Shropshire Escape to the Country

It's said this lovely country cottage is home

to the oldest Englishman that ever lived.

It's also claimed that he reached the ripe old age of 152.

Who was he, and which county did he hail from? Find out in just a moment.

Today, I am helping a technically minded couple

to abandon the hurly-burly of the commuter belt,

and take a logical approach to house-hunting...

-How are we doing on the spreadsheet?

-It's got to be a 20.

-Kerching.

..with a very specific wish-list.

Quite a lot of land, but is it going to be enough for you?

-Yes.

-Good!

-Of course it is!

-Jackpot!

This is the home of Shropshire agricultural worker Thomas Parr,

who came to fame in the reign of Charles I

because of his excessively long life.

The legend has it that he lived through the reign of ten monarchs

and he got married twice - once at the age of 80,

and then again at the venerable age of 122.

But it was aged 152 that the king invited him down to London,

and that's what did it for poor Thomas.

It's said in 1635, he died of the pollution of the city

and the lavish London lifestyle.

But the king had his body buried in Westminster Abbey,

where it remains to this day,

but I'm sure that his heart remains here in Shropshire.

Landlocked Shropshire is sandwiched between Wales to the west

and Staffordshire to the east.

The Shropshire Hills have been a designated area of natural beauty since 1958,

covering a quarter of the county.

The ancient Long Mynd alone has 500 acres of moorland

with 30 miles of footpaths

from which to enjoy this natural splendour.

The borderlands of England and Wales,

an area known as the Welsh Marches, is where you'll find

one of the largest concentrations of castles in the UK,

typified by strongholds such as Clun and Ludlow.

As well as a castle, Ludlow in the south of the county

also boasts some of the finest historical architecture

of any town in England - with over 400 listed buildings.

But it's the beautiful rural countryside across the county

that is drawing our buyers today, so let's meet them.

For 15 years, John and Pauline

have lived on a housing estate in Charvil

on the outskirts of Reading, Berkshire,

but feel that now is the time to address their life-work imbalance

and swap the red brick views

for the rolling Shropshire countryside.

At the moment, as you can see, we look out on houses.

And I'd really like to look out on hills and fields.

Despite being semi-retired,

Pauline has one eye on a brand-new venture

that coincides with their move.

So, now, what I'd like to do,

is to set up a chocolate-making business.

This move would enable me to have the space

to be able to make larger batches.

Although my kitchen has got a huge island in the middle of it,

and it's lovely,

there is not enough room to make those quantities of chocolate.

A vital element to achieving a better work-life balance

is space in the new house to accommodate healthier pursuits.

Our new house ideally will have a separate room

where I can have a gym.

Although we do yoga together at home, it's very cramped.

There isn't enough space.

-We keep bumping into each other, don't we?

-Yes!

All that's left to discover is the finances

for their Shropshire sanctuary.

Our budget for the move is £700,000.

That's absolute maximum -

and that would have to include the setting up of our chocolate business

and the outbuilding required, the renovation of that.

John and Pauline would like us to concentrate our house search

in the south of the county around the market town of Ludlow.

I met up with them to discover more about what they're looking for,

and to learn how a spreadsheet is helping them choose

their ideal property.

Welcome to Shropshire, you two.

So we've got lots of lovely houses lined up for you,

but I want to talk a bit about what sort of property you want.

I know you want a big kitchen, but you also want a sort of chocolate factory.

I want to have a separate building to make chocolate, yes.

To create a chocolate business.

-What about you, John? Do you have requirements?

-Yeah.

Our house at the moment, we've really just got one main room downstairs,

which has got the television in, and my hi-fi.

And, ideally, what I'd like,

is a separate room that I could put the hi-fi in.

It seems the land is quite important,

-in terms of getting an outbuilding.

-And growing.

I grow all of my food, and fruit.

And I want to incorporate those into the chocolate fillings.

Well, you have your trusty tablet.

-Is the spreadsheet on this little thing?

-It is. Yes.

I've created a score for each really important factor in the house.

-I'm an accountant, so...

-Ah-ha! I see!

-So I can allocate points to money.

-Right.

So, we're going to do Escape To The Country

-in a scientifically thorough manner.

-Sort of.

But it might come down to gut feeling at the end. Who knows?

