A silver-haired man strolls along a footpath on the 3,500-acre Knepp estate of Charles Burrell in Sussex, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Driving past in a green Land Rover, Lady Burrell – better known as the author Isabella Tree – is delighted, and wonders aloud how long it will take the visitor to lose the towel as well. “Oh yes there it goes!” Tree exclaims. “What nicer way is there to spend a sunny May morning in just your wellies?” Burrell, our driver, raises his eyebrows.
The dynamic between this pair of married aristocrats veers during my visit between joyful, businesslike and mock-exasperation. Much like the rewilding trend with which they have become synonymous, their relationship pulses with productivity – and is responsible for establishing Knepp as arguably the most famous nature regeneration experiment in the country.
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