Heartbreaking end to Escape to the Country couple's dream home journey
A couple looking for their perfect retirement home experienced tragedy after finding a dream house on the BBC shows Escape To The Country.
Fans of the easy-watching BBC show may recall in 2018 a couple named Neil and Angela were looking for a home in North Wales with plenty of space for their cats and points of local interest to keep their attention once they moved. In the original episode, the pair were assisted by Jonnie Irwin who showed them three properties as they sought to find a dream house with a budget of £300,000.
While the first property in Cerrigydrudion delighted the couple, it was over budget at £325,000. A second property in Cynwyd pleased the couple - but they were concerned about a busy road nearby and turned down the home over fears their cats could be run over. And while a third property in Trevor, in Wrexham County, was a hit and under budget at £275,000, the pair lost out as another buyer outbid them.
Neil and Angela’s story was revisited in the follow-up show, I Escaped to the Country - where presenter Denise Nurse discovered they had bought a charming bungalow in Llangollen after they filmed their episode of the show. However upon visiting the couple, the sad news was revealed that in 2021, Neil had passed away following their move.
Angela shared her heartbreaking story with the host as she showed her around her home. She explained: "Unfortunately, after we'd been here about two and a half years, I lost Neil, his health deteriorated and I lost him, and it was hard after that, I couldn't plan things, it was like my brain had fried.
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"But we'd planned to do the bathroom and one day after I'd got into the shower and the door fell off for the umpteenth time, I thought, 'that's it, I've had enough, I'm going to do this bathroom!', and I was so pleased, I didn't think I could plan anything like that, so I was really pleased with it when it was finished." Reflecting on their time in the town together, Angela continued: "When we went out and looked around the town and saw things that were beautiful along the riverside walk we thought, 'Oh this is lovely' and Neil being by the railway - he was in his element.”
When Neil died, however, Angela was left devastated - and struggled to focus on even the simplest tasks. She explained: "When he died, It was awful, the smallest decision, like whether to have tea or coffee suddenly became this huge decision, and it was so difficult and that was when I decided to get a dog because I wasn't leaving the house and I knew that wasn't good for me, I wasn't really seeing anyone, so that's when I got Teddy - and I've certainly met a lot of people since getting him.
“He was very good, he got me out and about, he got me walking when I wouldn't have bothered." Angela went on to offer advice to other couples looking for a perfect retirement home. She said: "Do your research, make sure it is the area you want first of all, and that's where the programme helped us initially, to cement that it (north Wales) was the place, and I think if you've decided to do it, your age doesn't matter really." Having now assimilated into her new community where she has joined two choirs and volunteers at a local school and church, she added: "For me, it's a home now, both the house and the town."
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