Build a New Life in the Country

Charlie revisits a couple who planned to convert a dilapidated lighthouse in Eastbourne into a luxury B He discovers how the pair helped finance their ambitious scheme by convincing builders to pose for a nude calendar, and learns why unexploded bombs from the Second World War left the would-be hoteliers wrangling with the council over permission to build a road to the premises.

Rebecca and Jim Constantine moved from Wimbledon, south London, to the Buckinghamshire village of Sherington to stay with Rebecca's mother following the death of her father in 2003. A temporary arrangement lasted longer than expected, so, as they continued to have children, they decided to stay for good and buy somewhere of their own. They bought a 1960s bungalow on a plot of land backing onto Rebecca's mum's house for £420,000. With a mortgage of £350,000, they demolished the bungalow to build their dream Georgian-style house, made from mostly reclaimed materials and built to their own specifications. Rebecca has spent a lot of time sourcing materials and features from across Europe: from windows reclaimed from a Georgian house in London, to doors from France and tiles from Geneva. The whole house has been designed to fit around a reclaimed Georgian stone staircase. The renovation bug is something Rebecca has inherited from her late father, a builder by trade, and wants to produce something that would make him proud. She shops online for antiques and bargains every night after putting the kids to bed and, as a result, deliveries are turning up on site every week. Also, she regularly presents new challenges to her builders - fixing some French windows into the barn roof, or building the front of the house from reclaimed stone. When she finds a feature banister on the internet which will go with her staircase, she drags Jim off to Paris to have a look at it before buying it. Whilst there, she makes the most of the trip by visiting her contacts at reclaimed yards and comes home with a few additional purchases too. Whilst Jim continues to work full-time, commuting to London every day, Rebecca is on site with four children and dealing with the builders. Once the main building work has been done, the plan is for Jim to work in the evenings and on days off, laying Rebecca's French parquet flooring throughout the house and finishing the bathrooms and kitchen. But although they have some experience in building extensions in the past, the Constantines have never managed a build of this scale and each job takes longer than expected. Will they make their end-of-summer deadline, or will they end up spending another winter in a caravan? It all sounds idyllic, but the family come up against various hurdles when the real renovation work begins; their plans for solar panels are rejected due to their appearance (despite the fact they are at the back of the house and can only be seen from one street in Canterbury) and, when work starts on stripping out the kitchen, Al has to invite archaeologists in to conduct some research before the new floor goes down. Also, quality and authenticity of materials is of great importance if they are to do this house justice. Al renovates and repairs over 50 windows in the house himself, and commissions a number of hand-crafted oak staircases from a local joiners to match the original staircase in the house. So, before the Kennedy family can move in, they must climb a steep learning curve - and work their fingers close to the bone. Charlie Luxton charts their highs and lows as they endeavour to create a comfortable family home in a derelict and ancient shell...

This week, Hugh and Jude leave leafy Surrey for a sustainable future in a remote corner of Wales. With the couple hoping to host their daughter's wedding just six months after the project begins, the heat is on to finish the complex build in time. Hugh and Jude Crawford are looking forward to the next chapter in their lives. They have given up their house in Surrey to create a more rewarding, sustainable life in a remote area of Wales. The couple have spent £300,000 on a 15-acre smallholding with a run-down farmhouse in Cardigan Bay, and hope to renovate and extend the property to create their dream home. The smallholding also includes derelict barns, which Hugh and Jude plan to turn into holiday lets to provide an income for their retirement. Hugh has a unique vision for this project. After years of working as an architect specialising in underground railways, he is excited about designing his own home. His plans for the farmhouse extension are inspired by what he calls ‘postagricultural architecture’. Sustainable elements will be used throughout the build – including cement-free construction techniques, heat stores, a wind turbine and solar panels. The couple also have dreams of being self-sufficient – they want to set up a polytunnel, and have plans for keeping hens and other animals further down the line. Hugh and Jude are working to a strict deadline – their oldest daughter, Jessica, is getting married in six months and they are determined to have one of the stone barns ready to host the wedding. This is a big incentive to push ahead with the build, but as the barn takes priority during the winter and spring, the work on the farmhouse starts to fall behind... Fortunately, the couple manage to meet their deadline. The wedding is a huge success, with the whole family coming together to make the site beautiful for the big day. But once the wedding is over there is little time for Hugh and Jude to relax. The pair know the project will have to move at a more rapid pace if they are to complete the house before the end of the year. Hugh and Jude make good progress – the roof lights are fitted, the house is plumbed and the electrics start to go in. But just as things are picking up, Hugh’s plans for agricultural-style tin roofs are rejected by the council in favour of a more traditional material. The couple are upset by the decision, but they continue work on the rest of the house and lodge an appeal. Can Hugh and Jude persuade the council to approve their beloved roofs – or will they be spending another wet Welsh winter in their caravan?

David and Hilary Body dream of creating a new life in France with their two daughters. As they plan to run barge holidays on the French canals, they're renovating a rusty old cargo vessel, with a view to it becoming the family home in winter and a much-needed source of income in the summer. Will they escape the daily grind, or will their plans of leaving Essex run aground? The family bought a run-down Dutch barge, Lotte, for £120,000, and have already spent £30,000 on getting her seaworthy. This means that they have just £20,000 to finish the renovation. If that wasn't difficult enough, winter is setting in - and their teenage daughters, Sophie and Katy, are getting fed up of life without central heating and other creature comforts on a muddy mooring in Essex. In order to get the boat ready for the summer season, the Bodys end up relying on the proceeds from the sale of some possessions on the internet. However, when the weather takes a turn for the worse, their dream of crossing the Channel hangs in the balance like never before...

Charlie Luxton visits Beachy Head cliffs in East Sussex, where a couple face mounting costs and legal wrangles as they try to transform one of England's oldest lighthouses into a luxury B With £500,000 already spent on the ambitious project, Charlie believes they have underestimated the cost of the renovation and the problems multiply as they deal with strong sea winds, a perilous access road and a delayed schedule.