All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S03E10.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

I'm Dick Strawbridge, and with my
wife, Angel, and our two children...

Let's go get it!

...we're nearly five years
in to our French adventure...

That's heavy.

...restoring this once-abandoned
chateau.

We have another
capability at the chateau.

It's brought plenty of challenges...

Phew.

...but also some amazing rewards.

I love you.

And across France,
there are dozens of other Brits

who've bought their own chateaux.

\ Ah, wow. I

Now Angel and I are once again
lending a hand

to other expat chateau owners.

Sometimes, simplicity
is the way forward. Yes, yeah.

We'll meet some old friends...

We don't need instructions,
only when it goes wrong.

...and new faces.

Ooh, look at that.

They'll be plenty of ups...

Oh.
SHE LAUGHS

...and downs.

We can't ruin the wedding meal
by eating outside in the rain.

But no matter what,
these plucky Brits...

Ohh.

...will stop at nothing...

No, Steve. Whoa! Steven.

...to ensure these once-unloved
buildings...

WOOD SNAPS

I think I've made a hole.

...become the homes of their dreams.

That is amazing.

Today...

Here's the pool, here's
the solar farm, here's the sun.

...one chateau owner dreams up
a way to heat his pool.

Have a feel of that.

Wow. That is so hot.

That is too hot.

Another takes decorating
to artistic heights.

I've done nothing but look
at mountains and see...

...see the tones
and how it all works together.

I'm very, very nervous about it,
really.

I save cash getting creative...

I'm going to take this,
stick this to it.

Put the light there, turn it around,
just hold it in place.

It's very, very simple,
but it's also cheap as chips.

...to make a special place
for my Angel.

It's not a bad room, is it?

No. No!

Quite a lot to do.

And there are some curious
findings...

Why are there giant mushrooms?

...whilst turning old stables
into a new art space.

Whoa.

It's a total transformation.

All over France, chateau-owning
Brits are working hard to make

our glorious homes
work as businesses.

Take the lovely
15th-century Chateau Mareuil.

With five guest suites, beautiful
gardens and a welcoming pool,

this is home to south-London couple
Belinda and Lee

who bought this medieval castle
for £378,000 four years ago.

Chateau life for me
is a never-ending source of work

and fixing things up, in a nice way.

In...an absolutely nice way.

It doesn't feel like work
when you're doing it,

but there's always something
that needs doing, and I love that.

And I think to wake up
in the morning... Yeah.

...and you do this,
and look out of the window

and see the beautiful surroundings,
it's so uplifting. Yep.

It's situated 40 miles
north of Limoges.

But running a chateau is by no means
cheap, and finding ingenious ways

to do more, on less,
is part of everyday life.

This year, we've got plans
to heat the swimming pool.

We want to do something
environmentally friendly

and doesn't cost us too much money,

so I've been on the Internet to see
what low-cost options are available

and we've decided
to install a solar farm.

The unheated pool is currently
only warm enough

to use from July to September,

so heating the water
will hopefully extend this

by a month on either side,

a facility Belinda has already
advertised on their website.

It's done, it's out there.

Ah, talk about jumping in
with both feet. Yeah.

I don't even know
if it's going to work.

Heated pool is promised.
It was just an idea.

I went on the Internet,

and there's some guy in Spain
that had done something similar...

Well. ..and I thought.
You're going to have to do it.

Well, that's filling me with horror.

Cos not only do I not know
what I'm doing,

but, also, I don't know
how I'm going to do it,

and now I've got to get it done
for the summer.

Absolutely.

Best get on with it then, Lee.

Time for a site visit.

So, in basic terms, here's the pool,
here's the solar farm,

here's the sun.

We take cold water out of the pool,
pump it up to the solar farm,

it goes round some pipework
and while it's in the pipes,

the sun heats it up, delivers hot
water back to the pool. Mm-hm.

Over a period of a couple of days,

the pool temperature will raise
by between two and five degrees.

Perfect. It's free,
because it's come from the sun

and the only thing
we have to pay for is the pump.

I don't know
if this is going to work.

I have every confidence in you, Lee.

Thank you, Belinda. Off you go.

Bob's your uncle... I'll take that,
shall I? ..Fanny's your aunt.

Do you need that? Yeah, no,
I don't need that.

It's all up here. Sure?
I don't need instructions.

All right. Check you later.
I know what I'm doing.

The principles here are sound.

