Where to Watch Escape to the Chateau for Free
Update – you can watch every series of Escape to the Chateau free online! If you’re outside the UK enable your UK VPN connection first (NordVPN works great for this) – then just go to the Channel 4 website here – https://www.channel4.com/programmes/escape-to-the-chateau/on-demand/61076-001
Stream Escape to the Chateau
If you love those real-life stories where people transform their lives and the places, they live in then you’ll definitely enjoy Escape to the Chateau. It’s the story of retired Lt Colonel Dick Strawbridge and his partner Angel Adoree who decide to sell their two-bedroom apartment and move to a dilapidated 19th century French Chateau. It’s a real-life story that will (and indeed has) inspired lots of people to follow their dreams, it looks incredibly daunting, but the couple somehow manage to make it work.
Of course, it does help that Dick Strawbridge is a DIY genius, nothing seems to be impossible for the guy! His wife Angel also has interior design skills that most of us mortals simply don’t have, however it does show what’s possible for any of us with the drive and determination to realise our dreams.
Anyway, if you’ve stumbled across this page, you probably already know about Dick Strawbridge and his beautiful French chateau. However, the first step is to find how to watch Escape to the Chateau which unfortunately depends largely on your location (scroll down to watch the video demonstration if you’re impatient to learn how).
The program is often rebroadcast on different networks, so if you’re in luck you might catch it on your local one. There are also pirated versions floating around the internet of course, however these are often of very poor quality and downloading them brings other risks.
How to Watch Escape to the Chateau Streaming from Outside the UK
The best place by far is to watch it on its home network which is the UK commercial TV station – Channel 4. Currently at the time of writing there are 90 episodes of Escape to the Chateau spread across seven series plus a load of spin-off shows. These usually involve Dick Strawbridge going to help and advise other people who have followed the same route. Beware these dilapidated French Chateaus may look a complete bargain but not most of them are incredible money pits!
Unfortunately, the Channel 4 website streaming service known as All 4 is only accessible if you’re inside the United Kingdom. If you try and access from outside the United Kingdom, you’ll get a little message saying that it’s not available in your location. This will happen anywhere out of the UK including Ireland and ironically France too using a process known as geo-location.
It’s a process used by many and indeed most online TV stations not just the UK ones. Basically, when you visit a website, your location is determined by your IP address (the unique network number assigned when you connect to the internet). The nationality of this address is checked (not your nationality) which determines whether you’re allowed to access the site or not.
So most UK stations like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are only accessible to IP addresses registered in the United Kingdom, just as US sites like NBC, Hulu etc are only available to US based addresses. You’ll find the same situation with almost all the European channels and any large media sites across the world.
Streaming Escape to the Chateau Directly from Channel 4
Fortunately, there’s an easy solution, which is used by literally millions of people across the world using something called a VPN (virtual private network). Here’s a demonstration of how simple it is to bypass these blocks and watch any site from anywhere in the world.
There are lots of these VPN services around, in the video above we’ve used NordVPN simply because it’s reliable, fast and inexpensive. There are many others though, although you should check they work ok with Channel 4 specifically as many don’t. NordVPN has a money back guarantee which you can use easily if you do have problems accessing the site.
What happens is that you connect through a VPN server based in the United Kingdom. When you do this, the Channel 4 website will see your location as the UK not your actual physical location. So, it’s perfect if you want to watch UK TV from Germany, Spain, USA or wherever! The VPN server hides your real address meaning that you can use the site (and watch Escape to the Chateau) exactly the same as anyone who is located in the United Kingdom.
You’ll still have to create an account, however as long as the VPN is connected that’s not an issue. If you’re asked for a location when creating your account just ensure you put in a UK address and postcode (anyone will do as long as it’s valid).
Watch Other Blocked Streaming Sites from Anywhere in the World
Many people complain about the small cost of a VPN subscription but to be honest I think they’re tremendous value. If you sign up for a longer NordVPN subscription for example, you can get the cost down to around 3 dollars/Euros a month at the time of writing in 2021.
What do you get in return? Well for a start full access to watch all ‘The Chateau’ series plus thousands of other great shows too. If you like design/home building shows then you’ll almost certainly enjoy “Grand Design” too, a wonderful show where people build their dream houses from scratch. There’s about 180 episodes on the Channel 4 site currently all available free of charge.
Plus, you can access all the other UK TV sites, including arguably one of the best in the world – BBC iPlayer plus ITV and Channel 5 too. By switching your VPN connection to another country, you can use free TV channels in those too, there’s plenty of streaming content available in the USA and most other developed countries too.
Don’t think of your VPN service as a technical computer program but as a global, cable subscription which allows you access to the very best of world TV channels from anywhere in the world.
If you’re watching British TV channels primarily using NordVPN, I suggest using the following servers which are optimized for access.
UK# 1840-1847, 1850-1863, 1865, 1869, 1873, 1875-1878, 1880-1881, 1900-1901, 1903-1904, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919-1920.
It’s not normally necessary, however who knows what will change in the future, but you might need to change the location of your computer too (it’s time clock settings etc) when setting up your initial account. If you already have a Channel 4 account, then forget this step. Here’s the steps to try if you have any problems –
- In your device’s settings, – change your location to the United Kingdom
- Set your time zone to GMT -0 (London)
- Ensure your device’s clock sets itself to GMT -0
- Restart your device
- Connect your VPN to UK-based server
- Go to Channel 4’s and use a real email address
- Use a Real UK postal code
- If you don’t have Flash installed, click on the link to install Flash
Where Can I Watch Escape to the Chateau for Free
Escape to the Chateau is a popular British documentary series that follows the journey of Dick Strawbridge and his wife, Angel, as they renovate a dilapidated 19th-century chateau in the French countryside. The show has gained a massive following due to its captivating depiction of the couple’s dedication and creativity in transforming the historical property into a majestic family home. For those looking to watch Escape to the Chateau in English, the series is available on various streaming platforms and can be enjoyed on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Channel 4’s online platform, All 4.