Astonishingly it’s 50 years since the UK made a weekly appointment to watch “The Good Life”, a TV sit-com about a couple who chucked in the jobs that had become meaningless to them and turned their suburban home into a hub of self-sufficiency. Goats replaced the immaculate lawn and the constantly optimistic and cheerful couple, Barbara and Tom apparently grew enough veg to feed themselves while their judgemental neighbours looked on with a mix of bewilderment (the doughty Margot) and slight envy (the hapless Gerry).
There was a lot of hokum about it of course but there was real warmth, and The Good Life became a phrase that we all understood to mean “giving it a go and trying to bring a bit more meaning back into life”. The characters and the premise were utterly charming, and the concept of the programme was also perhaps a light-hearted precursor of all sorts of issues including re-wilding, organic food, becoming less materialistic, being “green” and living a sustainable life.
Those issues which the programme explored through weekly hilarity have only become more prominent in our thinking in the intervening 50 years and now going “off-grid’ and finding purpose in life through maintaining the soil and the environment are topics of urgency rather than comedy. This week we’re bringing you some homes which would certainly allow you to live The Good Life – all have either acreage of land or large gardens in unspoilt areas.
Longdown Farm in East Sussex
Eighteen acres attached to a beautifully restored 15th century Listed house with many outbuildings, one of which has current planning permission to convert to living accommodation. Cow barn and equestrian stabling are all there just looking for a little TLC to give them fresh purpose. The fields surround the property making Longdown Farm a little island of quiet rural perfection. There is even a pond to the edge of the property large enough to house a rowing boat. Idyllic yet not remote from transport and local amenities.
For sale £1,250,000. See the full details here.
The Stables Courtyard, Hertfordshire
With less land (around one acre) but boundless opportunities to develop the house and outbuildings further, this is a very special property.
The Stables Courtyard offers a rich history and comfortable living but also substantial development opportunities. With pre-planning and surveys already in place for a large two-story extension to the current house, and the development of the exterior barns into their own dwelling, the potential is limitless. In the heartland of an area celebrated for its equestrian heritage, The Stables Courtyard offers opportunities for stabling and paddocks or for fulfilling other dreams which need space, imagination and a bit of land.
For sale £1,250,000. See the full details here.
Brasses Farm in East Sussex
A wonderful home with a flowing and spacious interior full of period features without the terror of head-bangingly low beams and dark rooms. Parts of the house date back to the 14th century. Ten acres of unspoilt field attached and a large garden with a veg patch already staked out with rabbit-proofed fencing.
The property also has a beautifully renovated self-contained wagon shed with two or three bedrooms and three bathrooms and a fabulous open plan living space which opens to the double height beamed ceiling. Perfect for holiday lets or housing relatives.
For sale £1,599,000. See the full details here.
The Good Life need not be a dream.
For the price of a reasonable three-bed family home in London with a pocket handkerchief of a back garden, you can be surrounded by bucolic peace and find a way to fulfil your own vision for a better life.