Now it's a matter of putting
the principles into practice.

To save a bit of cash,

Lee reckons he can fit
the water heating system

using various bits and pieces
left over from previous jobs.

The only running cost
we've got is a pump,

and the pump is probably going to
cost me about 300 euros.

And what I'm now going to do is
put some corrugated sheeting over,

upon which the pipes
are going to go.

I'm pleased with that.

Call the boss.

Do you remember what
a pile of trash it was here?

It's just an organised
pile of trash now.

No, I wouldn't say that.

This metal will hold heat
from the sun.

Soleil, soleil... Soleil brille.

...el scorchio, straight onto
the pipework with the water in...

Yeah. ..down to the pool.

It's going to work, have faith.
The proof is in the eating, Lee.

Have faith, it will work.

The metal will reflect the heat,
so you've got the base done,

I look forward to seeing
how you set up your pipework.

40 miles east is the glorious
16th-century Chateau de Lalande.

With 18 bedrooms,
a moat and even its own chapel,

it's home to Brit Stephanie.

This is definitely
my childhood dream.

I remember from the age of three,
I was obsessed with the idea

that one day
I would live in a chateau.

I can't still quite believe
that it's come true.

Located in the Centre-Val de Loire,

Stephanie runs the chateau
for events and as a B&B

and is always looking at ways
of expanding the business

to bring in extra income.

Her latest plan is
very close to her heart.

I've come up with the idea

of hosting weekend art retreats
at the chateau.

My father was always saying
that he would love to do that,

so turning the chateau into a place
where artists can come

and be inspired
is really important to me.

It's a lovely idea,

but it means converting
an old stable into a studio.

Stephanie and her team,
including mum Isabelle,

only have a month to finish
it before their first art weekend.

Let's try to be positive. Ready?

THEY LAUGH

Quite a lot to do.

I don't believe it, Stephanie.

The old stables have been
used as a dumping ground

even before Stephanie
owned the chateau.

I'll pull. Oh, my gosh.

There's just so much stuff in there,
and it's been in there for decades.

I live for this moment.

Percy and the gold...

Greenhouse.

Let me take this, I'll put this
in the woodshed.

I've got it, don't worry, Percy.

I'm trying to move
the garden torches,

but so far, I've just managed to put
oil over everything.

Extremely flammable oil.

No-one light a match.

It's heavy, that one.

Before long, some interesting
things start to pop up.

What's that? Oh, mushrooms!
Mushrooms!

I

They're mushrooms.

STEPHANIE LAUGHS

They're to put in the wood.

STEPHANIE LAUGHS HARDER

What's so funny?

Mother,
why are there...giant mushrooms?

Yes, well, your father bought them.

Look at this one.

Yes, this is a good eating one.

THEY ALL LAUGH

I'm not too sure how we're
going to use the room,

because I don't know exactly where
these big stable dividers attach.

But I think we'll play around
with that

once we've got the room empty

and we also need
better lighting put in.

And I'd ideally like to turn
the old troughs into the sinks.

That'd be very cool, I think.

Today's been a good start,
however, there's still loads to do

before Stephanie hosts
the Art Weekend

in just four weeks' time.

Coming "P.

One chateau owner plans
her artistic masterpiece...

Well, obviously,
my name isn't Michelangelo,

so I'm going to use stencils.

So this is my trusty
pool temperature thermometer,

with Sharky the fish.

...Lee makes an error of judgment...

That was a bit silly, wasn't it?

Cos he's now in the middle
of the pool.

...and Stephanie
and her mum don't see eye-to-eye.

Let's get the men in
and let's see how it goes.

I tell you how it's going to go,
it's going to go to pieces.

The 19th-century Chateau Thuries
was snapped up a year ago

by Brits Jayne
and Steve for £400,000.

They've spent the last 12 months
transforming

it from a run-down empty shell
into a B&B, complete with four

en-suite bedrooms and numerous
rooms on the ground floor.

I'm hoping that people will like it,
because, you know,

we've put a lot of time and effort
and money, actually,

and we've done so well upstairs
with the bedrooms,

that we wanted to keep that
standard up, didn't we? Yeah.

Which I think we've done. We've got
to keep the standard up, Steve.

We do. Yeah.

The chateau is situated close to
Toulouse in southern France.

With little money coming in,

they need to officially open the B&B
as soon as possible,

but they still have to finish some
public areas,

including the grand staircase.

This is Jayne's most ambitious
project yet.

