I loved the TV show – now I own the farm
As a young man, Simon Coulson was transfixed by TV’s Darling Buds of May. Little did he know he would one day own the Wealden farm where it was filmed. He told Tricia Jamieson about his ideas to open it up to fans
SUNDAYS were a ritual for Simon Coulson in the 1990s. Roast lunch at his grandmother’s followed by sitting down to watch Darling Buds of May on the TV.
“I was a huge fan of the show,” said the 42-yearold internet entrepreneur. “The old-fashioned lifestyle appealed to me.
“Also, Catherine ZetaJones was the key thing that attracted me as a young man of a certain age.” Simon moved to The Weald on the strength of the show six years ago and earlier this year bought Buss Farm in Bethersden, where it was shot, for £1.2million.
He now plans to invest “north of £1million” in turning the farm into a mecca for Darling Buds lovers with holiday accommodation and a function barn.
A planning application has been submitted to Ashford council and if it goes through, the first units of Darling Buds Farm could be up and running by next spring.
Visitors will be able to stay in the farmhouse, which is grade II listed, the oast which featured at the beginning of each show or in a converted barn. There will be a total of 12 bedrooms.
They will also be able to picnic in the orchard and grounds where Ma Larkin set up her tables of food.
Simon, who set up his own internet businesses on training and marketing, organises training sessions and speaks at seminars, sharing the stage with the likes of former President Bill Clin- ton, Sir Richard Branson and Lord Sugar.
He also plans to build a function room for wedding receptions or themed residential events and tidy up the rest of the outbuildings to create a farm courtyard.
He also wants to put a conservatory on to the main house – something the Yorkshire TV film crew did for the show.
Simon is a self-confessed Darling Buds nut. He has the boxed set, commemorative plates and a model of Pop Larkin’s yellow Rolls Royce.
“It was the most popular TV show of its time,” he said. “There is an army of fans out there who only get to come here once a year for the classic car show.”
Although Buss Farm was used for filming over three years, the inside shots were done in the Yorkshire TV studios.
There were occasional forays into the main house, for example when Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played daughter Mariette, looked out of a window on her wedding day. But there will be no sleeping in the same room as Ma and Pop Larkin.
Simon hopes to create seven full-time and some part-time jobs and believes other businesses in the area will benefit.