timber framed. There is something quintessentially British – and particularly English –about a timber-framed house. That tradition is one that I’ve been very excited to see return in recent years.

I describe East Anglia in my book as ‘Lovejoy country’. There are places that just echo down the centuries with the quality of the property that’s available – from a modest farmworker or fisherman’s cottage all the way up to your grand, red brick pile. Economically, East Anglia has always been a very vibrant area, thanks to the wool trade going back to the 14th and 15th centuries. You also get this vestige of past economic glories in the guildhalls, public buildings and churches that have survived. The landscape offers rich pickings ‒ we’re blessed with a bit of everything.

What first triggered your interest in buildings and properties?

Growing up in Colchester as a kid in the 1970s and being surrounded by the Roman story and Boudicca, who famously destroyed it, was probably how it all started.

On my seventh birthday, I remember visiting Colchester Castle, which is built on the foundations of the temple of Claudius and was destroyed by Boudicca. I was standing in the vaults with my father as the tour guide told the story when all of a sudden some sand from the roof, which had been there for 2,000 years, fell off and landed on my head. I scooped it up and I just couldn’t believe it was possible to touch a moment in history like that. I thought, I have to go and find the past – I want to be an archaeologist. boydens.co.uk

I started working for the Colchester Archaeology Trust when I was 18, and I studied archaeology and history at St David’s University College in Wales. After leaving in 1992, I did a Master’s degree in archaeological surveying at Durham University.

What was your first property investment, and what did you learn?

I always felt happier in the countryside than I ever did in any city. When I got the chance to do my own thing in 1997, I bought a house in the Welsh countryside, in the Cambrian Mountains, for £29,500. It was a tumble-down wreck – a two-up, two-down, built in the 1800s, with an attached stone barn. As an archaeology student, I’d fallen in love with this village, and I just kept going back. It was one of those places, like Hotel California – you could never leave it – and that mountainous landscape is something I’ve never lost the love for.

I spent the next 18 months doing it up and it gave me a love of renovation, which I still have today.

Due to the fact that I had to apply for a renovation grant, which took nine months to get, it gave me the time to go through every single detail with the architect and builders. I was working in London at the time as a researcher/runner and trotting up and down every weekend, so I spent hours in the car planning it – I became a real geek.

What I took away from that was that you can’t over-plan it – you just need to be alive to reacting to what’s possible and make any changes as these things evolve. The reward was creating something of my own. It took a lot of hard work and taught me you need people to be on side to share your vision, so teamwork is essential.

Did you always dream of becoming a TV presenter?

No. I went to do my MA after joining the army at Sandhurst in 1993 – I’d wanted to join the Royal Armoured Corps and a regiment called the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, but it had just ceased to exist. I did a couple of terms but became disheartened and went back into archaeology.

A great friend of mine, Dan Rivers, who is now a very well-known ITN war correspondent, introduced me to the media world. We had been roommates at university and he had gone off to do a postgrad in journalism. He’d come back with these fascinating stories, and I thought, wow, this is really exciting. I didn’t know the first thing about it, but I luckily got a job working on a series about dinosaurs and then, in 1999, I went to ‘Horizon’ for the BBC. boydens.co.uk

Tell us a little about your home in the Wye Valley, Herefordshire... We bought the property 11 years ago – a 1580 timber-framed house that sits in a couple of acres, which used to be part of a 150-acre farm. I live there with my wife and son, and some chickens and dogs.

It wasn’t initially a project – we moved straight in, but we knew it needed a new roof, probably rewiring and plumbing at some point in the future, and there were a couple of structural issues that became apparent.

Over that time, we’ve had to do all those things. It is a black hole of money, to be honest, but we love it, and we bought it – not just because of the house – but the outbuildings and the garden. We’re very fortunate – it’s a lot of hard work, but what else would I be doing?

Ever since those early days in Wales, I think I need a project – it’s a bit of a handrail. We’ve just launched a shepherd’s hut holiday let, Mole Hill Hut, in the grounds, which has been an absolute joy to do, and we also run a holiday apartment in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on the River Deben, on behalf of my mother to help meet her care costs.

What do you love most about your home?

We have the most fantastic views over Herefordshire and the Wye Valley, and there’s the garden that wraps around it. It’s my escape.

Do you see yourself living in the countryside for ever and why?

I do. I can imagine in my retirement being in a very small market town. I can admire and appreciate cities around the world. But it’s the sense of space and having something to do that I love. If I lived in a town, what would I do with myself?

What’s coming up for 2023 that excites you?

We’re looking forward to filming a new series of ‘Springtime on the Farm’ for Channel 5 in Yorkshire in April, and getting back on the road for ‘Escape to the Country’ on BBC2 – hopefully, helping more escapees to find their dream home, which is really rewarding and exciting. We also make another series, ‘I Escaped to the Country’, where we catch up with some of those that we’ve inspired to move.

I’m incredibly lucky because I get to see the UK in its entirety every year, and I never tire it.

What was the best ever piece of property advice you received?

Make it what you want it to be – within what’s possible and to a budget, so cut your cloth accordingly. Look after the building and it will look after you.

What’s your top tip for anyone considering moving to the countryside?

One of the key things is, where? It’s really important to develop an emotional connection to the region. You may not have been born or bred there, but it's important to have a real affinity to it because that’s the foundation of why you make it work as opposed to falling for the holiday romance.

Spend time in the area, get to know it and find out what’s available. Be sensible about it, but don’t be afraid to be ambitious. And don’t look for the ‘perfect’ house. Does the perfect house exist? My definition of the perfect house is the house that wants you to embrace its imperfections – just like the perfect partner.

Getting To Know Jules

What’s your favourite?

1. Countryside location to visit: Wales

2. Property style: Timber-framed cottage or Georgian

3. Architectural landmark: Telford’s bridge over the Menai Strait, Anglesey

4. Room at home: My workshop

5. Home gadget: Milwaukee drill set

6. Foreign holiday: Sailing in the Ionian sea

7. UK holiday destination: Anglesey

8. Style of cuisine: One-pot cooking –I love a sausage and chorizo casserole

9. Music: Big band and Thomas Tallis (Gregorian)

10. Desert island must-have: My Uggs (after a busy day, then the world is good)

If you’d like to take part in Escape to the Country, go to bbc.co.uk/takepart

Signed copies of Jules’s books, The Escape to the Country Handbook and Walled Gardens, can be ordered direct from JulesHudson.co.uk

Why not enjoy your own escape to the country with Jules by exploring the Welsh borders and the Wye valley from Mole Hill Hut? For bookings, go to sugarandloaf.com or holidaycottages.co.uk boydens.co.uk