It's a very grand sweeping staircase

and it's very difficult to know
how to decorate that.

I had this idea that I was going to
paint a mural on there.

There's an old style of painting
called grisaille,

which is painting in one colour,
so, monochromatic.

And I had this idea that I was going
to cover this massive, great

big area with a landscape, which is
going to reflect the area around us,

so we'll be able to see the Pyrenees
and the Black Mountains.

Right, so are we going to
go at a regular height?

Just keep going. Yeah, keep going.

This is no mean feat.

The wall is ten metres long
and three metres high

and follows the main stairs.

Amateur interior designer Jayne
hasn't attempted anything

quite like it before.

So, I was talking to you
about grisaille.

Yeah. Which is like painting
in grey tones an things.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, obviously,
my name isn't Michelangelo,

so I'm going to use stencils.

I've got some nice fir trees.

Yep. Cypress. Cypresses. Yeah.

I think we need to keep it fairly
simple. Just the effect.

Because otherwise, I'm going
to be there for a year, painting it.

Cos it's a big staircase.

How long was Michelangelo
on the Sistine Chapel?

I don't think we've got the time,
somehow.

Steve's already started painting
the staircase ceiling white

and the plan is to also paint
the walls white as a background,

but Jayne has a new idea.

What if this wasn't white?

I'm thinking pink.

Like a terracotta
kind of plastery, pinky colour?

Not flat. I normally like your
ideas, I'm not sure about that one.

The ceiling's going to be white.
Yeah.

And you want the wall to be
a different colour. Yeah.

I've got to get - or someone has
to, it's usually me...

To cut in? I have to cut in.

What do decorators do?

Scaffolding.

Whereas, on a roller,
and it's all going to be white,

it's easier to do.

So... It's something to think about,
Jayne. OK.

Well, could you think about it,
then?

This is going to be a busy highway.

People are going to be
putting their hands on there,

knocking their suitcases.

White's not a good colour,
really, is it?

Well, it's... As a background.

Well, it won't be, cos at the bottom
here it will be feuillage.

Trees. Feuillage?!

Feuillage.

All right. Well, look, that's the
next stage, isn't it?

It depends how... If you want
something done quickly

before we open, then white will be
the quickest thing to do.

The reality of this mammoth
task is sinking in.

I'm happy to work long clays
and work as hard as we need to,

but even doing that, I think it's
still going to be quite a big task

to try and get everything done.

I always knew that,
though, right from the start.

You're a lot more optimistic than
I am, Jayne. I'm sorry.

I'm not a pessimistic person,
but you always think,

"Oh, we can do that, slap a bit of
paint on here

"and we'll have it done", you know?

It's not as easy as that.

No, but I think you would have
preferred to have had two years

to prepare, rather than one,
wouldn't you, Steve?

Let's face facts,
time is never on our side.

Back at Chateau Mareuil, Lee has
taken on his biggest challenge yet,

attempting to build a home-made
solar farm from scratch

without any experience
and only a bit of internet research.

Come on, Belinda, I'll show you
what we're going to do.

Today will be a dummy run on a small
sample of water to see if it works.

What I'm going to do is put
coils of pipe on

and then I'm going to fill this up,
leave it for a period... Mm-hm.

When all the coils are full...
Mm-hm.

...to see... To see if it
actually works?

...if it actually works. Ah.

This holds the heat
and it reflects it upwards,

so when the pipe lays on
it like this,

the sun is getting a direct
effect on the top of the pipe

and this is heating the pipe
from underneath. Mm.

So the pipe is getting total heat
all the way round.

Sounding so knowledgeable.
No, no, I'm not.

This is the first time I've ever
done anything like this.

Wait and see what happens.

Lee, Lee.

Looking at that pipe,
it's not going to work.

Cannot bend it!

How are you planning to bend it?

Trust me. I-l...

Trust me. It's gonna work.

Brilliant. That's not going to
come off.

Whilst I admire Lee's efforts
to re-use stuff,

thick plastic pipe is the wrong
material for this job,

as it's a really poor
conductor of heat.

See, I want this one to
join that one.

Water flowing through it
won't heat up.

That goes in there, like that.

It's taking shape, look.

Now, the final loop.

That's it.

Now, Lee fills the pipes
with water.

The two big pipes here are the flow
and return pipes

going up to the solar farm.

So I'm going to turn this on.

And I've got water coming out.

This is a good sign.

I'm going to go back and turn
it off, now, and get a thermometer.

As the next part of his experiment,
Lee wants to find out

the starting temperature
of the water in the pool.

So this is my trusty pool
temperature thermometer,

with Sharky the fish.

So I'm going to chuck Sharky in.

That was a bit silly, wasn't it?

Cos he's now in the middle
of the pool.

Come on, Sharky, over you come.

It's reading 24 degrees.

The pool temperature is 24.

I'll leave it in there for a while.

The while being two clays later.

Lee pops up to check
the progress of his experiment.

Oh, that's hot.

That's hot!

That's very hot.

I'm not actually surprised, Lee.

With stationary water sitting
in a plastic pipe in the sun,

it's bound to be.

Oh, this is boding well.

Mm. Heating up static water is
one thing,

but if the water was flowing,
it wouldn't heat up much at all.

40 miles away,
at Chateau de Lalande,

Stephanie has finished clearing out
the old stables,

ready to use it for her very first
artists' weekend,

which is just eight clays away.

Well, Mummy,
the clearing is wonderful.

Stage two is getting...

ls a big problem?

...some of the dividers back into
place and they are solid.

The original horse stall dividers
are heavy old wood and iron.

Stephanie wants to use them
as room dividers,

which presents her and her mum
Isabelle with a hurdle.

Are you OK? The problem is, uh...

this is facing the wrong way.

That's the back of the wall
and that's the front...

Yeah, so we have to spin it round.
..of the stall.

And I don't think for a minute
we'll be able to do that.

Well, we have to move them.

We can't have them...here.

Why not? That's safe, there.

We can put it against the wall, but
we cannot anchor it to the ground.

If they fall on somebody,
they kill them.

Well, I don't want them to fall,
Mummy. I want them to go up.

Frankly, it is too big a job.

You cannot do it without a forklift.

Because it's solid.

Well, let's try. We have to...
Let's get the men in

and let's see how it goes.

I tell you how it's going to go -
it's going to go to pieces.

And it's very dangerous.

We can move it forward, absolutely.
Yes, let's move it forward.

I want an idea of how it would look.

Please, keep your feet
on the ground.

It is not poss-i-ble.

Mummy, when have I ever kept my feet
on the ground?

ISABELLE SIGHS

Stephanie wants to move one
partition into place

and see how it looks,
so has enlisted the help of close

family friend Gerry and live-in
volunteers Grant and Ben.

I want one of these...

"the right way round...here.

Before moving the stable divider,

they strengthen its joints with
wooden blocks.

It really is such a bad idea.

Stephanie, I think...

Mummy, we're trying to do a job
and all you're doing is stopping us

from doing the job every
step of the way.

Yes, I am, because of the danger.

It will fall on someone.

What do you think, Grant?

We can get it out very easily
straight and lean it against that.

Yep. And then have a look.

It's very dangerous, in my opinion.

The planning is not...

SHE SIGHS

I don't know.

It-it upsets me.

Isabelle may be anxious, but Grant
reckons he has things in hand.

So, someone's got to be
designated to move pipes.

OK, Mummy.

Mummy will move pipes.

Isabelle is tasked with sliding
pipes under the heavy partition

to act as rollers - a tried
and tested ancient technique,

but not using plastic waste pipes.

\ Push Ben. I

Easier said than done.

We're doing this with all
the technological

accomplishment of the ancient
Egyptians.

No, you have to lift up a bit,
Grant.

Clear? Yep.

Move your hand, Ben.

Great teamwork, chaps.

I absolutely love the way it looks.

Having the two is going to
make the room.

Today has been very fraught.

Mummy has been on top form.

Sometimes, when my mother decides
that something is a bad idea,

she will not let it go.

I have never been
against Stephanie's ideas,

and although I want with
all my heart

to support her in her projects,

there are times when they are
unrealistic with the means we have.

COCKEREL CROWS

And the cockerel agrees.

Now they're happy with its position,

it will need to be fixed in place,

but first, they need to
decorate the stable

to make it more like an art studio.

Coming "P.

Jayne's under pressure with
her painting.

It's certainly not all going to
all be done today, that's for sure.

I build Angel a room of her own.

She's going to become creative,

which I know is going to cause me
more pain.

Isabelle is still not happy.

Darling, it's getting too cluttered.

I'm sorry, I can't hear over
the banging, Mummy.

And things heat up for Belinda
and Lee.