-So, the heart might win out over the spreadsheet?

-Yes!

Good. We've got three lovely houses, so come with me to the car.

For a budget of £700,000,

John and Pauline are looking for four bedrooms, a large kitchen,

a room to use as a gym,

an outbuilding or annexe for Pauline to set up a chocolate factory,

land to accommodate an orchard and vegetable garden,

all ideally located near to the foodie's paradise of Ludlow

in south Shropshire.

We have a variety of properties to serve up,

and at each one I'll be asking them to guess the price

before I reveal it.

One of course is the Mystery House,

that might not be right for them on paper,

but might just set their pulses racing nonetheless.

But before all that, first on the list, is house number one.

We start our property search in the hamlet of Seifton,

a short distance from the market town of Ludlow.

Described as the gastronomic heart of Shropshire,

historic 11th-century Ludlow is renowned

for its locally produced food and drink.

Our first house is 15 minutes north of the town,

a four-bedroomed modern conversion,

set in just under an acre of land,

that retains bags of period features.

Here we are - house number one!

-What do you think?

-I like it! Yeah.

-Big smiles as we come up the drive.

-BOTH:

-Yes!

The great thing about this,

and really the reason we brought you,

is that we're just six miles from Ludlow.

Yes, very close.

No, it's a beautiful area, so it's a fantastic location.

-Another reason we brought you here is because of this.

-Yes.

This is the outbuilding.

Come with me.

'We're bang on with the location,

'but it's the outbuilding that needs to deliver the required space

'if the house is to be a contender.'

So, this is a big double garage.

-Yes.

-With electricity and water.

-Yes.

-Very good.

-Excellent.

-And it is all boarded upstairs.

But is this going to be big enough for your chocolate factory?

Absolutely. Yes. Yes, I think so.

-It's a lot more space than you've got at the moment!

-Yes.

Let's continue the house tour.

That's two major factors satisfied.

Let's hope it continues, as we head inside.

Into the kitchen...

Because this is obviously the heart of the home.

Oh, my word.

-This is lovely.

-It is.

-Yeah, it's good.

It's a nice big size, isn't it?

How does it compare on your kitchen scale?

We were looking for a big kitchen, nicely done out,

and that is absolutely this kitchen, isn't it? It works really well.

You've got a nice boot room there, for when you come in from walks.

-And through here is a utility space.

-Oh, fabulous.

-All your white goods.

-OK. Yeah.

-Good.

I don't think you'd be spending much time in your kitchen, because...

you've got this room.

In terms of living space, I am confident the next room

will knock their socks off!

-This is the room.

-Oh, wow.

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-What a view!

This is an amazing green oak orangery

that they put on just a few years ago.

-Couple of years ago.

-I think it's absolutely amazing.

-I think it's stunning. It brings the garden into the house.

-Yeah.

And a very beautiful sitting room here, and a little study, you can explore later on.

I don't have a category for this!

You didn't do a category on your spreadsheet for orangery!

I didn't, no. Or conservatory, or anything.

-But does it get 20 out of 20?

-Oh, yeah.

-So, top marks for downstairs?

-Yes.

More than top marks - if that's possible - but let's look upstairs.

OK.

'A dining room completes the downstairs,

'and it's all going swimmingly well.'

'So fingers crossed the bedrooms meet the spreadsheet's approval.'

There are two staircases, and two sets of bedrooms in this house.

-This is a master bedroom.

-Right.

Yeah.

-And a very nice wet room en suite.

-That's lovely, isn't it?

That's very nicely done.

Because you've virtually got a big modern bathroom next door,

which is sort of a family bathroom, but could also be...bath tub.

What do you think to the aspect of the bedroom?

It's a lot smaller than our current bedroom.

I mean, it is a smaller room.

But it's a nice room, and it feels light and airy.

So I'll let you explore all around -

-there's actually lots of rooms we haven't seen.

-Thank you.

But let's go into the garden and guess the price.

There are three more bedrooms - one also with an en suite -

all complete with character beams.

It seems the house has delivered more positives than negatives,

but it remains to be seen if less than an acre of land

is enough for Pauline's allotment.

As I mentioned, close to Ludlow,

it's difficult to get a property with all the land you wanted.

You wanted one to two acres, which is a lot of land.

