Victorian adventures in Shropshire

Fans of BBC TV’s surprise hit Victorian Farm are in for a fresh treat as the historic estate of Acton Scott, Shropshire, returns to the small screen in a new show next week.

The real life location of Acton Scott which is nestled in the Shropshire Hills, once again plays host to TV favourite Ben Fogle for a new 20-part series in which families take up the challenge of becoming Victorian farmers.

Escape in Time is produced by the same team behind the hit TV series, ‘Victorian Farm’ and ‘Victorian Farm Christmas’, and the first episode goes out on BBC 2 on Monday 5th July at 4.30pm.

For one week two families will step back in time to learn the traditional skills of our farming ancestors, competing against each other in daily and weekly challenges: from mucking out the pigs to making a perfect cottage loaf.

Filmed entirely on location at Acton Scott, fans of the show can get their own taste of Victorian life by visiting or holidaying on the estate.

Acton Scott’s Historic Working Farm gives a fascinating insight into rural life at the turn of the 19th century, has rare breeds, heavy horses and daily demonstrations of period skills offering visitors a picture of life on a Victorian country estate. Visitors can even join a one day or short course in traditional rural skills and crafts.

And for the complete Victorian Farm experience, the original 19th century Farm Labourer’s Cottage that featured in both BBC TV shows is available to rent as a unique holiday cottage, offering a true escape from 21st century living.  No washing machine, no gas or electricity, no mobile phones and no flush lavatories, although the faint-hearted can find a modern shower and flush loo in an outhouse!

New this summer at Acton Scott, families can also swap the tiresome distractions of City Life for luxurious safari-style tents inspired by the adventures of the great Victorian Explorers. Acton Scott has teamed up with Country House Hideout to locate their atmospheric private encampments at the heart of the estate, a stay here will give children a gentle introduction to rural life and the adults an opportunity to unwind and relax.

To launch the new TV series, Monday’s episode will see the two families face their first challenges - the children learning a vital part of Victorian farm life, keeping the pigs clean, while the mums learn a Victorian bread recipe off by heart and the dads compete to see who can make the most clay bricks in 15 minutes.

Episodes two and three will be aired on consecutive nights, with the Doige family, from Essex, and the Mills family, from Twickenham, making damson butter and getting a horse and cart driving lesson on Tuesday 6th and the dads taking on an important farm job - haymaking, using old-fashioned scythes – on Wednesday 7th.

Acton Scott is a privately-owned working country estate of some 1,500 acres.  The Historic Working Farm is managed and operated by Shropshire Council, as part of the Acton Scott estate, an attraction where visiting public can see the preservation of a timeless landscape, its historic properties and rural heritage.

For more information about Acton Scott visit actonscott.com.  To find details of Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, visit shropshire.gov.uk/museums.nsf.

And for details of accommodation, other events and short break ideas in Shropshire, see visitshropshire.com.