Just put one of your fingers inside
and tell me. Go on.

God, that's really hot!
SHE LAUGHS

Chateau Thuries in southern France
is surrounded by

four acres of parkland
and stunning views.

Today, Jayne is in search of
inspiration for a huge mural

that she's planning to paint on
the wall of the main staircase.

I just wanted to get
some photographs

because it'll help me when I'm
painting the grisaille wall.

This whole area is
absolutely beautiful.

Such staggering scenery around us
that it would be really nice

just to reflect that in the imagery
that I'm painting on the walls.

So, we've got the Pyrenees,
which look amazing.

I mean, it's a bit misty today,
but they look incredible

when it's a clear day.

I thought it would be quite nice to
paint those on the wall.

This is Jayne's first stab at
painting a mural this big.

It's a 10m x 3m curved
staircase wall.

Don't envy you THAT, Jayne.

I've got it in my mind what
I want to do,

so it's just kind of putting
it into practice

and, uh... Anyway, we'll know
a little bit later

whether it's working or not.

I'm very, very nervous
about it, really.

I think I must be completely
bonkers, actually.

I do set these tasks for
myself, sometimes,

but I am a firm believer that you
can do anything you want to do

if you put your mind to it.

And, you know, I've got lots of
references on screen

that I can look at.

So, thank God for the Internet.

While Jayne plans her
artistic vision,

husband Steve preps
the staircase wall.

And this is what's taking
all the time, really...

...the constant filling...

...and making good.

That's a huge old wall to prepare,
never mind paint a mural on.

I'm just hoping it's all going
to look all right,

but if it doesn't, then the worst
thing that can happen

is, really, that we just paint
over the whole lot.

SHE CHUCKLES

And that would be another painting
job for you, Steve.

I have possibly bitten off more
than I can chew, yeah.

Jayne says she's no Michelangelo,
but you have to give her credit.

That's a huge challenge
she's taken on.

You feel OK, up there? Yup.

When we've been driving around
lately, I've done nothing

but look at mountains and
see...see the tones

and how it all works together.

The further things are
away from you,

the lighter they should be because
they're in the distance.

The grisaille-style of mural
Jayne wants means colours

are monochromatic shades ranging
from dark grey

to pale mushroom and white.

I'm quite pleased with the progress
today, but I need to do all

the detail and finishing off,
so it's going to take a while.

With the B&B guests arriving soon,
you haven't got long,

but it's already looking fabulous.

At our place, we understand how
important it is

to have your own space, especially
when you're working together

most of the time...

We've got a big house.

But there's not many places that
Dick or myself can go to

to be away from the craziness,
to be calm.

...so I created a workroom
and treasury for Angel

in an unused attic room.

Well, I think she's going to
come up here

when the children are at school
and she gets some time.

She's going to become creative,

which I know is going to cause me
more pain.

Angel needs to be able to work day
and night,

so she requires good lighting.

It was my turn to get creative
in my workshop.

Got lights. The lights are
low energy.

They're LED plates, which is
lots of light

without taking any more room
space up.

It's not a tall room up there.

Rather than have the light panels
suspended from the low ceiling...

...l made wooden clips to attach
them to the roof.

What I'm going to do is I'm
going to take this,

stick this to it, put a hole
through the middle,

which means when it comes time to
put the light to the roof,

put the light there, turn it around
and just hold it in place.

It's very, very simple, but it's
also cheap as chips...

...which we like.

Squirt of wood glue, start
the process going.

Mass production.

With help from builder mate Steve,
it was then the moment of truth

to see if the ceiling lights
passed muster.

We got the two plates, one on each
side, which means there

shouldn't be shadows because
the light... There's light coming

from all over this, which means
the shadows are reduced.

That's why you have a big area like
this. Yep. That will work, won't it?

If we screw that in there, when we come to putting
the board up against it, twist it around,

it's going to hold it in place at
that point, correct? Yes.

The LED lights are thin panels,
which means they're unobtrusive.

That's going to be painted white,
That's it done, isn't it? Yep.

It's as simple as that, is it?
Yeah.

Job well done.

Then all it needed was a touch
of creative magic from Angel.

And a little help from Dorothy.

What do you think, baby? Ahh.

It's not a bad room, is it? No.
No!

Especially looking back
to how the room was.

This room's brilliant,
because it's full of my treasures.

It's bright and it's white, so when I need
to work late at night, I can do just that.