It's a lot of land but I wanted to create an orchard

and have more fruit for the fillings for my chocolates.

So I think it would be a bit of a stretch with the size of the land.

-Have you filled in all the things yet?

-I have.

So what does the figure come out at?

Because it also tells you how much it is going to be worth, no?

Yes, my estimate of it.

So, here we go - what is your estimate of the property price?

Um, it thinks 695,000.

John, do you agree with that?

I think it has got to be at the top end of the budget -

maybe 710, or something like that?

We might need to do some recalibration,

because this is on the market for...

-£565,000.

-No!

-Wow... Really?!

Yeah.

Well within their budget,

this characterful renovation is perfectly located,

and includes four bedrooms - two with en suite -

a kitchen/breakfast room, separate dining room,

a stunning orangery,

a double garage - a possible venue for the chocolate factory -

along with wonderful views of the glorious Shropshire countryside.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-You all done?

-Yes.

-You've got your tablet?

-Yes!

-Ready for house number two?

-Yes.

-On we go.

To the south of the county, in the rolling hills of Shropshire,

lies an incredible family home that is a renovation project

that would stretch even the biggest budget.

The magnificent Victorian mansion of Stokesay Court,

with its imposing Jacobean-style facade,

hit the big screen as the location for a cinema smash hit.

And I am meeting the current owner, Caroline Magnus,

who inherited the house that has been in her family since 1889,

to find out more.

Caroline, I am fascinated -

I mean, the house is absolutely staggering -

but I'm fascinated by this moment

when the brown envelope hits your mat,

and you realise you've inherited an incredible stately home.

It contained a copy of a will and a compliments slip,

but with no letter of explanation at all.

So, I had to read it about three times.

Built in 1889 by John Derby Allcroft,

the house found its way to Caroline

after her aunt, Darby Allcroft's granddaughter, sadly died.

I'm wondering how much work have you actually done here?

Was it a ruin when you moved in, or...?

The roof was completely rotten.

We had to literally recover the entire structure.

I wonder if you'd like to come and see the rest of the house?

Absolutely.

Caroline expected her planned restorations to take decades,

but fortuitously the house was hired as a location

for the Oscar and BAFTA-winning film Atonement,

starring Keira Knightley, which gave the restoration

a quick nudge in the right direction.

Was the film a big turning point?

Yes, it really was.

Before Atonement, this house was completely obscure.

Nobody had ever heard of it, really.

The house appeared on the big screen

and suddenly there was a huge amount of interest.

Rooms were redecorated to fit the film's period.

And part of the set still remains

as an attraction for the visiting public,

Having spent almost 20 years renovating the house,

Caroline still has more work to do.

But she isn't deterred.

Well, these are the old kitchens.

But in terms of the future of the hall,

what would you do with this room, for example?

This, could make a wonderful tea room for the house, I think.

For the events that happen in the house,

or when we have visitors coming.

Thank you so much.

I know you've got lots to do, but it's been a real joy looking around.

And lovely, as well, not just to see the extraordinary house,

but to hear your story.

Well, thank you. It's been a pleasure showing you round.

I hope Caroline is successful with the renovations at this beautiful house

for more people to enjoy, and we wish her all the best.

For our second property, we're going further afield,

travelling east to the very edge of the county,

close to the village of Albrighton -

around an hour away from their desired location of Ludlow.

House number two is a very spacious five-bedroom farmhouse conversion,

sitting three miles out of the village in the east Shropshire countryside.

House number two!

Quite a different offering for you.

And I've brought you into the back because it is easier to see

the layout of property.

Because we're in part of the Patshull estate.

Actually, this is where the woodworker lived,

and it was all converted back in the late '90s.

So how does it rate on your system in terms of location?

I'd say, on balance, location

probably not as good as the first house.

Well, the layout of the house is quite unusual.

As you can see, it's all in a sort of horseshoe.

I think you'll be surprised - there's a lot more space.

As anticipated, the location doesn't score well,

as we are quite a way from Ludlow.

But this property does have a lot of plus points

that should rate highly on the spreadsheet.

Straight into the kitchen.

-It's a tall kitchen, isn't it?

-It is tall.

You've the whole height of the building, right up to the rafters.

How do you rate it?

Size. It's maximum for size, isn't it?

Yeah, I mean, I think this is a lovely kitchen.

