Tapeley Park

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Ruth visits Tapeley Park, a sprawling stately home on the North Devon coast where the notorious eco-activist Hector Christie resides.

This grand abode has been in the Christie family for 300 odd years. Until recently Hector was running Tapeley as a quasi-commune, but he has decided it's time to regain some control - so he kicked out the hippies and called on Ruth Watson to help turn the crumbling mansion's destiny around.

The fabulous gardens are open to the public but the business is losing money. Hector's loyal staff believe that his pre-occupation with protesting against supermarkets and GM crops means he's not fully focused on things. This is borne out when Hector is arrested in Germany dressed as a genetically-modified potato.

Ruth quickly realises that some of Hector's idiosyncrasies could also be his greatest strengths. Hector and his alternative friends have created one of the country's finest permaculture gardens, which could appeal to a younger audience if they were properly marketed. And Hector's reluctance to open the curtains or heat the house means he has inadvertently preserved one of the best collections of William Morris furniture in existence.

Ruth suggests that the charming but eccentric Hector should capitalise on both the gardens and the Morris collection... but first he needs to persuade the locals that his hippy days are over.