Over 170 miles away, another
transformation is well under way.

In the old stable, Stephanie
and her team have reinstalled old

stable dividers as room dividers
and have started decorating.

A few finishing touches, and she'll be
ready for her first artists' weekend.

I'm just moving in my father's
art library now.

I'm so happy it's finally
got a home.

The reason I'm doing this
is for my father,

because he always wanted Lalande
to be a retreat for artists.

The weekend is going to be
run by Stephanie's friend, Oliver,

who will be dressing the studio
with his own paintings.

So let's just put it here for now and
then work out exactly where we want it.

Just as Stephanie thought she's on
top of everything, there's a hiccup.

I just phoned Oliver to find out
how far away he was,

and he's driven to the wrong
Chateau de Lalande.

He's now three hours away and he has
to greet all of his attendees.

Anyway, I'm not stressing about it.

Did you hear what's happened with Oliver?
This is why we're running a bit late.

He took the wrong turn? No, he's gone to
the wrong Lalande, he's three hours away.

So we're having to do everything
that he was supposed to be doing!

This is the man who's running an art
retreat and he's got the wrong Lalande!

You could put it down to
artistic interpretation.

OK, here we go. This is very exciting to see
this room coming together, after all this time.

But the question on everyone's lips,
is, what will mum, Isabelle, think?

Who, after all, was married
for nearly 50 years to an artist.

It looks awfully nice, but it's too crowded
for an artists' studio, in my opinion.

Darling, it's getting too cluttered.

I'm sorry, I can't hear over
the banging, Mummy.

Oh, clear. Let's hope Isabelle sees
it in a new light when it's finished.

Back at Chateau Mareuil...

Hey, Belinda.

You've got to come
and have a look at this.

...Lee is keen to show off the fruits
of his labour.

That's really well organised. Yep.
That looks good.

It's got a certain architectural
rhythm to it. It does.

How did you bend that pipe?

Well, it came in a natural coil,

so what I did was I elongated it along the
corrugated sheet. lt looks really good.

Go and have a feel. Don't touch it, just
get your hands near it. ls it really hot?

Yeah, it's baking. In fact, it's so
hot, you could fry an egg on that.

Oh, that's really hot, there. You can
see, where the sun's hitting it. Yeah.

That's really hot.

\ Ooh, yeah. I

Just put one of your fingers inside
and tell me.

Go on.

God, that's really hot. I know.
SHE LAUGHS

No, that's really hot.

Can you imagine the water in there?
Yeah. Well.

I can tell you now, Belinda, the
water left in the pipe will be hot.

Right.

For the next part of his experiment,

Lee wants to find out just how
hot the water is.

OK.

\ Turn it on. I

\ Bit more. I

Wow, this is like bathwater.
It's hotter than my bath.

Belinda, come up here,
this is incredible.

And family friend, Lisa, is on hand
to test the waters.

Have a feel of that.

Wow. It's so hot! I know.

That is almost... That is too hot.

You're not wrong, Belinda.

However, if water was flowing through
this plastic pipe into the pool,

it wouldn't capture enough heat.

For this system to work,

the pipe used will have to be
a good conductor.

So what's the temperature
of that water?

According to Sharky,
this is 46 degrees.

46. 46 degrees.

Yes! Congratulations, it worked!
Thank you very much.

46 degrees, that's 24,
that's a rise of...

\ Er, six is 30. I

22 degrees. 22 degrees.

Sharky, me boy. You've brought it
home.

Before Lee and Belinda go to the
expense of connecting everything up,

I need to give them a call.

Hello. How are you? Oh, there you
are. Hiya, Belinda. Hiya, Lee.

Good, thanks, how are you?
Not bad at all.

I didn't realise what you'd clone to Lee,
Belinda, you've turned him into an eco-warrior!

I know. He's a new man, Dick.

The principles of what you've done,
I love.

But I'm afraid, mate, I don't think
your system's going to work.

THEY LAUGH

You're laughing, that's a good
start.

Why's that? It's a material choice.

If you've got a thick, plastic pipe,
OK, it's hard for the sun's heat

to get through it
because it's an insulator.

Right. Normally, we'd use copper, cos
copper's a good conductor of heat.

Any metal painted black is good,
the thinner the wall, the better.

So it's the transfer of the heat
that's the key thing.

Cos it only has a chance to heat the
water in the time it comes in the bottom

until it goes out the top.