-I was going to say eight.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Seven or eight, something like that.

'Accessed via the kitchen

'is extra living space, courtesy of a glass conservatory extension.'

Come on through into the sitting room.

-And another spectacularly large room.

-Huge!

-And this gigantic fireplace.

-It's lovely.

-A proper inglenook.

It's a lovely room. But, perhaps not quite so much my style, I'd say.

But you may feel different?

Yeah, I actually like the size more than the other one.

Adjacent to the sitting room lies the dining room,

above which is a galleried study area

and an additional bedroom with shower room.

Onwards to the master bedroom,

and I am confident they won't be quibbling over size here.

Now...

Wow!

Here we have a master bedroom that hopefully will fit the bill.

-Absolutely.

-This is more of...

This is a Master bedroom, isn't it?

It's a MASTER bedroom!

A very nice shower en suite.

Different to the other one, but...it's fine.

-But again, big, isn't it?

-Yeah.

But one of the things that really brought us here, for you,

is on the other side of the house. Come with me.

There are two further bedrooms on the ground floor

served by a well-equipped family bathroom,

including a double-ended bath.

Through the kitchen is an annexe

which will hopefully satisfy two of their major requirements.

So, a gigantic games room.

-We thought this could also be your chocolate factory.

-Yeah.

Because upstairs there's the same sort of size

-with a shower and bathroom at the end.

-So it could be a gym?

So that could be a gym/yoga room.

But, essentially, this is the same as the garage,

-but it's all finished and three times as big.

-Hm!

The games room-cum-chocolate factory gets a massive plus point.

But I'm not convinced they're totally sold on this property yet.

The outside space comprises part-walled garden with paved terrace and lawn,

however the drawback is there is no additional land for Pauline's market garden.

How much do you think it's on the market for?

Or, how much does the computer think it's on the market for?

So, the computer says 550,000.

I think I'm going to go higher than that.

I'll go to 625.

625. Well, maybe it needs a bit more calibration,

because in this instance it's wrong again,

but in the other direction.

This property is actually on the market for - brace yourself - 695.

Oh, right! Right at the top of our budget.

The former woodcutter's residence just creeps in under budget

and certainly offers a lot of what they are after

with five bedrooms, including a huge master bedroom,

a large kitchen/diner,

a spacious sitting room,

an annexe as a possible venue for the chocolate factory,

and the option to utilise one of the five bedrooms as a gym.

OK, so two houses down - how are you feeling?

I'm still excited. But, yes, it's quite interesting.

-It's been a great day.

-Yeah.

For our Mystery House we are heading north,

close to the Wales-England border,

to the hamlet of Coton,

a short distance from the market town of Whitchurch.

Dating back to the Roman era, Whitchurch is one of the oldest

communities in Shropshire.

The Mystery House is a five-bedroomed cottage,

approximately four miles south of the town in Coton,

surrounded by the stunning north Shropshire scenery.

Oh.

I hear that!

-Any thoughts about the location?

-I really like the location.

-I mean, just driving up here, the countryside's great.

-I like it.

Yes. It's lovely.

And you'll notice that there is quite a parcel of land

-with this property.

-Alistair, why is this the Mystery House?

Is it still in Shropshire?

It is still in Shropshire, but...

in order to get you all this lovely land at a price you could afford,

we don't have your chocolate factory yet.

Oh, right!

-This could be something you could build.

-Yes.

Let's go and look inside.

With a big thumbs up for the exterior, it is onwards inside

to check out a room high on John's agenda.

I just wanted to show you this room.

-This is the newest room in the house.

-Oh.

I thought of you, John. Your desire for a little music room.

-This could definitely be a music room, couldn't it?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah, brilliant.

-It's a nice big size, isn't it?

Well, this was a little detour on the way to the main room,

which, of course, is the kitchen.

The kitchen is also high on the list,

so this needs to deliver a big score to beat the previous two.

So the dining room here...

But this is the room I wanted to show you.

-Oh, wow!

-Kaboom!

It's like kitchen wars, and this one wins, because it's the biggest.

-No, it's not. It's not because it's the biggest.

-Oh, OK.

-It's because it's got the island.

-It's because it's got the island.

Ahhh! That's where we've been going wrong. Not giving you your island.

