Alumni Terry Short and partner Ash Waters have escaped to their chateau or more accurately are rebuilding Château De Lalacelle in France. Realising their dream and restoring this beautiful and massive property to its former glory, they are also inviting viewers along for the ride.

Their YouTube channel has captured the attention of a huge following as has their Facebook page resulting in appearances on The Discovery Channel and recently Channel 4. The pair have filmed their day-to-day lives for the last Chateau DIY series (episode 7,8,9 for Chateau fans that want to watch) and they are still filming for the season that airs next year, which they hope will give a more detailed insight into their passion project.

It is fantastic to see this north east family making their European dreams a reality!We gave them a ring to find out more about this exciting family project.

The family (Ash, Terry, Mum Tracy and 10 year old nephew Jonathan) were inspired to move after a number of holidays in France. “It was always a place we loved coming to and it got to the point where we decided to move here so we put in place a 10 year plan. That was in about 2017 and then Covid hit and we were all separated from our families and everything – and it just made us leap a bit quicker really,” Ash said.

Speaking of that leap Ash added: ‘Terry found this (the chateau) whilst in lockdown. We booked the first ferry out of the UK  after lockdown and we came straight here. I was sent over to talk Terry out of it and I was the one that ended up putting in the offer in. So it was just one of them. We have been here for the last 3 to 4 years.”

The project is a family affair with each member pitching in when and where they can. So what does repairing a massive chateau look like day to day? “Well we work together as a team, if something needs to be done, it needs to be done. That’s just the way we see it as a family really,” Ash explained.

“There are always jobs, it’s a massive amount of work, the property is a 16th century chateau with 24 acres of land and seven outbuildings. So there’s quite a lot.”

Renovations have allowed the first floor to be operational, with two suites almost finished, one complete with the second to open this year. As we spoke to the family, they mentioned they were expecting their first booking. A Middlesbrough-based family that have been following their YouTube channel were due to check-in that day.

The project is big and not without expense but has been supported by the family’s active use of social media. Ash commented, “YouTube has helped to sustain the project.” They hope to repair all of the property in time, including log-cabins and chalets in the grounds for guests to come and stay.

Their YouTube channel Escape To The Dream, Restoring The Château is a deep dive into the project offering content on the everyday repairing of the building and even the hidden mysteries of the property, capturing its long history lurking underneath the floorboards. With around 165k followers there are some intriguing insights to see, you can subscribe or view more videos here.

Ash said that their channel has also led to other filming opportunities, “When we were selling our businesses from the UK we set up the Facebook page and a couple of channels got in touch, the first one being the Discovery Chanel. We filmed with them for nearly a year and it aired on my My Dream Derelict Home in the Sun in 2022.

“Our first programme with Channel 4’s Chateau DIY aired in December as a Christmas special and we were on, I think, episode 7,8,9 of this series in the January gone. We only did a couple of days with them kind of trying us out. It went really well and we are already booked in for 20 days of filming this year and next year, for the next series, I think we will feature more prominently.”

Speaking to chateau co-owner and Art & Design Alumni Terry Short on how his creative skills have had an impact on the project, he said they have been useful, “Definitely in the design aspect.” He continued, “The course covered a variation of different things and skillsets from sewing to drawing and actually making woodwork things. It’s given me a range of different skills really.

“Ash and Mam only had a basic knowledge but, having been at the college, I don’t have big DIY skills but had the confidence to just have a go at stuff and learn new skills. So it did massively help with a lot of stuff.”

When asked, how did he found the general experience the School, Terry replied, “It was a great experience, every part of it. The teachers were brilliant, obviously Martyn (Featherstone) and all of them, they were really supportive. It also set me up to go on to university.”

Terry is not the only one with a connection to our school. Ash worked as a former councillor and was the Executive for Regeneration for Middlesbrough and was part of a committee which had a role in approving the new building for our new Newport Road campus building. Reflecting on this he said” “So that was my little bit of work. We both have a little involvement with the college – Terry obviously graduated from there and I helped open the new one.”

It looks like it won’t be too long until they both open their new Chateau! You can follow development and find out more on their social media channels. If you are interested in learning more about our UAL Extended Diploma in Art & Design make sure you find out more here.