Yeah, no, I totally get what you're
saying.

I mean, the reason we used that is we had some
left over and we didn't want to waste it.

We were just trying it all out,
but I think you're right,

we need to change that end of the
system.

I've made these systems, by the way,
using old radiators.

All those principles you've got in
your head now,

the only thing that is flawed, and
it's only a little bit,

is that the material you're using doesn't
want the sun to get to your water.

That's quite a big flaw, actually.
Yes! Yeah.

Mm. Oh, Belinda. Minor, minor
technical physical issue.

I'm thinking there's a spin-off from
this, as well, Dick,

because if I use a mixture of
old radiators and copper pipe,

it would double then as a sun collector
and some modern... Piece of sculpture.

A piece of postmodern sculpture.

Listen, you two, look after yourselves, and,
Belinda, don't let him get too arty on you.

Take care. Thank you for your help.
Thanks, Dick. Take care. Bye.

Bye-bye. Bye. Gone.

He had a point.
All the principles are right.

All I've done is just... I know.
It's just the wrong material.

Yeah, but at one end. just think right,
that was just a few minutes' conversation,

and that's saved us so much money.
I know.

And a whole load of grief, because
what we'd have done is

we'd have got it all working and it
wouldn't have heated up

and then I would have been scratching my
head, thinking, "What have I clone wrong?"

Glad to have been of assistance.
Call me any time.

You've had a busy eight months,

with your Christmas event...

...roof repairs... Oh.

...water feature installation...
Oh, my goodness me. Yay!

Happy birthday, Tina.

...and hosting a 60th birthday party.

I've never made anything
so bad in my entire life!

With bookings and events confirmed
for the summer season,

I have my fingers crossed that Belinda
and Lee can heat up their pool.

Coming UP---

Stephanie's lost friend
finally turns up...

Well, I have to say the other
Chateau de Lalande is really nice!

Oh, what?!

...as she reveals the new art studio.

Whoa.

It's a total transformation.

Lift that up. No?

And at Chateau de Thuries,
Steve takes things in hand...

I think it needs a good kicking.
Shall I tell them that, then?

...just in time for their guests.

Did you do the wall? Yes.

Oh, wow. Very good.

At Chateau de Lalande, it's a
big day for Stephanie,

it's her first Artists' Weekend.

She's hosting a cocktail party to
launch the event

and new space in just
three hours' time.

Oliver!

Friend Oliver,
an artist who's running the weekend

and went to the wrong Chateau de
Lalande, has finally rocked up.

Well, I have to say that the other
Chateau de Lalande is really nice.

Oh, what?

Now to find out what Oliver
thinks of the studio Stephanie's

created from the old stables.

What for decades was a dumping
ground, is now a bright

and airy creative space,
with re-installed stable dividers

and up-cycled troughs as sinks,

plus plenty of room for students
to work at their art.

Ii

It's a total transformation.

I need to give you a hug,
it's amazing.

I've got to put this painting down.

\ Love it. Wow! I

I'm literally gobsmacked, because
this was just

a bit of a dumping
ground, wasn't it? Yeah.

This is the start of any
artist's dreams.

It makes me want to get my paint
brushes out, which is

what we want this to do.

Welcome, guests.

A couple of hours later,
and after a quick brush-up,

it's time to welcome guests
and launch the retreat in style.

Are you finally liking it?
Yes.

It's exactly what I wanted.

Glad to see mum Isabelle
seems happy.

Stephanie, do you want to
come up here?

Oliver has something rather
special to unveil.

This is my gift to you
and the chateau and I just hope it's

the start of hundreds of paintings
that loads of people do here

that create something really,
really special - that's my wish.

I'm actually going to do it so I can see everyone
else's reaction before actually seeing it.

\ Oh, wow. I

Oh, I really love it, thank you.

Thank you.

Celebrations over, it's time to pick
up a paintbrush for the first

class in life drawing, with help
from live-in chateau helper, Marie.

So, my number one tip would be
don't just start with

a little area and work outwards.

Map out the whole proportions first.

Marie, over to you.

If you use your charcoal to follow
the curves of the legs,

like a tube, then you tend to get
a sense of it feeling quite solid.

The head is good, but it's too big,

compared to the rest of the body.

It seems the room is awash
with creativity

and the studio has really
come into its own.

It's been such a lot of hard work,
this project,

but it's really paid off.

