Escape from stress, the rat race... and TV

IT'S not the easiest of journeys to arrive at Prydale House but once you've braved the winding roads, the many potholes and the cattle grids, you end up coming face to face with where the Pearce family call home. It is a large and sprawling place; not just one house but several buildings, and it's impossible to miss the tall wind turbine overhead.

On going into the main house I'm met by children and two dogs, with little India, the youngest, still in pyjama top and pants. The scene is pleasantly chaotic, just like in many family homes, but one thing absent from the soundscape is the blare of a TV. This hints at how the Pearces live - as close to nature as they can - which in the case of Jane and Andrew, links into how they make a living.

In the five years since they arrived at Prydale House, in rural Rookhope, the pair have forged a thriving business at their County Durham home. As Prydale Partners, Jane and Andrew welcome eco-conscious guests, both for straightforward restful breaks and to have therapy as well. They claim their offer is unique: the chance to kick back and unwind with nature acting as a balm, and to receive some expert coaching if you're troubled in any way. It's been a convoluted route to where they've ended up today.

"I joined the Navy more or less straight from school and did a five-year commission, then I met Jane and went travelling with her for a while before joining M&S in management," says Andrew, who's 42. "I got more and more interested over the years in training and development. I'd always had this fantasy that if I won the lottery I'd pack it all in and study psychology."

The couple married and had four children - as well as India, who's six, there's 13-year-old Jael and Aoife, ten, along with Zachary, who's eight. They moved to Ireland for a while then ended up being based at Tynemouth, but Andrew's posting in Newcastle brought on a period of depression.

"I got what was a big promotion to the store in Northumberland Street and I had a reactive depression and I suppose a bit of a breakdown at the time," he says. "I was referred by M&S to somebody who was doing then what I do now and I just thought that's what I want to do'. That was ten years ago, so I've spent the remaining time retraining, and I was also involved quite heavily with M&S in management development."

While they were still based up in Tynemouth the couple started their own business - an early version of Prydale Partners called the Northumberland Learning Partnership. They drew on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), which works on patterns of behaviour, and the idea in the beginning was that they'd share the counselling role.

"Jane was a nurse by background and she's done some NLP training and has also got a hypnotherapy qualification,"

explains Andrew. "Initially we were going to split it 50/50, but in reality, and especially now, with juggling the running of the residential side, the running of the house, the managing of the children and looking after something like 60 animals, she can't do it. Really Jane's bit of the business is the looking after people bit, so the holiday let and all of that is pretty much exclusively hers."

It was the move to Prydale House that sparked the couple's awareness of green issues. The big wind turbine they've installed helps meet their electricity needs and there are plans to generate more when they acquire a solar panel. On top of this, they don't use chemicals but much gentler ways of cleaning and avoid polluting the environment in whatever ways they can.

AS Jane explains, it stems from living close to nature. "We've always been conscious of that sort of thing, but when you live close to nature I suppose you become more friendly with it and you have more realisation about how you can damage it," says the 40- year-old. "It's about educating the next generation. Of course, with the holiday let we can also spread the word that way and people can take these ideas away with them."

As far as the counselling is concerned, this is now Andrew's sole employment - he left his job at M&S to make the business his priority. It's taken time to get it right, but he now feels it's working well.

"If you look at the website, it's all there," he says. "There's a corporate section and a personal section, then there's a bit about accommodation, which really covers our offer. The corporate bit is coaching and training, bits of NLP, assertiveness, influencing, communication skills - what I'd call the softer skills - and it's usually senior individuals in organisations.

"Then the personal bit is essentially the therapy. Some people just want somebody to bounce ideas off, but usually there will be a reason that's brought them, even if it's something that they can't define. Sometimes there will be a clearly defined issue like anxiety, depression, bereavement or anorexia.

Sometimes life conspires against you and I'm keen to de-stigmatise this."

The personal cases Andrew treats will often stay for a few days, in which a programme will be tailored to their individual needs. They've come right up from the south coast and down from Glasgow in the north and Andrew says it can be more than just an isolated visit.

"Generally, they will come back three or four months later for a review and in between they may need either email or telephone support," he says. "We've been developing the residential model pretty much since we've been here in different permutations and combinations and we've got something now that I think is quite special. I'm happy with it and it seems to be producing consistent results."

Of course, the eco-friendly aspect does have an impact on the children - not least the fact that Jane and Andrew have dispensed with a TV. They say they do still have a set, though it is mainly left unplugged, and that they simply feel their brood is better off with other interests.

"The thing is I'm not sure when we'd find time to watch it," reasons Andrew.

"The kids play games and interact and they're all learning musical instruments, and I think TV can introduce an unhealthy influence. We do get the TV down for things like the Rugby World Cup, but the difference is that we do it mindfully."

So where does Andrew see the business when he looks towards the future?

He says he's truly found his niche and so can't contemplate retirement. "I think this is me now," says Andrew. "I see myself doing what I'm doing into my 80s."

* Prydale Partners, 01388-517846, www.prydale.com