Fancy an escape to the country? Tune in to the BBC to hear about The Barn

The Barn, dating from the 17th century, will be appearing in a future edition of Escape to the Country.

The latest series of the BBC2 series is due to begin in September.

It helps prospective buyers from the cities find a dream property in less urban settings.

Homeowners Ulrika and John Droupin were asked to appear by the programme makers who spent two days filming the Felpham Road property.

Part of the time involved showing a prospective buyer around the thatched property of three bedrooms, bathroom, shower room, sitting room, snug, office, kitchen and extensive garden.

Mrs Droupin, 65, said: "We are looking forward to seeing our home on television.

"It's lovely living here. There's an extensive garden and people are amazed at how quiet it is considering we are so close to the road. You just can't hear the traffic."

The appearance will be the latest incident in the cottage's long history. It is believed to have begun as a smoke house before it became an ale house.

It also served as the local smithy for a while and was called Smith Villa at the time. A name change occurred to Albert Villa before the current name was adopted.

The property was run down when Mr and Mrs Droupin bought it four years ago. Builder Mr Droupin, 54, adopted the project almost full-time.

"So many people stopped to talk to John when he was doing the work and said how nice it was to see the cottage being restored," said Mrs Droupin, who has retired from her work in an electronics firm's export department."

A succession of visitors who used to live in the cottage from the 1940s onwards have also called in to marvel at its new lease of life.

Mr and Mrs Dauphin moved to The Barn from Pulborough. They will be leaving for either the Isle of Wight or Portugal once it has been sold.

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