'What makes the perfect house? The one that makes you want to embrace its imperfections': Jules Hudson on his first house in the country
The TV presenter moved to a dilapidated cottage in the 'middle of nowhere' — but never regretted it for a second. He spoke to Julie Harding.
Where was your first house in the country?
In mid Wales, in the middle of nowhere, specifically in Llanddewi Brefi of Little Britain fame.
A quick description.
It was a three-up, two-down derelict stone cottage on the edge of the village, but affordable — it only cost £29,500 in 1997. People often ask me what the perfect house is and I believe it’s the one that makes you want to embrace its imperfections.
How did it come about?
I had studied archaeology at the University of Wales, Lampeter, and lived in Llanddewi. I fell in love with the community. I’d left and was working as an archaeologist when a friend called to tell me a cottage in the village was coming up for sale. I rushed to Wales and loved the wreck.
Was it a smooth process?
Buying a derelict property was risky and I wouldn’t recommend it. At no point did I have a survey, and I had to get a scheme that underwrote the mortgage. Early on, I looked at the four walls with no roof and wondered if I’d bitten off more than I could chew, but I found a brilliant builder called George and he and his team did a great job. Transforming it was a joy and, after the house, I turned my attetions to the garden. You can spend a fortune on a property, but if you don’t frame it with a decent garden you’re missing out.
'I loved the characters I met and the dramatic, rolling landscape,' says Jules Hudon of his life in mid-Wales.
Favourite aspect?
The place had a strange magic and, rather like the words of the song Hotel California, you could check out any time you liked, but you could never truly leave. I loved the characters I met and the dramatic, rolling landscape on that southern edge of the Cambrian Mountains.
Biggest indulgence?
An Esse Ironheart Wood Fired Cook Stove, which I installed in the kitchen I created in an adjacent barn.
What happened to it?
I kept the cottage for 20-odd years, but after I met Tania, who would become my wife, we lived at either end of the M4 and needed to buy somewhere more sensibly located, and so we moved to the Welsh borders. It was difficult emotionally to move on, but it was the right thing to do.
‘Escape to the Country’ presenter Jules Hudson is celebrating 30 years in television with the release of his autobiography ‘Wild at Heart — My Journey to a Country Life’ (Mirror Books, £22).