I think my father would have loved
everything about this space

and I'm just sorry that I didn't do
this whilst he was still alive.

Well done, Stephanie, I'm sure
your father would have been very

proud of what you've achieved.

It's been an epic winter at Lalande.

Not only did we have the huge
Christmas parties...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

...but we also managed to
renovate the greenhouse...

Oh, my goodness!
Oh, it's wonderful!

...we finally finished the last
bedroom

and we've got an art studio up
and running.

Now, with other event bookings over
the summer, and her mum's

wedding at the chateau to organise,
there's no rest for Stephanie.

In southern France, Jayne and Steve
are about to open the whole

chateau to their first
fully paying guests.

The guests are flying in this
morning,

but I think they're going to be
arriving early afternoon,

we've got a heck of a lot to
do before then.

I'm Mr Mop today, I think.

While Steve cleans, Jayne's putting
the finishing touches to her

bespoke staircase mural.

Nice, wow!
I'm hugely impressed, Jayne.

I mean, I wouldn't know where to
start if I was doing this.

I'm just making it up
as I go along, darling.

I think it's gone better
than I thought it might do.

The guests are going to be the first
people to see what I've done so far.

Now, just time for some finishing
touches to the office...

Your end up, your end up.

Yeah, that's better.

Nature Suite.

Oh, for God's...
What's going on with this door?

...and some last-minute snagging.

Maintenance,
could you have a look, please?

Lift that up. No?

There you go.
I think it needs a good kicking.

Shall I tell them that,
then, the guests? No.

Gentle touch.

Time's up - the guests are here.

Hello. Hi, I'm Steve.
I'm Lee, nice to meet you.

Very pleased to meet you, Lee.
Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Carl.

I'm Jayne, how are you?
Hi, Jayne.

So, come on in.

Wow. Wow.
Lovely floor.

Thank you. This is the salon, you
know, you can just chill and relax,

make yourself at home.

Lovely. The tapestry looks...

It's actually the original
wallpaper. No!

It's still on the wall?
Yeah. You've just framed it?

We just framed it. Really?
Yeah. That's really cool.

It's a chance to have a look at the
once dull and dingy staircase,

transformed into a mural
masterpiece,

perfectly capturing their local
surroundings.

Ah! Did you do the wall?
Yes. Very good. Wow!

Wow! Very talented.
Do you like it?

Yeah, I think it's amazing.

It works really well.

You're capturing the scene outside,
aren't you? Yeah.

Bringing the garden
and your lovely gardens inside.

Absolutely, well spotted.

You couldn't have asked for a better
compliment, Jayne.

So, we can get your bags
up in a minute. Lovely.

I love the fact that you've got the
double windows in this room. Really nice.

What Jayne's done with the hallway
with the stencil, I think

it's really effective. Yeah.

It kind of encourages you to make
the journey all the way up to the

top, so you come into your wonderful
suite where you'll be staying.

That's a thumbs-up!

Ah, just what we need, thank you.

Sante, guys. Cheers.

Cheers. Cheers.

The guests seem to be quite impressed
with it all, which is great.

It's been a year of really
hard graft

and I'm really pleased that we've
nearly finished it all now.

I think the best bit is
the fact that we can open.

It doesn't matter what's got
to be done in the future,

it's the fact that we can open
and start earning some money.

It's certainly been a busy
year for Jayne and Steve...

That's lovely.

...they've transformed derelict
downstairs rooms,

there's a beautiful dining room...

This is absolutely what we wanted.

...a bright and airy salon...

Wow, fantastic.

That is amazing.

...an updated hallway...

...orangery...

Lovely atmosphere.

...office...

...staircase and they're
planning more.

If we have a successful year,
then we can start to think about

putting a pool in, as well, cos
we haven't got a pool at the moment.

So, I'd really love a pool.
So would I!

And with the chateau taking
bookings for forthcoming events,

it bodes well.

There were times when I never
thought we'd finish, I have to say.

Not in the winter.

But, yeah, we've nearly done it
now and it's a great feeling.

Next week...

Oh, my goodness, it's amazing!

...we'll follow more intrepid
chateau-owning Brits.

Steve, that one's falling out.
No!

Steve. Whoa!
Steven!

At my place...

Oh, Richard!

...there's a slip-up...

Man in the water here, one down.

...and, at another chateau, one
couple face their worst fears.

We can't ruin the wedding
meal by eating outside in the rain

and it quite
clearly will be in the rain.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media.