Now, I wanted to talk to you a bit about the chocolate factory.

Because this house does not have outbuildings, as it stands now.

There was a shippen. You know, a shippen?

A cow barn with a hay loft on top?

Now the footings for that are still there,

-so you could build something just outside.

-That's fine.

So I could have the kitchen and you could be in your factory.

I could be in the other kitchen!

-So, how many do you and your magic thing...

-Well, kitchen...

20 out of 20?

20 out of 20! Can't possibly be...

Can't possibly be any less than that.

Well, I'd be interested to see what the living space gives you.

Follow me.

-And our third and final sitting room.

-It's lovely.

-Obviously got beams!

-It has got beams.

They're quite high up, aren't they? So not oppressive.

I like this room.

It's actually quite cosy, isn't it?

And sweeping through into the conservatory.

And, of course, this would be the view over your...domain.

Yeah, I could certainly see us having breakfast and lunch in here.

Completing the ground floor is a study,

a utility area

and a second conservatory that can double as a gym.

The downstairs is scoring highly,

so let's hope this continues upstairs.

This is the master bedroom,

and there are five bedrooms in this property,

and actually two of them have en suites,

so you could swap them around.

-But this is, I think, the biggest and the lightest.

-Mm-hm.

Yes, it's lovely.

Nice big square room.

Obviously, the reason we brought you here is because it's got lots of land.

So let's go and look at that, and think about the price.

Of the four remaining bedrooms, one also has an en suite.

The others are served by a modern family bathroom.

We could be onto a winner,

as the upstairs seems to have hit the mark too.

And with the house standing in nearly three acres of land,

let's hope that that's enough for Pauline's market garden.

-Quite a lot of land. Is it going to be enough for you?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Of course it is!

-Jackpot!

How is this one scoring?

This one scores the highest of all of the percentage points.

How much does it score?

Percentage-wise?

-It scores 90%.

-Wow!

So I am wondering what your system thinks about the price of this house?

My estimate is that it would be about 690.

-690?

-In terms of my estimate, I would say 675.

Well, it's getting better, but not quite right.

Because this property is on the market for 649.

Hurray!

Oh, yes. But you liked the other one.

Our Mystery House racks up a whopping 90% on Pauline's tablet,

offering them almost everything they are looking for,

including five bedrooms,

two with en suite,

a huge kitchen/diner,

a music room to house John's hi-fi,

an area to build the chocolate factory,

all standing in nearly three acres of land,

ideal for Pauline's fruit and veg garden.

Ah, here you are. Are you planning your orchard?

-Yes!

-Yes, we are.

Well, I'm afraid I have to tear you away,

because it's time for some decision-making.

Come with me.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong,

but it seems like property number two isn't really in the running.

So it comes down to property number one, which you seemed to like,

and property number three, the Mystery House

which you suddenly seemed to find your favourite.

I think the Mystery House, when we discussed it,

we thought it had everything as a house.

And it would be lovely to be able to lift the Mystery House up

with its garden and its land

and drop it into where the first house was.

If we can find some land

that we could rent or buy

next to property one,

then that would give us everything that we required.

So what is going to happen next?

We're certainly going to go back and look at property one again,

because we do really like it, and I think the key thing there

is just to see whether we can get in touch with

whoever owns the land around there

and whether they would be willing to either rent us or sell us

a small piece of land.

So if you couldn't get land for property one,

property three might become a contender again?

It might be, yeah.

Well it's been a great joy showing you around.

And I hope we've shown you a bit of Shropshire

that you hadn't considered before.

And whichever house you choose, that you're very happy.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

I have to say I was surprised.

I thought Pauline was going to twist John's arm and make him

love house number three.

But, in the end, to be fair,

she let her head rule her heart

and they went for house number one.

Although it was good to see they discovered the joys of north Shropshire,

and when you look at how beautiful the county is,

you can understand why.

So that's us done for the day,

but do join us next time for more Escape To The Country.

John and Pauline looked into the possibility of land

around the first house near Ludlow,

but unfortunately the house went under offer to another buyer,

so sadly their Shropshire search continues.

It just goes to show that sometimes you have to be quick

to clinch that rural escape.

If you want to escape to the country in Northern Ireland, Scotland,

Wales or England, and you need our help,

please apply online...