Jules Hudson's 'absolutely knackered' first home: 'I thought, What have I done?'
Escape to the Country star Jules Hudson is a fan of rural living. During the '90s, when he was filming in Upper Teifi Valley, the presenter purchased his first home – a three-bedroom cottage in the idyllic village of Llanddewi Brefi.
The definition of a fixer-upper, a then 26-year-old Jules realised that the property would need major renovations. Speaking to The Times, he recalled: "The cottage was absolutely knackered. At one point the roof was off. There were no floors. There were just the four walls and the sky. I thought, 'What have I done?'
"But I couldn't afford anywhere else," he continued. "I was also intrigued by the idea of taking something ruinous and fixing it. I've always loved fixing and renovating things. It took about eight months."
After residing in Wales for several years, Jules put his cottage – which he named Morfa Isa – on the market for £275,000 in 2012. Equipped with flagstone quarry tiles, ancient beams, exposed stone walls and sashay windows, the property included a range of restored outbuildings, including a workshop.
Jules, 54, now resides in Herefordshire with his wife, Tania Fitzgerald, their son Jack and labradors, Teddy and Lolo. Following the sale of his cottage in Wales, the father-of-one purchased his current property for £610,000 and went on to spend a further £100,000 on renovations.
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In an interview, Jules opened up about the project. "The house was brilliantly saved from demolition back in the 1970s by a very enterprising couple. They laid out the gardens, then went around preserving the house. It was liveable when we bought it, but it was very tired," he explained.
Jules has since restored the property's original features and converted the two-up, two-down cottage into a five-bedroom family home. A keen gardener, the TV star has two acres of land to indulge his hobby.
"Country life may not always be easier and cheaper," he told The Times, "but in my experience, it could be the most rewarding undertaking any of us might make."
While Jules prefers to keep his family life away from the spotlight, he has given fans a glimpse of his stunning home, complete with 15th-century exposed beams, on Instagram. One of the most recent was shared on 16 October.
"We're used to rain here in Herefordshire, but as of now I've officially checked out of Autumn; come on Spring and Summer! And Hurry up!" he captioned a video of one of the outbuildings and the garden.
