Sissinghurst - Episode 2

Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s. The property manager at Sissinghurst wants Adam to come up with a plan to change the area at the front of the house. Adam seizes the opportunity to alter first impressions of Sissinghurst so that it looks more like a farm than just another visitor attraction. It's a watershed moment, the first time the National Trust have asked him for any input and things seem to be moving in the right direction. For Sarah, though, there is increasing resistance from the restaurant staff, in particular head chef Steve who is feeling uneasy about having a consultant in his kitchen. Adam and his sister Juliet trace their grandmother Vita's aristocratic roots and return to her impressive ancestral home of Knole in Kent. Sissinghurst opens its gates to hordes of loyal pilgrims eager to worship at the shrine of Vita on the first day of the garden-opening season.