Life on the porch of an empty mansion – podcast

In the heart of Knightsbridge, London, 2-8A Rutland Gate sits empty. The 45-room mansion, which sold for £210m in 2020, has been unoccupied for years. But on its doorstep, there is life. Anders Fernstedt has been sleeping rough on the porch for three years, surrounded by his collection of plant pots and flowers in vases.

“The pretend reality is I’m the child, parents are in the house. I just said: ‘Can I camp on the balcony?’” Anders tells the Guardian feature writer Sam Wollaston.

With many people desperate for housing, what do abandoned luxury properties like this one tell us about the UK? Sam tells Lucy Hough about the Guardian’s Abandoned Britain series and how Anders found himself living outside the mansion.

Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod