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Sissinghurst - Episode 7

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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. It is July, and the monthly food group meeting is a heated one as Sarah believes the restaurant staff are still not adopting her recipe ideas, while head chef Steve and consultant chef Peter lock horns. Adam makes some intriguing discoveries for his book about Elizabethan Sissinghurst and sets about dowsing to reconstruct the once-grand estate's outer courtyards. He can't wait for the final jigsaw of his puzzle to be complete - the arrival of the farmer - but suddenly learns that he has pulled out and the dream of bringing a proper working farm back to Sissinghurst is seemingly quashed overnight.