Escape To The Country’s most disastrous moments ever – from ‘unforgivable’ neighbours to creepy messages in partitions and even hauntings
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Escape To The Country has been a hit with viewers since the BBC show launched in 2002.
Pairing house-hunters with their dream country homes or helping them find a slower pace of life, the show has featured some bizarre properties over the years.
The show has helped a whole host of prospective rural residents relocate, but not everyone had such a smooth experience.
Some have come up against ‘unforgivable’ neighbours, creepy messages in the walls and even possible hauntings.
Relationship on the rocks
In one episode from August, a couple struggled to agree on a stunning thatched-roof cottage.
The beautiful home which was located in Wiltshire saw Stephanie and Ollie almost fall out over one major feature.
Escape To The Country has been a hit with viewers since the BBC show launched in 2002, pairing house-hunters with their dream country homes but not everyone has had a smooth journey
The show has paired house-hunters with their dream country homes or helping them find a slower pace of life, the show has seen some bizarre properties over the years
The duo couldn’t agree on the roof of the house and Stephanie made sure to make her feelings known.
She explained: ‘I like thatches, nothing wrong with thatches, as long as they are looked after and well kept. I think they’re great!’
But presenter Ginny Buckley noticed that Stephanie’s opinion remained unchanged despite seeing the property and the prospective buyer said: ‘I’m not convinced, I don’t know. It’s just not quite warm and homely. That’s the vibe I’m getting.’
Ginny replied: ‘So I guess what you should perhaps do is go off and explore yourself. She added: ‘Have a wander, keep that open mind.’
Nightmare neighbours
One house that was featured on the BBC show seemed fine in all but one way.
The house hunter was disappointed that the detached property was too close to her neighbours after hoping for a more isolated rural relocation.
Potential buyer Kicki, who featured on the show in November 2024, had hoped to fall in love with somewhere new away from her Surrey home.
But after presenter Alastair Appleton showed off a large property in Nyewood, West Sussex, Kicki was unsure.
Some came up against ‘unforgivable’ neighbours, creepy messages in the walls and even possible hauntings
One duo who went house hunting last year and weren’t put off – despite a bizarre message in the walls of one property were Xiaonan and her daughter, Xinyi (pictured)
She explained: ‘The neighbours are a bit close. The road is a bit close. The house looks fascinating and beautiful.
A ‘skip and hop’ too far
One episode from September saw one guest on the show back out from her rural escape entirely.
Caroline from West London was initially eager to relocate to Pembrokshire, West Wales but after driving down to the West of the UK and viewing several properties, she confessed she was no longer sure of her decision.
After going round three houses she told the show that she didn’t want somewhere too rural and remote after all.
She said: ‘the “but” started on my inbound journey coming into Pembrokeshire actually, I have to say so.
‘While I studied in depth the different routes on getting to and from London, while I realised I wouldn’t be living somewhere that isn’t a skip and hop, I hadn’t expected it to take more than double the amount of time on paper.’
She then described the move as a ‘step too far’ and continued: ‘Rural doesn’t need to be remote, that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.’
Messages hidden in the walls
One duo who went house hunting last year and weren’t put off – despite a bizarre message in the walls of one property were Xiaonan and her daughter, Xinyi.
As they wandered round a Grade II listed property which had survived a great fire that had destroyed much of Leonard Stanley in the 17th century, presenter Alistair revealed there was a hidden message inside the walls.
Last year, a couple who were willing to spend big for their dream country residence took one look at one large mansion and labelled the pile ‘haunted’ and eventually decided it wasn’t the house for them
He told the hopeful home owners that for good luck, the old building all had a pair of children’s shoes hidden inside them and in the house they were looking at, two pairs were hidden downstairs.
Initially shocked at the revelation, Xiaonan revealed she was still keen on going forward, explaining: ‘I like it, I actually have some designs already in my mind!’.
Although Xiaonan and her daughter didn’t seem phased by the ghostly addition to their perfect home, one couple was put off by their spooky potential new buy.
Haunted home
Last year, a couple who were willing to spend big for their dream country residence took one look at one large mansion and labelled the pile ‘haunted’.
Grace and Joe were fell head over heels with one property worth £800,000 and were willing to sign on the dotted line to cement their move from Florida to the UK where they were looking for a modern home.
But the pair knew they had found the one when they stumbled upon a Victorian property in Cheshire.
And while everything seemed perfect, one thing put them off.
The BBC has apologised after Escape To The Country sparked war with locals – and fans aren’t impressed with their ‘incredibly rude’ response (pictured: series presenter Denise Nurse)
The series’ fifty-fifth episode, set in Isle Of Skye, sparked outrage among a group of NC500 locals when a campervan was parked improperly
Joe said: ‘Wow, it’s haunted!’ while Grace said: ‘It’s very grand, I’m definitely intrigued.’
And despite the property piquing their interest, they both decided it wasn’t the dream home for them after all.
Locals lash out
And last year the show sparked a war with locals after one episode, set in Isle Of Skye, sparked outrage with residents.
In the offending episode, Diane Nurse, presenter since 2008, helped a couple who had spent the last year travelling around in their campervan finally settle down.
Furious residents were up in arms when footage from the episode showed the motorhome parked in a passing place on a narrow road – a road violation.
They took to the NC500 The Land Weeps Facebook group, a private page which allows locals to talk about tourism on the North Coast 500, a 516-mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, to complain.
One resident, Colin Cameron, revealed on Tuesday that the broadcaster had apologised for its initial dismissive reply to his complaint, according to The Sun.
Posting in the Facebook group Colin said: ‘While it’s slightly heartening to see they have acknowledged it, they shouldn’t have done this in the first place.
In the offending episode, Diane Nurse, presenter since 2008, helped a couple (pictured) who had spent the last year travelling around in their campervan finally settle down
‘Their reply does nothing to address the patronising brush off I got the first time I raised it.’
The BBC had emailed Colin and apologised for failing to ‘properly address’ his and the group’s complaint.
The BBC wrote: ‘We understand your concerns regarding a segment in Escape to the Country in which an interview with a couple moving to the Isle of Skye was conducted at the side of a road.
‘You are of course correct that no matter how brief that filming was for, the Highway Code does advise that drivers should not park in passing places.
‘We also appreciate your point about such matters being even more of an issue in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
It added: ‘While we don’t believe this segment of the programme would encourage people to ignore road signs and to park in places that they shouldn’t, we fully appreciate your concerns and we understand our responsibilities as a TV programme.
‘The production team will bear this in mind for future filming and are grateful to you for taking the time to raise this with us.’
Escape To The Country airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
