Alan Titchmarsh has opened up about the emotional decision to sell his £4million Hampshire farmhouse, which he has shared with his wife Alison for more than two decades
Alan Titchmarsh has opened up about the heart-wrenching decision to part with his £4 million Hampshire farmhouse, revealing that it was his daughters who ultimately encouraged him to embrace this new chapter. The beloved broadcaster and gardening expert, who has called the Grade II-listed property home for over two decades, admitted that saying goodbye to the residence and garden he lovingly restored has been “a wrench” — though one he is now facing with optimism.
Titchmarsh initially settled into the Georgian farmhouse with his wife, Alison, 23 years ago, transforming the four-acre site into a quintessentially English sanctuary. Over the years, the house and its grounds became the backdrop to some of the family’s most cherished memories: endless gardening projects, family celebrations, and watching his grandchildren grow up running through the meadows he carefully cultivated.
For someone whose professional life has revolved around a passion for nature and domesticity, leaving the property was always going to be difficult.
“So why go? Well… it’s time,” he penned in BBC Gardeners’ World. “Time for a new challenge. Time to downsize — a little — as those of us of relatively senior years are regularly told would be wise to do.”
Titchmarsh and his wife listed their Holybourne home in September for £3.95 million. The pair acquired the Grade II-listed Georgian manor in 2002, reports the Express.
While he emphasises that he hadn’t been eager to move, age and practicality eventually became factors. Maintaining a historic property and its extensive grounds is no easy task, even for a renowned gardening expert.
He confessed: “To be honest, we had no plans to move. When you restore an old house and make a garden around it, you pour so much of your heart and soul into it that moving on is bound to be a wrench.”
The couple had devotedly restored the farmhouse over many years, ensuring every room and corner of the garden reflected their dedication, taste, and vision. Yet despite his ongoing energy and reluctance to “believe what the numbers tell me,” Titchmarsh recognised it was wise to plan ahead.
“When you are knocking on a bit (which I refuse to believe, despite what the numbers tell me) age puts one’s muse on the future — a future which I hope will be long and fulfilling,” he said. “Looking after four acres and a Grade II-listed house has been — and still is — a treat beyond measure, but the day will come when it starts to be overwhelming and I’d rather move on to fresh pastures before that becomes the case.”
Ultimately, it was their daughters who found the home that would become the couple’s new residence. The property, strikingly different from the old farmhouse, offered a refreshing contrast: “Long, low, modern — a complete contrast to a Georgian farmhouse.”
Even so, Titchmarsh admitted he struggled with the choice.
“After making the decision, I hummed and haa-ed about the wisdom of it all. But once sound reasoning convinced me this was not giving in and winding down, but simply taking on a new challenge — a challenge that was do-able in the long term — the apprehension was replaced by excitement.”
Source: Mirror
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